al-Qaeda offers videos for cellular phones

The Islamic terrorist organization al-Qaeda has begun offering videos for cellular phones, according to Associated Press (AP).

Eight videos are available, including a tribute the Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaeda terrorist who was killed by the United States in Iraq in 2006, the article says.  More videos will be offered, according to al-Qaeda's media group, al-Sahab, AP says.

The video file sizes are small, ranging from 17 MB to 120 MB, so cellular phones need a significant amount of storage, such as memory cards.  AP says, "The terror network has been growing more sophisticated in targeting international audiences.

"Videos are always subtitled in English, and messages this year from bin Laden and al-Zawahri focusing on Pakistan and Afghanistan have been dubbed in the local languages, Urdu and Pashtu."

Using cellular for PR

AP notes that videos in the Middle East are increasingly being transferred among cellular phones via Bluetooth and infrared, such as the video of the execution of Iran's former dictator, Saddam Hussein.

I remember watching a CNN report that showed people in Iraq transferring the execution video to cellular phones.

The point of this article is that cellular phones are used more and more frequently for videos, and it makes sense for organizations exploit the phone as a public relations product.  No, I'm not suggesting that spreading al-Qaeda's views of terrorism is a good idea.

But developing videos for phones -- in formats that are optimized for cellular -- makes a lot of sense for corporations and organization.