While I’m certain I’ve missed a lot of updates to the Facebook application, since my first review, the most recent version really has appeal. In the previous review, I was rather disappointed as the phones browser seemed to support more features at similar speeds. I had begun to recommend http://touch.facebook.com/ as an alternative, after the site became live a little while back. For me it has been about speed and accesibility. For the most part, I found that the mobile site would load quicker then the application could fetch the data and http://touch.facebook.com/ had a slightly better interface.
This has changed, with the newest version of the application being as fast as the mobile site and containing more features. The biggest feature for me, while a petty one, is the addition of the Facebook phone book. While it doesn’t merge the contacts with the ones in your phone, as per Facebook’s TOA, it does allow you to call people who have listed their phone number on Facebook from a quick menu on your home screen. What I’d really like to see is integration with Contacts, at least (for us G1 owners?). Either way, the feature is greatly appreciated.
As for functionality, I’d say that it really feels more responsive with a bit more pep. I could attribute the speed to T-Mobile’s recent upgrade to 7.2mbps, seeing 900kbs+ practically, however I think the architecture of the application has improved too. While the data comes quicker, navigating through the application itself has improved as much. Going from friends to view my wall seems almost as though the data is saved on the phone, despite having just posted a new status update. Other improvements come with the design, which strongly resembles http://touch.facebook.com/. This comes as no surprise though, as I imagine the design of both are a deliberate attempt to unify the user interface across mobile platforms.
If you don’t have the app, or had removed previous versions, it’s definitely worth checking out.
Leave a Reply