Facebook: Every Mobile Phone Will Be Connected To Us

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Not satisfied at conquering iOS, Blackberry and even Windows Phone 7 devices, Facebook has now turned their sites upon a market seen as dead in the western world but still thriving in the east.

The Facebook for Feature Phones app works on more than 2,500 devices from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and other manufacturers, and it was built in close cooperation with Snaptu. 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.

We also wanted to make it available to as many people as possible. Similar to the 0.facebook.com site, we’ve worked with mobile operators from around the world to let you try this without paying for any data charges. (Official Facebook Blog)

This is a smart move for the social giant as there are still billions around the world lacking access to a decent computer, let alone a smartphone due to their expense (even with the hefty carrier subsidy).

Users will be able to test out the Facebook feature phone app free of charge for the first 90 days, after which carriers will then be able to bill users based upon standard data usage.

Embracing feature phones via Snaptu will also help Facebook compete against their frenemy Twitter, as the latter is already compatible with most (if not all) mobile devices globally.

If Facebook can find a way to expand their market beyond the western world, they could quickly swell past a billion users in order to become the pulse of the planet.

WordPress Ponders Redesign Of Nokia App

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WordPress (who previously launched a Nokia app in February) could be pondering a new UI for Nokia users (at least for those sporting the N900 smart phone).

I’ve been doing graphic design for the client for a few days now, and I’d like to show you something.

You already saw some early drafts for N900. Here are drafts for two views on Symbian touch. What do you think? (Nokia for WordPress Blog)

Thus far these are nothing more than photo shop mock-ups, although the layout does look rather impressive compared against the bland white background that is a standard for WordPress mobile apps.

Unlike most of their rivals, WordPress heavily embraces mobile devices, having previously launched official apps upon the iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones, as well as releasing an iPad app for bloggers on the go.

WordPress has not announced plans on whether they will embrace the blue redesign for Nokia smart phones (or choose another option instead), although redesigning the Nokia app could help WordPress conquer the mobile realm (as well as replace Blogger as the dominant blogging platform).

Finally, A Decent FeedBurner iPhone App! (Stat Fever)

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I know, there are several other FeedBurner apps out there, such as Ego and FeedCount App. But Stat Fever is not only selling for $1 (instead of $2 like its rivals), but also boasts a nicer user interface (with graphs on the side).

Created by Paranoid Ferret Productions, Stat Fever allows bloggers to see how many readers are subscribed to their RSS feed or email posts (via FeedBurner of course).

With a tap of your finger, you can check out feed stats over the course of a week or a year, as well as see how many feed clicks you received. [Read more…]

iPhone Plus Blogger Plus “Troll Hate” Equals Blogium?

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It looks like another BlogSpot app has entered the scene, this time from TotoCaster of Georgia (the country, not the US state).

Called Blogium, this app gives BlogSpot fans the ability to not only upload images to their Google powered blog, but also delete unwelcome comments from within the app as well (which probably means bad news for trolls and spammers). [Read more…]

Will EchoFon’s “Smart Push Technology” Change The Game On Twitter? And The iPhone?

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Of the 3 dozen plus Twitter apps available, very few of them support push notification. Even the “big 3” (Tweetie 2, Twittelator Pro and Twitterrific Premium) still lack push support, despite the fact that smaller rivals like SimplyTweet have already enabled them for their users.

While there are many apps out there with push notification, Echofon (formally known as Twitterfon) is the first that I have seen that uses what I call “smart push technology,” a feature that I wish every iPhone app had. [Read more…]

Move Over Google Analytics, The WordPress iPhone Stats App Has Arrived!

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When it comes to keeping up with the latest traffic stats for your WordPress blog, iPhone lovers had very few options outside of a host of Google Analytics—until now.

Menial (who is located in the UK) has developed an iPhone app called “Statistics For WordPress” that lets users of both flavors (self hosted and WP.com fans) to use the native WordPress.com stats package to monitor their traffic.

I was able to snag this app at $2.99 before it inflated to $4.99, so if you are wondering if this app is worth the extra $2, here are some pro’s and con’s before you consider spending more money within Steve Job’s playground.  [Read more…]

SimplyTweet: Push Notification Heaven For Tweetaholics

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After (almost) embracing the hype of Tweetie, I realized what was missing from my twitter experience was push notification. While TwitBird (formally known as iTwitter) was able to do this “half baked” for its users, what I needed was an app that did it regardless of whose service my friends were using.

Long story short I discovered an app called SimplyTweet (by Motion Obj), whose $5 price almost made me weary of spending even more cash within Steve Jobs playground.

Fortunately I decided to take the plunge—hence this review. :-) [Read more…]

Newsie: The gReader App For Impatient Bloggers (iPhone)

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After spending a couple weeks in Apple’s purgatory, it looks like Newsie has received Apple’s blessing and is now available for the masses.

Created by Instant Voodoo Magic, Newsie seems to be created for bloggers interested in reading their news NOW rather than waiting for the rest of their feeds to sync first (which can be a pain if you are subscribed to over 300 plus feeds).

Priced at 399 pennies, Newsie’s introduction may seem a little pricey to RSS geeks (both newbie’s and veterans), so if you are wondering whether or not this app is worth it, here is the good, the bad and the buggy about this app. [Read more…]

New WordPress iPhone App Out (Awaiting In Apple’s Purgatory)

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(Hat Tip: Jake Gold)

It looks like WordPress has submitted their new iPhone App–called WordPress 2–to the app store and are currently awaiting Apple’s approval before the app goes live.

(WordPress for iPhone) The result of months of effort by a team of designers, developers, and everyday WordPress users serving as testers, WordPress 2.0 for iPhone and iPod touch is a remarkable leap for those who blog with their mobile device. Sure, we’ve got a great new UI and some handy new features. But we’ve also made the app work with more setups than ever before, eliminating dreaded errors for many of you who might have had trouble before.

It will be interesting to see what features they have added since their initial release (note: this sneak peak may provide some clues), although hopefully they have considered adding video to the app, a feature lacking in the iBlogosphere.