WeROK, a Wi-Fi powered mobile portal including "low-cost" texting and free mobile phone services, has been announced.

Coming at Symbian S60 3rd Edition phone owners, the service, from ROK and WeFi offers the afore-mentioned low-cost SMSing, mobile email services, free-streamed mobile TV and mobile social network services.

WeROK's internet connection is powered by WeFi, the community-driven global Wi-Fi network that automatically connects to the best Wi-Fi spot whenever available.

Microsoft, Yahoo and even Google? They haven't had much luck building a homegrown success. The big names in social media, from Facebook to Twitter and MySpace to YouTube, were all created by little guys.

There are plenty of possible reasons, all of which could be debated to no end. But past doesn't necessarily have to be prologue and an interesting new product from Microsoft called Vine has some thinking that the Redmond software company could have its first social media hit on its hand.

With the rise of the status update has come a smattering of sites that let you update your status everywhere. Newcomer Quub , which launches in public beta today, is a web-based, desktop (coming soon), and mobile (currently just Android and BlackBerry) solution for those of us who’d rather have a simpler way to update our status across our favorite networks. Quub is perfect for the status update impaired or social network newbie, who may need a little hand-holding. It’s especially handy for those who’ve yet to explore updating their status…

Carticipate is a cool mobile application for the iPhone that provides a location-based platform for ride sharing. As a driver, you first enter where you are going and when, the number of seats you have available and if you are a serial killer. Just kidding, although the safety and comfort factor of carpooling with strangers is a small hurdle that will have to be overcome.

Symbiotic Media Consortium - www.symbiotic.co.ke, a hybrid technology and marketing firm based in Nairobi, Kenya has released East Africa’s first mobile social network – Sembuse (www.sembuse.com). Sembuse allows users to communicate cheaply at 50 Kenya cents (USD 0.006) per message using the SMS (Sembuse Messaging Suite). With conventional text limited to 160 characters and an average cost of Ksh.3.50 (USD 0.043), Sembuse gives 1,000 characters per SMS at a fraction of the cost of conventional text, allowing unprecedented savings and value addition. Also in the event that the person you wish to reach is not on your Sembuse network, users can use regular text at a subsidized rate of Ksh.2.50 (USD 0.031)to any GSM network in EastAfrica

A new open source project has been developed to help local online users that don't have high-end smartphones. TwitterNeni empowers Guamanians to get involved with the social network Twitter while on the go - being a local SMS gateway that's 100% free to use for Twitter members with a mobile device through any of the local wireless carriers - DOCOMO Pacific, GTA TeleGuam, IT

"We've seen greater user engagement in MySpace mobile applications than we have on the mobile web," Faith said. "Smartphones are creating a culture of expectations among users." In November 2008, MySpace announced its integrated mobile app customized for Research In Motion's BlackBerry smartphones generated more than 400,000 downloads in its first seven days of release, an all-time high for both MySpace and RIM in terms of first-week downloads.

According to Faith, 32 percent of MySpace's mobile page views derive from users accessing profiles--19 percent originate from users browsing photos, while another 19 percent are devoted to reading messages. By contrast, friend requests make up just 1 percent of mobile views.

I had the opportunity a month or so ago to moderate a CTIA panel of really neat people who wanted to talk about mobile social networking. Panelists ranged from execs from online gaming companies to those who operate online walled gardens (around dating and gaming and just general networking) to a company that aggregates mobile social profiles and makes it easier for publishers to reach them with relevant content.

At the AlwaysOn Summit at Stanford University, moderator Adam Zawel of INmobile.org leads a discussion on mobile social networking. He asks the panel if the trend will be slow to progress in the United States versus other parts of the world.

My hunch: It’s probably like the rest of the wireless industry. The U.S. will lag as usual.

With social networking websites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter gaining popularity every day, it's no surprise that mobile social networking is on the rise, too.

A number of today's mobile phones and devices are now equipped with internet access so people can now gain access to these websites with little or no barrier. In fact, some cell phones are even designed to make visiting a social networking website easier.

Texts and phone calls are dead - if you spend more time using Facebook than you do tapping out texts and barking into your handset , you need a phone that’ll keep you in touch, no matter which website, network or phone your friends use.


3 is the only network with a phone that’ll do just that, it’s called the INQ 1 and for £15 a month it’ll replace your computer and keep you in touch better than any other device in the world.

Buongiorno has announced the official launch of peoplesound, it’s new mobile social network. Known as “blinko” when it was in beta, Buongiorno claims that the new network is the “evolutionary” link from computer-centric to mobile-centric social networking.

With social networking websites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter gaining popularity every day, it’s no surprise that mobile social networking is on the rise, too.

A number of today’s mobile phones and devices are now equipped with internet access so people can now gain access to these websites with little or no barrier. In fact, some cell phones are even designed to make visiting a social networking website easier.

Groundbreaking new mobile and web service helps users share, synchronise and backup mobile content online, bridging the gap between mobile and web.

vufone’s key features include:

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Share: Users can automatically upload and send their camera phone images and videos to their favourite social networks like Facebook, Flickr, Picasa and soon YouTube and Twitter with one update.
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Synchronise: Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar meetings, tasks and contacts can be automatically synchronised with user’s mobile phones.
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Backup: Valuable mobile phone content like SMS messages, calendars, photos, videos and Smartphone documents can be easily safeguarded through regular and automated backup.

With mobile phones slowly becoming commodity nowadays, it’s not hard to imagine a day when today’s high-end smartphones will cost $100 or even less. The only thing that will make the difference will be in the software and services, handset maker or carrier provides with the device. That said, I’m not surprised to see virtually all major handset manufacturers entering the world of services, to compensate on shrinking margins and further develop brand awareness among its customers.

sevenload.com, one of the world’s leading social media networks for videos, photos and Web TV content, and Friendster, Inc., a top 20 global website based on traffic and the

Name: Shopseen

Quick Pitch: Social shopping for local shoppers. Post pics of interesting products, find out what’s available around you now and earn gift cards to the best local stores.

Genius Idea: Shopseen turns the shopping process into something that’s not only personal but social in nature, with the end result being a great way for shopaholics and window shoppers to share, like, and comment on each others experiences.

In the live-streaming wars, mobile service Qik has a new weapon in its arsenal: integration with Facebook's video player.

Thanks to Facebook Connect, Qik members can now automatically upload their videos to Facebook, set their status messages to link to the video on Qik when they start live-streaming, and have the update show up in their news feeds. Windows Mobile smartphone users (non-touchscreen) can also selectively upload Qik videos to Facebook, an extra feature that the company hopes to roll out to other devices soon.

T-Mobile USA, Inc. Friday announced the newest T-Mobile Sidekick LX, featuring 3G for faster data speeds and enhanced mobile access to popular social media sites. The Sidekick LX, which is available for pre-order now via a Web-only pre-sale for existing T-Mobile customers also provides improved video capabilities as well as GPS-enabled Live Search. In addition to the new features, the Sidekick LX boasts its iconic swivel design in two new colors — orchid and carbon — and features the sharpest screen and thinnest profile ever delivered on a Sidekick.