Put A Facebook On Your BlackBerry (RIMM, GOOG, MSFT)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) has launched Facebook® for BlackBerry® Smartphones.  This announcement came out of CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment 2007.  This will allow BlackBerry software applications that enable fast, streamlined and optimized mobile access to the popular Facebook social utility using a BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry system architecture and Facebook Platform for Facebook users.

T-Mobile USA has been selected to be the first carrier to provide the new software application to its customers.

Mike Lazaridis, founder of Research In Motion, will join Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Facebook, to formally unveil and demonstrate the Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones application today at the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment show in San Francisco. This application will be available for download today.

Facebook users can wirelessly send and view messages, photos, pokes and Wall posts. The rich, native application goes beyond browser-based access, automatically pushing notifications to the user’s BlackBerry smartphone as friends and colleagues send notes, Wall posts or pokes. The application allows users to take a photo, upload it to the site with captions and tags; quickly and easily invite friends; manage events; manage photo albums; and manage their status while on the go.

This does have some business applications depending upon your business, but it may just end up being another time hog.  The take from 24/7 Wall St. on this is that the announcement will be a harbinger for many more similar announcements regarding other social networking sites with phone makers and with carriers.  This trend has already started as social networking has already started going mobile (MySpace-Helio and others).  Free weekly email sign-ups can be accessed here. 

Now the question comes down to whether this and other deals make a rumored and long-speculated investment from Google or Microsoft come with a higher price tag.

Jon C. Ogg
October 24, 2007

Jon Ogg is the editor of the 24/7 Wall St. Special Situation Investing Newsletter; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.