In 2006, when Facebook embraced the mobile highway with the launch of Facebook Mobile, its users viewed it as just another new initiative of the social networking site. But now, with over 200 million users, Facebook is a force to be reckoned with in the mobile space.
In a new report, the independent London-based telecom analyst Ovum states that Facebook is much more than a social network and is better viewed as an increasingly rich platform for communications and content. Ovum’s principal analyst Eden Zoller says that though telecom operators tend to view it as a partner, Facebook’s ambitions to be the main platform of communication of any kind could conflict with their interest. In some countries, for example, the volume of text Messaging has been hit because of Facebook’s rising popularity.
Facebook has made several moves to improve user experience since it entered the mobile domain. It will soon integrate Skype for voice communications, and in November 2010 unveiled an email service that provides (@facebook.com) email addresses.
Meanwhile, Facebook Places is increasingly focused on location-based services, and the company’s Deals check-in service is making inroads in mobile advertising. Facebook applications dominate App stores across most smartphone operating systems.
There was speculation that Facebook would design its own phone, but these rumours were killed by the chief executive officer of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. The company seems to have decided instead on collaboration with handset manufacturers so they can integrate the social networking site better into their phones. That may be a faster way to grow. Ovum’s Zoller feels that the move would in effect make Facebook a social operating system.
Facebook has become a critical part of many people’s lives. Every day, millions of people post what is happening in their lives in the form of status updates.
Facebook Mobile, meanwhile, is continuously working to improve communication among people in various ways:
Facebook on handsets
Facebook believes that the mobile space is vital to its future and to meet user expectation. The company provides the necessary software to handset manufacturers who want to integrate Facebook on their operating systems.
HTC recently launched two phones called ChaCha and Salsa that have dedicated Facebook buttons, which means that users can access the social networking site with just one touch.
Besides, mobile users in India can find dedicated Facebook buttons on most of the low cost handsets such as Samsung’s Guru phones and Micromax’s Q5FB and Bling.
Facebook through operators
If your phone does not have a Facebook button, you can nevertheless access the site via SMS, MMS, a mobile web browser or even IVR (interactive voice response).
You can do a lot of basic things through SMS such as looking up profile information of people on your friend list, sending personal messages, posting on people’s walls, and adding friends to your network e but users have to keep in mind that an SMS message cannot be more than 160 characters long.
The MMS standard is an enhancement over the SMS feature — with no limit to message size. It allows you to send not only text, but also sound files, video and images.
For using Facebook through SMS and MMS, service providers usually charge premium rates of about Rs 3 per message, but of late some service providers such as Aircel are offering unlimited SMS for Facebook users at Rs 5 a week.
If your handset supports web browsing capabilities you can also experience Facebook through it. You’ll need to open your phone’s browser and type m.facebook.com to reach Facebook’s mobile-friendly portal.
In its web version Facebook has even taken care of subscribers who have a limited mobile Broadband plan by offering a stripped-down version of its site. m.facebook.com is a text-only version that enables people to view news feeds, comment on posts and send messages, though it does not allow users to view or post photos and videos.
For using Facebook on the mobile internet, users are charged standard wireless data fees – usually 10 paise for 10 KB of data, or if the user has opted for a particular data plan he will be billed according to that.
Recently, a new feature has been launched by independent players and telecom operators using which you can post Facebook status updates in your voice via IVR. To do this you need to dial a number assigned by your service provider and record a voice message, which will then appear instantly on Facebook as your status message. Since you don’t need an internet connection to do this, the service can be availed even with a basic mobile phone at standard call rates.
Facebook app
Facebook recently launched an app for feature phones which works on more than 2,500 devices from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and other marketers. The new application has been built in close cooperation with Snaptu, which is a free mobile application platform that runs on virtually every type of internet-enabled mobile phone. The app provides a better Facebook experience for its most popular features, including an easier-to-navigate home screen, contact synchronization, and fast scrolling of photos and friend updates.
From the Indian perspective, operators such as Airtel and Reliance don’t charge for data use when you use the Facebook app, which can be downloaded from m.fb.snaptu.com/f. However, some mobile users in India will have to wait until their operator provides this service.

Reliance Communications subscribers can now access premium content on Nokia’s Ovi Store without having to pay through their credit cards. They can now opt to include the billed amount either in their monthly phone bills or have it deducted from their pre-paid balance as per their data plans.

Reliance Communications is the first operator to offer the integrated billing option.

Ovi Store is a mobile content store for Nokia devices, and has applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, and web and location-based services.

Launched in 2009, Nokia’s Ovi Store serves about 28 million downloads per week, of which about 4.5 million are from India.

Prashant Gokarn, 3G business head of Reliance Communications, said, “Nokia and RCom have had a longstanding and an extremely fruitful association. This relationship brings exclusive apps through Ovi Store coupled with a convenient purchase process.”

V Ramnath, the director of operator channels at Nokia India, said, “The response from consumers in India has already exceeded our expectations with the number of weekly downloads crossing 4.5 million. We believe our partnership will help accelerate this further.

The banned BlackBerry and Android apps, UberSocial and Twidryod, have now been reinstated by Twitter after suspending them on Friday last.

In a press release, Twitter said, “We have given the developers of Twidroyd and UberSocial of BlackBerry (formerly UberTwitter) access to the Twitter API (application programming interface) again. Our initial review indicates that steps have been taken to remedy the violations for these applications.”

These third party apps are comprehensive Twitter clients, where users can post messages, send direct messages, view lists, shorten URLs and do mostly all that you can do on Twitter — such as sending and reading Tweets.

However, these third party apps will have a tough time considering that Twitter has now come up with official apps for BlackBerry, iOS, and Android. These third party apps have now responded by offering new features such as web page previews, skins and dual pane view.

Twitter had banned the Twidroyd, UberTwitter, and UberCurrent for violating trademark and privacy norms.

Twitter had then made sure the users get the message that the official apps were available.

One thing was for sure, third party apps were directly profiting from the existence of Twitter. It would be great if Twitter could come out and make things clear for all the third party App creators. That way everybody would know where to draw the line.

In a bid to make it accessible to a broad range of mobile users, Skype has launched a new low Bandwidth version of it in the market. It will enable telcos to offer the service even if they don’t offer 3G services.

Known as Mobile Partner Program, the new Skype program is a simplified operator program that utilises a purpose built client/server solution.

The solution developed specifically for operators, enables use of Skype on a broad range of handsets including smartphones and ordinary feature phones. Optimised for efficient bandwidth usage, it keeps users connected with minimal impact on battery life and data usage.

Operators, using the program, can offer their customers a fast, easy Skype experience that runs on a range of OS platforms covering more than 100 different smartphone and feature phone handsets.
Through Skype, customers can make free calls and send instant messages to other Skype users. In addition, users can make calls to mobile phones and landlines virtually anywhere in the world at very low rates.
“We see a growing demand for differentiated services from mobile operators across the world,” said Russ Shaw, vice president and general manager of mobile at Skype. “Our mobile operator program will give operators in emerging markets the possibility to tap into the global Skype community while providing a great user experience on a variety of mobile handsets.”

Skype has been getting increasingly popular with users, and it recently hit the record number of 29,527,474 users logged into the Skype ecosystem simultaneously. With the popularity of Skype, the ability to communicate even in a low 3G penetration area, Skype is poised to grow further but it can only happen if service providers take full use of this program.