A game-changing development reported by BusinessWeek that social networks like Facebook and MySpace are side-stepping mobile phone carriers and striking deals directly with manufacturers to be featured on BlackBerrys and iPhones and in cell phones from INQ and Nokia (NOK)
Case in point: Facebook struck a deal to become a featured social network on a low-priced cell phone due this year from INQ, a London-based subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa. The company has integrated Facebook into every facet of its upcoming phone, INQ1, to be released in Britain and Australia by Christmas. The phone’s address book displays contacts logged into Facebook; its camera posts pictures directly to the social networking site; and its home screen shows photos loaded by friends onto the site.
The social networks did begin working with the mobile carriers since the past year, e.g., Facebook was featured on 100 portals in more than 50 countries, however, the rate of adoption was lower than they desired.
Better integration with handsets can dramatically increase user engagement with a mobile site. A year ago, Research In Motion (RIMM) released a Facebook application especially designed for BlackBerry devices. The app lets subscribers more easily use their handsets to befriend and interact with fellow Facebook users. One in 10 BlackBerry users now has the application, says Facebook Mobile Manager Henri Moissinac.
The mobile social networks present a new medium for game developers. The real challenge is that most of the games available on social networks are not mobile-ready. This means they are built using technologies meant for the Internet and cannot be run as-is without a significant conversion effort for the mobile platforms .
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Technorati Tags: Mobile gaming, FaceBook, MySpace, Nokia, Blackberry, Apple, iPhone, INQ, BusinessWeek
