Israeli Technology Allows Facebook Access on Cells

Who says you need a Blackberry or an iPhone to access Facebook on the go?

Facebook has launched a brand new application that allows owners of any cell phone, ranging from the expensive variety to the plain and simple type, to access Facebook, as long as their phone has internet access.

The application is based on technology developed by the Israeli company, Snaptu, which Facebook bought four months ago for $70 million. Snaptu was founded in 2007 by Ran Makavy, Micha Berdichevsky, Barak Naveh and Lior Tal who are all now employed by Facebook. The company’s logo can be found on the application’s interface in some options, such as when snapping photos and uploading them to the internet.

Upon its foundation, Snaptu’s original aim was to allow owners of simple cellular phones easy access to the internet, instead of just smartphones having this option.

“When we invested in Snaptu, we realized that most of the global attention is directed at the world of smartphones, but there are still two billion telephones in the world which are not smartphones,” Gili Raanan of the Sequoia Fund told Ynet. The Sequoia Fund had been a key investor in Snaptu.

“There are many people in the world who still want to use applications like Facebook and Twitter – even if they have a more basic phone.”

Facebook, which now has approximately 750 million users, has been suffering from a decline in users in certain places in the world where the market is saturated. In May alone, six to ten million American users ditched their Facebook accounts.

Facebook purchased Snaptu in order to try to enter markets in which there is a lack of access to computers and to reach target audiences which cannot afford smartphones.

“In many countries, the average person doesn’t own a computer but does have a phone with internet access,” said Raanan. “And because the interface is so bad and the connection is so slow, he can’t enjoy the progress and surfing experience wealthier users enjoy in wealthier countries.”

Facebook believes that Snaptu’s technology could help the social network access markets in which Facebook is not yet a key player.

“Snaptu is making it possible to access huge new markets,” Raanan explained. “I’m not sure every kid in central US has a smartphone, but he likely has a cell phone. The potential ability to suddenly reach hundreds of millions of users in Mexico, Brazil, India, Indonesia and China – is a very important thing for a company like Facebook.”