Mobile Phone Makers Key To Mobile Social Media

Mobile phones and online social networks are natural allies, but social sites must still work closely with handset makers to ensure a user-friendly consumer experience, according to a new Forrester report. That's because only the device manufacturers have the ability to tightly integrate mobile social features with a phone's core communication services including voice, SMS text messaging and an address book. The potential for social networks in partnering with phone makers is "enormous," according to Forrester. "Mobile phones' convenience, improving cameras and location awareness will make the mobile phone the dominant media creation device of the future," states the report titled "How Mobile Handsets Will Deliver 24x7 Social Computing." The study emphasizes that mobile is not simply a way for social networks to extend their Internet strategies, but offers unique features like GPS, touchscreens, video-recording and mexa-pixel cameras that don't factor in on the PC based-Web.