Facebook Launches Low-Tech Mobile Application for Non-Smartphones

Still holding out until the iPhone is available on Verizon? You'll now be able to check your Facebook account from your phone even if you haven't joined the Android or BlackBerry elite. More significantly, a new low-tech application that the social networking site has built in coordination with developers and mobile operators will allow millions (billions?) of people in developing countries with basic phones to access their accounts.

Facebook's mobile app has been wildly popular with smartphone users--in fact, it is the most-downloaded free app for iPhone. However, smartphone users represent only part of the world's mobile users, while feature phones dominate the global market. "As of June 2010," writes Mashable, "feature phone owners make up a full 79 percent of all mobile phone owners. That number is even higher in countries like China and India."

That's why the world's largest social network has partnered with Snaptu to launch Facebook for Feature Phones, an app that will be available for download on 2,500 devices from the world's leading manufacturers, such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson and LG, to name a few.

Mark Heynen, Facebook's Mobile Program manager, announced the app's launch in a blog post on Wednesday afternoon. "The app provides 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," Heynen wrote.

Read the full story at the Huffington Post.