Orange World

Source: flickr.com

With “Social Life,” the mobile carrier Orange has released an application that works as a mobile networking aggregator, bringing together Facebook, Myspace and Bebo. The user can then work with all these networks via a single log-in from their cellphone. Photos and statuses can be uploaded, notifications can be seen, and messages can be sent and received. Status updates via cost-free SMS are possible, which might be valuable for those who fear data fees. The application can be downloaded at the Orange World portal.

Furthermore, Orange is developing the Orange Widget Player, which is a customizable interface that provides fast access to useful content and favorite applications from the Orange home screen, like sports, weather, and news.

Mark Watts-Jones, Head of Product Management for Orange UK, said: “With Social Life and Widget Player, we’re making it simple for customers to manage their favorite content, applications, and social networks at the touch of a button. Over time we will be looking to add more sites to the service—helping users to stay in touch with the people and content that matters most to them.”

Trend Potential: Orange is trying to ease the use of the mobile Internet for its clients, which is important for mobile devices. Smaller screens and missing typepads must be considered when creating a mobile site. The idea is good, but many similar projects already failed. As new social networks appear, a large amount of functions have to be handled, increasing the complexity of the aggregator. Aggregators also need a very good user interface, which many have tried to design but few have accomplished.