Facebook-Direct Phones — and Facebook Right On the SIM 113
An anonymous reader writes "Gemalto, a Dutch digital security company, has announced Facebook for SIM at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The company's software development team has effectively shrunk Facebook down so that it fits onto a standard SIM card, enabling anyone with a GSM phone to enjoy the service even if without a data plan. In fact, the company is claiming the Facebook application is compatible with 100 percent of SIM-compliant mobile phones. As a result, it works on prepaid as well as on subscription-based mobile plans. In doing so, Gemalto is offering Facebook to millions of mobile phone users regardless of their handset type. Facebook for SIM doesn't require a data connection because it taps into a handset's SMS connectivity to allow the user to interact with the service; users can sign up for Facebook, log in directly, and even check out friend requests, status updates, wall posts, and messages, all via the dedicated SIM application." And if that's just a bit too Facebook-centric for you, a notch down are two phones from HTC just announced in Barcelona, the Salsa and the ChaCha, with dedicated Facebook buttons.
Ow, ow ow. (Score:4, Insightful)
This article makes my head hurt...
What? What does that even mean?
The difference? (Score:4, Insightful)
Well I don't know how it is in the EU and other countries, but here in the US the consumer gets shafted on SMS fees. Last time I checked it was still $19.99 at a minimum for unlimited SMS messages for most carriers (with fine print stating that out of network messages are priced differently). It's the most ridiculous markup I have ever seen and the sheep continue to pay it. The markup is not infinite of course, but I would claim that it is at *least* five 9's.
The data plan for my BB is $29.99. Verizon's minimum plan with unlimited mobile to mobile messaging is $10 (which more than likely does not apply to Facebook's SMS), and $19.99 for 5,000 texts and unlimited mobile to mobile SMS.
The tone of the article would seem to suggest that Facebook on SIM would allow a person to bypass a data plan and save money bringing Facebook to a wider audience.
What blows me away is that it would seemingly generate a large volume of messages and where I live would ultimately cost more than the data plan, in addition... to you not having a data plan.
Re:Ow, ow ow. (Score:5, Insightful)
It probably should read:
"shrunk [a program to access to the] Facebook [API via SMS] down so that it fits on a SIM" ... but I guess it's pitched towards non-technical users?
Re:More data for Zoidberg, er Zuckerberg (Score:5, Insightful)
every number I dial, every contact I have, every app I have installed, every text message or email I send or receive, everywhere I go via the GPS receiver, every web page I visit, every photo I take
Might want to read the article, buddy. It's an implementation of Facebook's SMS API at a SIM level. It doesn't report anything, unless you, the user, uses it to explicitly send a message to Facebook.
"But that's paranoid! Facebook would never do that!"
Last I looked "Gemalto, a Dutch digital security company", wasn't Facebook.
All this without permission, or in stark contrast to denial of permission, automatically and silently.
Now you're just pulling things out of your arse.