November 04, 2004

P2P for cell phones: Reach out and share something

handphone_music.gif Cell phones are learning to share files, but the earliest efforts don’t nearly resemble the peer-to-peer renegades like Napster and Kazaa that the designers have in mind. CNET Asia reports.

FoneShare, an application introduced two weeks ago by NewBay Software, does let people share their collections of ring tones, graphics, games, songs, movie trailers and other wireless extras with strangers.

FoneShare will debut next year as a subscription service, running over privately owned and operated cellular networks, and the sharing will be done via Web sites controlled by a wireless operator, said NewBay Chief Executive Paddy Holahan. That’s a far cry from Napster, which was free, let people choose from digital music libraries stored on untold millions of personal computers, and relied heavily upon the anonymity of the public Internet.”

Related: Newbay Announces Mobile Content Sharing Application