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Facebook coming to non-smartphones in Africa

Facebook is teaming up with mobile phone maker Orange to provide its services to cell phones in Africa — of the non-iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android variety.

In its filing with the government announcing it was going public, Facebook said it had a problem with its mobile business.

Specifically, that it hasn’t found a way to make money with its mobile applications and mobile customers.

Well, a French wireless phone company says it may have found one way to help Facebook out.

Find new users in Africa.

The company, Orange, is introducing a technology that will allow African customers to access Facebook without an iPhone or other expensive smartphone.

In today’s Mid-day Extra, we’re joined by the BBC’s technology correspondent Mark Gregory.

It seems as though we may soon have a lot more people in the world spending their time social networking… perhaps in place of more important things we should be doing.

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