Facebookannounced on its blog that it's releasing "Facebook for Feature Phones," a mobile application for those that don't have smartphones. Facebook rightly points out that most of the world -- about 79 percent -- only use feature phones, and if Facebook wants to continue its strides towards global domination it will have to launch a low-tech app for the masses.
The app, made in cooperation with the London-based Snaptu, works on more than 2,500 phones from manufacturers such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson and LG. The app gives those with simpler phones an easier-to-navigate home screen, contact synchronization and faster scrolling.
Facebook has also worked with mobile carriers around the world to let users try the new app for 90 days without any data charges.(The United States isn't one of the 14 areas that agreed to a free three-month trial -- but are you really surprised? A cursory look at Verizon and AT&T shows that data plans range from $1.99 a MB to $30 a month, on top of any calling plan costs. My knowledge of American wireless carriers is that they are unlikely to give up that much easy cash for Facebook.)
Look for the free trial among these carriers: Dialog (Sri Lanka); Life (Ukraine); Play (Poland); StarhHub (Singapore); STC (Saudi Arabia); Three (Hong Kong); Tunisiana (Tunisia); Viva (Dominican Republic);
and Vodafone (Romania).The app and free trial will be available soon at Mobilicity (Canada), Reliance (India), Telcel (Mexico), TIM (Brazil) and Vivacom (Bulgaria).