The vast majority of people say they are averse to having advertisements text-messaged or otherwise sent to their cellphones. But nearly a quarter of people who have gotten such ads say they have responded at least once, a figure that is highly encouraging to marketers.

“It's one of the hottest new channels available,” said Edward T. Manzitti, vice president for research of the Direct Marketing Association, a trade group that recently released a study of mobile users' responses to unsolicited offers.

Manzitti blames the fact that recipients often have to pay for text-message ads for much of the opposition to them. “If the carriers offered marketers a different type of pricing, where the marketer paid the cost rather than the consumer, you'd see a different type of response,” he said.

There's also the risk that marketers may offend potential customers by texting them with unwanted messages.

In another cell phone development Sprint Nextel has announced that subscriber will be able to listen to live radio broadcasts of National Football League games this season as part of a partnership with the sports league. The live broadcasts will be available to all Sprint wireless subscribers who purchase a basic data plan as part of their services. Some premium subscribers will be able to view live broadcasts of the NFL Network's eight Thursday Night Football games beginning Nov. 6.

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