Facebook in mobile social networking talks with Nokia

Facebook and Nokia are reportedly in negotiations to forge a partnership that would embed elements of the social networking service into the handset giant's devices. The Wall Street Journal reports the two companies have been in discussions for months, but it remains unclear whether or not a deal will reach fruition--according to sources familiar with the talks, Nokia is uncertain if it wants to team with an established web force like Facebook or if it would rather build its own mobile social network from scratch. Financial terms of the potential deal are unknown.

So far, the firms have discussed several collaboration models, including integrating Facebook contact information with the phone's address book to enable users to determine the presence and availability of their friends. A potential sticking point of the talks: Exactly how much Nokia user information Facebook can access. Sources tell the Journal Nokia doesn't want any potential services to provide Facebook with the means to compile consumer data like web browsing patterns or purchasing habits.

The Journal notes Facebook presently is working with Palm to integrate components of its service into the device maker's forthcoming webOS platform--in addition, the report states Facebook also is in discussion with Motorola. A Facebook spokeswoman said only that the company is "dedicated to working with and developing partnerships with mobile operators and device makers all over the world."

Speaking last month at the 2009 World Economic Forum event in Davos, Switzerland, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the social networking behemoth now welcomes more than 25 million mobile users each month--in November, Facebook announced its mobile userbase had expanded from 5 million to 15 million since the beginning of 2008. According to unofficial Facebook blog AllFacebook's application metrics, the site now boasts more than 4 million daily active users from its top three mobile applications. AllFacebook states there are now 1.64 million Facebook for iPhone users visiting Facebook each day, followed by about 1.56 million daily active users via Facebook for BlackBerry. The general Facebook Mobile app counts just under a million daily active users.

For more on the Nokia/Facebook negotiations:
- read this Wall Street Journal article