Facebook and Nokia discuss partnership

by Dan Leahul, Brand Republic 12-Feb-09, 11:10

LONDON - Social networks are beefing up their mobile presence as partnership talks between Facebook and Nokia continue, days after Bebo signed O2 as the first UK carrier to the Bebo Open Mobile programme.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook is in discussions with Nokia to integrate its website directly into the mobile network's handsets.

Rumours of the partnership include the storage of Facebook friend's contact information directly into Nokia phones, so users can check to see if friends are online or send messages through their phone's contact list.

Both companies have been muted about further details, but it is clear that talks have been proceeding for a number of months.

Facebook is also said to be in discussions with Palm and Motorola for similar partnerships.

In the UK, social networking site Bebo announced that O2 would be its first partner for its Bebo Open Mobile programme, which offers mobile networks a suite of tools to deliver Bebo to mobile handsets.

The two companies soft launched the O2 version of the Bebo mobile platform in late December, resulting in a 60% growth in traffic in just four weeks.

The new partnership will see further collaboration between the two, including access for O2 customers to directly receive Bebo alerts and updates on their phones through short code.

Antony Douglas, head of content at O2, said: "We know how important social networks are to our customers and have seen huge traffic growth to Bebo and other social networking sites over our portal.

"Becoming a Bebo Open Mobile Partner will further enhance the experience for our customers."