Last week SK Telecom started a service called “Doozle” that offers information tidbits at the top and bottom of the screen. Breaking news, regional weather forecasts, horoscopes and event schedules appear free of charge at the bottom. Entertainment news costs W2,000 a month and stock market news W3,000. To access the service, customers can log on to Nate, download and install the program.

However, only one or two handsets from each cell phone manufacturer are compatible with the Doozle service. An SKT spokesman said the company plans to make it available on more phones and extend the range of information to include sports, travel and computer games.

KTF already launched a similar service in April. Called Pop-up, it enables users to promptly check stock market and traffic updates and information on the area where they are.

The “Pop-up Magic Stock Market” shows real time stock market information, while an Internet search engine such as Daum and Naver enables users to check mail and search for information.

To access the service, customers go to Pop-up shortcut on a cell phone that provides this service, dial certain numbers and download the program. So far, 45,000 people have done so.

New personalized services provide animated screen characters that “talk” to their owners. SKT’s “1 mm” service features a character that will say, “Good morning, do you know how the weather is today?” in the morning and encourage owners to check their horoscope and similar information. The service is free through Nate.

The main reason the telecom providers are offering these services is to get more customers to use the wireless Internet and maximize advertising space. Even though it is still at an infant stage, mobile marketing has great potential, a KTF official says.

(englishnews@chosun.com )