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Visual ringtone sharing service Vringo has announced a new Facebook application that lets Vringo users import their Facebook friends’ profile photos to their mobile phones, automatically matching them to friends’ phone numbers. When Facebook friends call one another, their friend’s photos will appear on their phone screens as a type of visual caller ID.
Is this cool or what? Well, it depends. Facebook addicts will certainly find the idea appealing, while on the other hand, those of us that still struggles to see the genius of Facebook won’t use Vringo’s service. However, it’s important to note social networks are here to stay and seeing them mashing with mobile is certainly a good thing for the industry.
Back to Vringo. Their free (at least initially) application is available for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile smartphones, with additional platforms to be supported in the near future. In order to start using it, jump over here and provide Vringo with your mobile phone number so they could send you the mobile component as soon as they can… Full release follows after the jump.
PRESS RELEASE – Vringo, the pioneer in visual ringtone sharing, has announced a new Facebook application that lets Vringo users import their Facebook friends’ profile photos to their mobile phones, automatically matching them to friends’ phone numbers. When Facebook friends call one another, their friend’s photos will appear on their phone screens as a type of visual caller ID.
“Vringo and Facebook are focused on sharing interesting content and experiences over digital media,” said Vringo General Manager and Senior VP–Content & Community Andrew Perlman. “By enabling Vringo users to connect Facebook friends with their mobile contact information, the Vringo experience becomes even more personalized and focused on users’ communities or social maps.”
The Vringo application enables Facebook users to update the photos on their devices through Facebook when friends change their profile pictures. Facebook users who add the application can also invite friends to become Vringo users.
The application initially will be offered free on a global basis. Vringo for Facebook is available for BlackBerry smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM) and devices operating on the Windows Mobile platform. The application will also be available for additional mobile devices in the near future.
The application can be downloaded from Facebook at www.vringo.com/AppServer/fb/. At the site, a Vringo user must provide his or her mobile number to download the application directly onto their mobile device.
Vringo’s Facebook application is an offshoot of the company’s flagship video ringtone service in which subscribers can also use their buddy lists to deliver rich media clips—”Vringos”—announcing the caller to the person being called, or to identify an incoming caller. With this service, users select their personal Vringo clips (such as customized avatars, cartoons and slide shows, as well as TV, music or video clips) through their mobile handsets or online. This (non-Facebook) version of Vringo can be downloaded at www.vringo.com.
Users can choose licensed content from providers such as Discovery Channel, Universal Music Group, Turner Broadcasting System and Agence France Presse; content they create themselves; or content imported from almost anywhere on the Web. Vringos can be shared with any subscriber in the Vringo community with a compatible wireless phone.
For further details about Vringo, to preview video ringtones or to see a list of supported handsets, please visit www.vringo.com.
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
