Vodafone live! was the brand name for the multimedia portal service of mobile phone operator Vodafone, offering news content, picture messaging, instant messaging, email, and downloadable ringtones and games.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The service officially launched on 24 October 2002, originally in eight countries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The first compatible phones were the Japanese Sharp GX10 and Panasonic GD87, and the Nokia 7650.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
It was initially developed by Japan's J-Phone under the J-Sky brand; Vodafone acquired J-Phone in August 2001,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the J-Sky service in Japan was rebranded in line as Vodafone live! in 2003.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition, London-based Vizzavi which provided media content was taken full control by Vodafone (previously 50% owned)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in 2002 and the brand name was dropped, being integrated into Vodafone live!<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The service and its content are modelled largely on NTT DoCoMo's successful i-mode service.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The service was marketed extensively,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> using stars such as footballer David Beckham in the UK, Spain and Japan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of May 2003 there were 1.5 million customers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the UK market its main competing WAP portals were O2 Active and Orange World.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
While the service itself could be looked at with any WAP browser, Vodafone live! handsets marketed by the company integrated the service with each handset's core functions. All handsets included a colour screen, a digital camera and the capability to send and receive email, SMS and MMS messages. Vodafone live! had an icon-driven interface that was the same on all compatible models regardless of operating system.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In December 2004, Vodafone live! with 3G services was launched.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Vodafone live! was struggling against competitors i-mode and EZweb in Japan, and in 2006, it announced that its Japanese division will be sold to SoftBank Group. Vodafone live! was replaced there by Yahoo! Keitai.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In September 2009, Vodafone 360 and Vodafone My Web were announced to replace Vodafone live!<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>