Two months ago, social networking giant Facebook began a trial of a new GetJar service that lets consumers automatically download the mobile application designed for their particular handset. Since then, its install base has surged from 2 million to 10.5 million.

Cross-platform mobile applications store GetJar launched the App Download Page, a new service for mobile developers and content owners wanting to let consumers download the right mobile application for their mobile phone, regardless of device platform, model or carrier. To trial the service, the company worked with Facebook to help the social network navigate the increasingly complex mobile environment.

?The unique thing about GetJar, compared to the Ovi Store or Handmark or Apple?s App Store or BlackBerry App World, we support everybody, from Android and BlackBerry to Symbian and Java,? said Patrick Mork, vice president of marketing at GetJar, San Mateo, CA.

?For advertisers trying to reach as many mobile platforms as possible, GetJar is an ideal partner to help accomplish that,? he said. ?We worked with Facebook to trial the App Download Page to make sure it worked well and was simple for them.

?We placed a link on Facebook Mobile?s log-in page in early August, and 75 percent of Facebook?s 10.5 million mobile application downloads has come in the last two months.?

On Sept. 15, Facebook announced that it had surpassed 300 million members worldwide. Its mobile Web site is at http://m.facebook.com.

GetJar claims to have driven half a billion downloads of mobile applications.

The company provides more than 50,000 mobile applications across most major handsets and platforms to consumers in more than 200 countries.

GetJar does not support Brew applications, although it does support more than 1,700 handset types.

Photobucket, a standalone photo and video-sharing Web site, has confirmed that it will be next to roll out the GetJar service, which will start later this fall.

Like Facebook, Photobucket sees an increasing number of its Web users moving to mobile, but also faces the enormous challenge of handset fragmentation and platform proliferation.

GetJar's App Download Page provides mobile developers and content owners with a mobile Web page for a specific application that can be linked to from any mobile site.

When the mobile Web page is displayed on a phone, the device is automatically detected and the user is directed to the appropriate version of the partner?s mobile application for their phone located on GetJar.

If no application exists, GetJar provides a free Mobile Site Shortcut (MSS), which is a small application that launches any phone?s native Web browser and redirects it to the appropriate mobile site.

Developers upload and manage all of their applications on the GetJar Developer site at http://my.getjar.com/site/Developers.

The rapid adoption and growth of mobile applications and sites makes discovery and promotion of mobile properties a critical component of any mobile strategy.

However, with literally thousands of different mobile phone models and a variety of mobile operating systems and browsers, getting the user the right mobile application has become an increasingly complex problem for even the largest brands, according to GetJar.

?The reason we came up with App Download Page was to deal with this horrific problem in mobile, which is fragmentation,? Mr. Mork said. ?The questions we always get are ?What platform should we be making our apps for? Which handsets should we support? Oh my God, it?s so expensive.?

?We had to find some sort of solution that takes this whole fragmentation problem out of the picture for consumers to discover apps and for brands and agencies to promote apps,? he said.

?Facebook or Photobucket or Coke or Pepsi or MTV doesn?t have to worry about the platform, handset or carrier, and neither does the consumer, because we handle all the messy stuff in the background.?