MySpace, which in a few years expects half its traffic to come from mobile devices rather than desktop computers, is unveiling new deals with Palm Inc. and Nokia Corp. this week that it says will make it the first social network to support every major smartphone.
MySpace, a unit of News Corp., is also relaunching its mobile Web site with a sleeker design, better-integrated advertisements and the ability to configure e-mail photo uploads. The company is flexing its muscles in the smart phone market as more people come to rely on mobile devices to chat with their friends, access photos and update their profiles on social networks. Currently, MySpace says about 15 percent of its traffic comes from mobile devices.
"MySpace in general has become a communication vehicle for this generation, so it's natural that our users want to take that experience to the mobile space," said John Faith, vice president and general manager of MySpace Mobile. "Social happens when you are out on the go with your buddies."
MySpace, whose chief executive and co-founder, Chris DeWolfe, will be speaking Thursday at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, has lagged behind rival Facebook when it comes to total users. MySpace claims it has more than 130 million global users, compared with more than 175 million for Facebook.
