The company isn't offering much in the way of sex on videos, though some of the music videos it sells for $1.99 each can tend toward titillation. Apple officials refused requests for interviews on whether they might offer adult content on iTunes for iPod owners.
Although wireless phone companies support devices that play video, they are reluctant to expose themselves to complaints from a large and valuable customer base.
One company that knows firsthand is Digital Orchid, which manages the delivery of streaming video to cell phones for top brands, including MLB.com, NASCAR.com, ESPN and the National Hockey League.
"We won't cross that line because the carriers won't distribute it, and that's a majority of the revenue opportunity for us," Betros said. "Now they may change their tune, and in some places in Europe carriers are distributing this kind of content."
In the wireless industry, carrier-approved content exists within something referred to as a walled garden. In the United States, at least, that garden is generally safe for children.
A company called Xobile sells pornographic video clips for cell phones. No special operating system or other software is necessary: just a Web browser, which is commonplace now for phones with access to digital data networks.
That it's now easier than ever for minors to view X-rated content on portable devices concerns media watch groups that seek to protect children.
The problem is that children are often quicker to grasp the technology than are their parents, says Jack Samad, a senior vice president with the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families.
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