O2 lurches into MySpace

So much for Vodafone's 'exclusive'

Posted in Mobile, 4th October 2007 13:30 GMT

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O2 is offering customers access to their MySpace accounts, only eight months after Vodafone announced its exclusive with the Murdoch-owned portal.

O2 is suspending data charges for November and December, after which the mobile operator suggests you take advantage of its "unlimited" data tariffs.

Vodafone users have been able to access the mobile version of MySpace since March, and in the USA free access to MySpace Mobile (supported through advertising) was announced last month, though AT&T users still have the option of paying a couple of dollars a month to avoid that.

Using desktop-style MySpace pages pushes mobile browsing to its limits - navigating through graphic-laden trivia is hard enough on a desktop and few handheld devices can even attempt it - so MySpace Mobile offers a simpler interface.

Mobile access to social networking is being touted as the application that will drive mobile data usage to the levels needed to pay off those 3G licences, though with various third parties offering applications that interface with MySpace, while bypassing the advertising, popularity may not transfer into profitability. ®

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