After speculation of the social networking giant being in talks with the mobile-only instant messaging network, WhatsApp, to acquire it, and WhatsApp eventually refuting it, Facebook has now launched a revamped version of its mobile messenger app, Facebook Messenger, that allows users to sign-up for the service, even if they don't have a Facebook account. What's more, the messenger can check the user's phonebook for numbers which are associated with his contacts' Facebook accounts, and display them as contacts which can be messaged via the Messenger app. Interestingly, the service has only been rolled out on Messenger for Android, first in India, Australia, Indonesia, Venezuela and South Africa, with other countries to follow in the near future. Users can sign up for a messenger account with just their name and phone number, and they can send messages to their phone contacts instantly. The Messenger is free to download, and it uses existing the phone's data plan. Note that people who don't have the Messenger app on their phone but have a Facebook account and show up on the Messenger list, receive chats and messages sent to them wherever they log into Facebook. We tried using the app on a Galaxy Nexus, and were able to sign-up with our phone number in a couple of seconds. Just like WhatsApp, the messenger verifies the user through a numeric code, sent via SMS. The app then automatically started scanning our phone book and added contacts who're on Facebook, even though they're not connected to us on Facebook.…
