Social Phones Offer Shortcuts to the Web

Microsoft, Nokia, and Motorola are among the companies releasing a new batch of devices that make it easier for users to post comments, photos, and tweets

By Olga Kharif

Mobile-phone makers are building social networking software right into the central controls of their newest handsets to win over the swath of consumers who spend nary a minute disconnected.

Microsoft's (MSFT) new Kin phones, due to arrive in May, stream social networking updates from sites like Facebook onto the phones' home screens, and let users post pictures to the Web by dragging them onto a special area of the Kin's screen. Microsoft Kin marketing director John Starkweather says the company and partners Verizon Wireless and Sharp plan to market the phones as aggressively as AT&T (T) and Apple (AAPL) flogged the iPhone when it made its debut. "You'll see a significant marketing campaign that'll rival, in the U.S., anybody," he says.

Nokia (NOK) on Apr. 13 announced three social networking handsets due in the third quarter that it says make posting to Twitter as easy as sending a text message. One of the phones, the C3, lets users update their Facebook status and post photos and comments to the site with a few clicks of a button. "We are looking to merge your phone with the social network," says marketing director Mark Thomas.

Motorola (MOT) sells four phones with social networking capabilities that can merge users' address books with their Facebook, MySpace (NWS), and Twitter contacts, and display texts, e-mails, and social network messages in a single in-box. Motorola plans to include similar social networking features in "most of our [upcoming] phones," corporate vice-president Rick Osterloh says, since the capability appeals to buyers of many ages.

Best-Seller Potential

Phone makers and retailers say these "social phones" could be their next best sellers as they tap into consumers' desire to stay constantly connected to friends on the Web. "The stars are starting to align here," says Scott Anderson, a senior director in charge of mobile-phone sales at Best Buy (BBY), which plans to carry the Kin. "The best-selling handsets [today] have the best social networking on them."

At a time when handset makers are getting whacked by the iPhone—Apple reported on Apr. 20 that sales more than doubled to 8.75 million units in its fiscal second quarter—social networking features could make their products more compelling. Nokia on Apr. 22 reported first-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts' expectations as the company cut prices to compete with Apple and other vendors.

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