Ericsson explores social networking on Home Services

Aug

Ericsson explores social networking

posted by admin in Home Delivery

By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

SOCIAL networking is getting ever more confusing as new services are activated at breakneck speed. In the past, there was Friendster.com, then LinkedIn.com, MySpace.com, Flickr.com, and now Facebook.com. The growth phenomenon of social networking services is so fast people are just having a hard time monitoring their accounts one by one. So they have turned to social networking aggregators that make it easier to access all these networks.

Welcome 3GLifestore, a social networking aggregator created by Ericsson, a provider of telecommunications infrastructure. The company has been testing this online service for a year but has not opened it to the public. Only a select few Ericsson employees and business partners are able to access the site, which requires a username and password.

The company showcased 3GLifestore to some telecommunications providers in Manila.

Ericsson regional sales and business development manager Rahul Hukku gave a few reporters a glimpse of 3GLifestore.

But why would an infrastructure equipment provider develop an online application?

Hukku explained that Ericsson’s goal is to show online companies, telecommunications providers, and the public in general that integration is possible not just in one communications platform but in all aspects.

The idea is that by creating innovative services, companies will be able to think of new business models to maximize infrastructure usage, as well as increase revenue while providing the market with easier to use and enriching usage options.

Hukku said Ericsson is also helping strengthen the growing market for social network communities, which can be tapped by telecommunications providers.

“It is the realization of Web 2.0 and we want people to jump into it because they would benefit from it,” Hukku added.

In a demo, Ericsson showed that 3GLifestore is an online service that is largely a content aggregator for various blog services. A user can send or receive photos, videos, audio files and text files on a chosen platform, be it through the web or mobile phone.

But its main feature is a WAP version (a stripped-down version of the web for mobile platforms) allowing it to be accessed on a mobile phone. The mobile phone interface was created to become clutter-free and as easy to use as that of the Internet version. But
unlike other social networking aggregators, 3GLifestore will have editable pages to make it look more unique to the users.

Another main feature is streaming Flash video. Ericsson partnered with online video giant Youtube to “push” video into a mobile phone. The phone interface also allows it to run the Youtube video simultaneously with a webcam function through the phone’s front camera.

Despite it being an Ericsson product, the service is not limited to partner phones. It can be installed on just about any mobile phone that has sufficient Internet access.

He said 3GLifestore will be rolled out worldwide “very soon.” He did not, however, say if the company is already in talks with telecommunications providers in the Philippines.

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