Facebook for Every Phone unveiled

Facebook. On a phone. We're living in the future.
Facebook. On a phone. We're living in the future.

Facebook has announced a new version of its mobile application specifically designed for non-smartphone users.

The idea is to make the mobile Facebook experience more accessible to both users that eschew the smartphone lifestyle and those in the developing nations where the advanced mobile is less prevalent.

Facebook is making a big deal about the fact the new application (which works on Java-enabled feature phones) will be less data-hungry than other Java applications, or browsing to the mobile website, allowing those without data plans to save a little cash.

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Facebook has teamed up with Three in the UK to offer 90 days of free access to the new application - thankfully, unlike drug dealers, we doubt Facebook will offer a smashing site for three months then start mixing the Java equivalent of Persil into the mix once new users are hooked on updating statuses anywhere.

The new application will run on over 2,500 mobiles on the market already, and Facebook is promising more compatible phones in the future too - if you want to try it for yourself, simply enter d.facebook.com/install into your mobile browser to get going.

And if we've not painted a decent enough picture of the app, then why not check out Facebook's video of the new application in action? Be warned - it's running on a Nokia phone, so if you're one of the many commenters who have turned on the Finnish brand, steel yourself now.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.