Smart phones are becoming more prevalent, but they're not everywhere, while Facebook pretty much is. The social networking site has introduced a mobile app for those with feature phones, although the app is not yet available in the United States.
"We want people to have a great mobile experience no matter what type of phone they carry. Smart phones have offered better features for sharing with friends but aren't used by most people around the world," said Facebook program manager Mark Heynen in a posting on the site's blog.
The new Facebook for Feature Phones app will help "bring Facebook to the most popular mobile phones around the world," Heynen said. It "works on more than 2,500 devices from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and other manufacturers," and will provide a "better Facebook experience for our most popular features, including an easier-to-navigate home screen, contact synchronization, and fast scrolling of photos and friend updates."
A Facebook spokesperson said the best way for users to find out if their phone can handle the new app is by checking with their wireless carrier, and for starters, checking here.
Facebook users on various cell networks in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Sri Lanka and Dominican Republic get to start using the program immediately. Also on the list: Tunisia, where Facebook is credited with helping spread word of the civil unrest, and "bolstering timid citizens to break their traditional code of silence," according to a recent report.
Certain carriers in Canada, Mexico, India, Brazil and Bulgaria will make the app available "soon," although no date is specified, nor is there a date cited for those in the United States.
"I see that the good ol USA is being left behind, again," opined Carol Robshaw, in the comments area under Heynen's posting.
It may seem like everyone in the United States has a smart phone, and it's certainly heading that way. By the end of this year, a Nielsen report indicates, there will likely be "more smart phones in the U.S. market than feature phones," those without operating systems such as Apple's iOS, Google's Android, RIM's BlackBerry or Windows Phone 7.
Worldwide, however, most people are still using feature phones — and Facebook's efforts to cater to those users is a smart move for those without smart phones.
The mobile operators mentioned by Facebook are providing "free data access when using the new Facebook mobile app during the first 90 days after they launch." After that, it will cost, depending on the operators' plans.
