Vodafone live! is the brand name for the multimedia portal service of mobile phone operator Vodafone, which was initially developed by Japan's J-Phone under the J-Sky brand. Vodafone acquired J-Phone including J-Sky in 2001–2002 and changed the name from J-Sky to Vodafone Live! in 2003.

The service is marketed extensively, using stars such as soccer player David Beckham and singer Robbie Williams.

While the service itself can be looked at with any WAP browser, Vodafone live! handsets marketed by the company integrate the service with each handset's core functions. All handsets include a color screen, a digital camera and the capability to send and receive email, SMS and MMS messages.

The service and its content are modelled largely on NTT DoCoMo's successful i-Mode service and Vodafone Japan's (formerly J-Phone) J-Sky service.

Vodafone Live! works by way of a system of version releases. Each mobile operator upgrades their Vodafone Live! implementation to the latest version. What makes this particularly effective is that the amount of research and development undertaken by Vodafone Live! globally, is much more than a single operator could undertake - and yet the benefit is shared amongst all the operators.

Vodafone Live! concludes global content deals through their Paddington office in London. These global deals offer benefits to the local operators who would not ordinarily be in a position to conclude such a deal on their own.

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Pocket Gamer's walkthrough of Vodafone Live!'s games portal
• Vodafone to end Advertising relationship with David Beckham