Pinterest, Telefonica Get Together on Android Widget for Customers

Pinterest is making a big splash pretty much anywhere it goes, but the question is, can it keep up its advance as it makes its way around the planet? A new partnership between Pinterest and mobile provider Telefonica is looking to answer that question by bringing out the new Pinterest Android Widget to customers across Telefonica's line of mobile businesses.

Subscribers in Vivo, MoviStar and O2 will all get a crack at the Pinterest Android Widget, which will be distributed exclusively on Telefonica devices. O2 in the U.K., however, will get the first crack at said widget, and it will be featured in both the Android Widget folder and the O2 Recommends listings. Plus, it will be the beneficiary of promotion efforts going on throughout several different channels.

Pinterest is developing a significant market in both Latin America and the U.K., making it likely to be a very popular addition to the Telefonica lineup. Reports indicate that the current versions of Pinterest have seen 130 percent growth in monthly active users in just January. The widget, meanwhile, looks to exploit this interest by providing an easy way to get from a home screen to Pinterest and pin a wide array of different ideas on a single-tap basis. Plus, new users will be able to get a look at the most popular pins, and the widget itself is meant to show off the most popular ideas around quickly and easily, whether it's new recipes, home decorating options, wish lists of new products or anything in that vein. The remaining businesses in the Telefonica family are set to get the widget later on, though specific dates aren't as yet available.

Google Play ranks the normal Pinterest for Android app at 4.7 stars out of five, and Google ranked the Pinterest app as one of the best that 2012 had to offer. Between that and the sheer number of users—and the implied interest that represents—it's clear why Telefonica looked to get Pinterest in. This access to a popular app on a larger scale than normal may well prove to be the kind of thing that gets some undecided users—or some less than satisfied users of rival services—interested in getting involved with Telefonica instead of with its competitors.

The full effects of Telefonica and Pinterest’s partnership will take some time to roll through the wider market, especially since the release of the Pinterest Android Widget is set to be done on a graduated basis. Still, it's likely that the widget's release will be well-received by its target market, and should prove to be a success for both parts of the partnership.