Nokia to officially launch Mosh in June

Nokia announced its Mosh user-generated content effort will shed its beta tag and formally go live in June. Mosh--a.k.a. "Mobilize and Share"--emerged last summer, just weeks after Nokia acquired personal media sharing platform provider Twango; touted as the first mobile social network created by a handset maker, the mobile website promises to bridge the gap between mobile and PC social networking, enabling users to upload, share, collect and download a variety of personal and premium media. According to Mosh project leader George Linardos, the beta site has drawn significant interest from developers and consumers alike, drawing 12 million to 15 million unique users since August--an average of 100,000 visitors and 175,000 to 200,000 downloads a day.

"Mosh isn't about moving the revenue needle--it is about finding the things that will," Linardos told Dow Jones Newswires, declining to comment on the site's sales but forecasting it will break even by late 2009. Linardos added that Nokia is presently exploring different Mosh revenue models, including mobile web ads delivered via its Nokia Interactive division--the handset giant also plans to introduce Spotlight, a new program enabling advertisers to pay for brand placement within designated services and games. Also in the works: free, ad-supported mobile games delivering different pop-up ads each time a player initiates gameplay. "Nokia is making a big bet on evolving," Linardos said. "Mosh is out in front of that."

For more on Mosh's future:
- read this Dow Jones article

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