Social-networking untethered

Now MySpace can be wherever its users are – as close as their cellphones. On their phones, actually. Earthlink and Korea-based SK Telecom just launched a joint-venture mobile service called Helio, the Associated Press reports. Targeting "young, connected consumers," the service includes text, photo, and video messaging; a "presence" feature that lets MySpacers know when friends are online; multiple personalization options like "Animated Screens and Rings from major music labels"; the ability to post directly to their MySpace profiles; and – for fashion-conscious users (e.g., "sleek, black Hero, or pearlescent") - the option to sync their address book over the air from phone to phone if they're going for a different look every day. All that and 1,000 anytime minutes for $85/month (the cheapest package). The phones themselves, "Hero" and "Kickflip," "will cost $275 and $250, respectively," the AP says. Downloads are additional – games $5.99 each, music videos $2.49. Gives new meaning to the message, "talk is cheap." Parents will also be thinking about how this very mobile social-networking affects "parental controls."