Gemalto (the world leader in digital security) has announced that they have created a new Facebook application that, rather than being installed on a particular phone, is installed on the SIM card instead. The app is capable of handling basic Facebook services like wall posts, friend requests, status updates and messages. The application is also dependent not on a data plan, but SMS plans. The presence on the SIM card also means that the application can be accessed on a post- or pre-paid plan. Notifications are handled by pop-up messages and alerts when new content is posted to your Facebook account.
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any word on when this application will find its way into the wild. Gemalto has also created a SIMessenger application that brings Instant Messaging services onto the SIM card in the same way that they will be bringing Facebook to the little cards. I can see parents eager to get something like this for their teens that "need" to get that extra data plan to check up on their Facebook friends. It will be interesting to see if more popular applications find their way onto the SIM card in the future -- if the SIM card doesn't disappear altogether, that is. Do you think something like this could be better than a Facebook phone, even without the rich features?
Via PhoneScoop
