AT&T and Verizon Wireless, USA’s leading carriers, introduce brand new applications whch will make it easier for their subscribers to access social networking on their handsets.
AT&T’s ‘My Communities’ service will costs $2.99/month, and Verizon’s ‘SocialLife’ application will costing just $1.49/month.
These services will allow the subscribers to access various social networks via single source. Both applications are developed by Intercasting Corp., a social networking and mobile media company that works with wireless carriers to offer web services on mobile devices.
The list of social networks accessible through both services include MySpace, AsiaAve, BlackPlanet, MiGente, FaithBase and GLEE.
The service will make it convenient for the subscribers to pst comments or upload photos all from one place.
“The problem with launching all this stuff is that it smacks a little of the walled garden,” commented Sanford C. Bernstein analyst, Craig Moffett. “Once you have a Web-enabled phone, and more people are getting those, you don’t need to have your wireless carrier manage this.”
Adding to which, neither of the services offers access to Facebook, which is second only to MySpace in the U.S. social networking market.
AT&T’s director of premium wireless content, Rob Hyatt, says that a service like My Communities will be very helpful to novice subscribers who are not familiar with the mobile internet.
“There are a lot of ways to get to a community, some easy, some not,” Hyatt explained. “This is organized for you and in one place.”

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