One of the most important aspects of the road warrior lifestyle is that it highlights the value of mobile communication and computing. This means accessibility and connectivity anytime, anywhere. This is especially embodied by netbooks and, for those who prefer a more compact approach, smartphones like the iPhone and the steadily rising number of  Android and Windows Mobile handsets. And pushing the mobile accessibility trend are the readily available data plans from various mobile phone carriers and the barrage of mobile apps.

Not surprisingly, mobile is also one of the most popular means to access Facebook. Through Facebook Mobile, the social networking site offers a handful features such as an SMS Messaging functionality and native apps for various mobile platforms among others. It is also being used by major telco operators around the world and supports an expansive number of mobile device manufacturers including the Blackberry, Palm and Nokia among others in addition to the aforementioned triumvirate of the iPhone, Android and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile.

Barely six months after announcing that it has reached 65 million users, Facebook Mobile marks this week as a new milestone in its journals as it surpasses more than 100 million active registered users. And the numbers are still growing, says Chamath Palihapitiya, the Vice President of Growth, Mobile and International Expansion over at Facebook.

This growth in the social networking site’s user base can easily be attributed to different factors including Facebook’s consistently engaging features, its availability in almost every carrier in the world and the developing trend in the user’s online habits. Palihapitiya said that more than 80 operators in over 32 countries around the world are communicating over Facebook through their SMS feature. The site’s statistics page, meanwhile, also notes that users accessing Facebook Mobile are twice more active on Facebook compared to those who log in through desktops and notebook PCs.

“Through this growth, we have continued to try to improve the experience of these mobile products.”  Palihapitiya said. “We work with every major device manufacturer and many operators to ensure that we can provide the best possible mobile experience across the thousands of different devices, mobile operating systems and carriers you rely on.”

Along with the announcement, Palihapitiya also highlights some of the refinements they have done recently to enhance user experience. Included in these is their recent redesigning of their mobile sites touch.facebook.com (a site optimized for smartphones equipped with touchscreens) and m.facebook.com which enables users all over the world to access Facebook through any kind of mobile browser in more than 70 languages. Also mentioned is the addition of a URL shortening service called FB.ME for quick sharing of contents and access for services like SMS that have assigned limited number of characters per message.

“With every new feature or product we bring to mobile, our goal is to offer the same value and user experience that people know on Facebook.”

Tags: Facebook, Facebook Mobile, Marketing, Social Media, social media tools, twitter tools