Nokia Gets Friendlier With FacebookNokia Gets Friendlier With Facebook

Nokia is partnering with Facebook to enable its phones to have deeper integration with the social network.

The deal is leading to an application called lifecasting with Ovi, and this lets users publish enhanced status updates directly from the phone's home screen. These updates can also include the user's location along with their status, which Nokia hopes will lead to a richer social networking experience.

The software will debut on the new Nokia N97 mini, and an included home screen widget means it will be easy to view and update. Nokia said the lifecasting app will be available for the N97 in October as a free update.

The companies have been in negotiations for a few months, and the deal is in line with each company's larger strategies. Nokia is the global leader in the mobile industry, but it is facing increased pressure from Web-centric platforms like the iPhone, Android, and webOS. The lifecasting ability is just the latest effort by Nokia to branch out to offer additional services like games, music, and other content to make its handsets more attractive.

About 70% of the more than 250 million Facebook users are outside the United States, and these users could be in markets where a cell phone is the primary computer. Mobile access is becoming increasingly important for Facebook, and it is already testing a mobile payment system in order to capitalize on these users.

Rival MySpace is also seeing the mobile space as an important growth area, and it predicts that nearly half of its members will be accessing the site by mobile phone in about five years. Additionally, there are multiple mobile-focused social networks like Brightkite and Loopt that are trying to gain traction by emphasizing location-based services.

Facebook and other social networks can definitely be time wasters, but they also have the potential to be useful tools for enterprise collaboration. information wrote a report on this issue, and it can be downloaded here (registration required).