Facebook for Android Gets a Huge Upgrade
Facebook's official presence on Android features a revamped interface and a closer affinity with its iOS cousin.
A new update for the Facebook app for Android is now available on the App Market. Among the notable changes are a jump on Google's new Android interface bandwagon, and a newfound similarity to its iOS counterpart.
The new Android interface adds a title bar to the app, a move that follows the convention established by other high-profile software like Twitter, Google I/O, and the YouTube mobile site for touchscreens. The updated Facebook app also features a home screen very similar to its iOS cousin, though it ultimately lacks the Chat and Notes functionality available on the iPhone counterpart. However, Facebook for Android now displays images posted by contacts as a feed, a feature lacking on the iOS version.
Unfortunately, we found that the update still fails to address at least one issue. The new app still opens new notifications by opening the Facebook mobile site on the web browser, instead of loading them inside the app's own interface.
The Facebook app for Android update follows a recent hullabaloo centered around Mark Zuckerberg's comments on the iPhone.
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"The new app still opens new notifications by opening the Facebook mobile site on the web browser, instead of loading them inside the app's own interface."
True, lets hope they tweak that too
This is why I use touch.facebook.com for pretty much everything.
Also, the new update causes a partial wake lock. That means your phone will NEVER sleep while the screen is off, which will really screw up your battery power. People should downgrade until a fix is issued. Other than that, its definitely an improvement.
touch.facebook.com still blows the app away
I was really hoping that the 'major upgrade' was that it stopped working.
I downgraded. The battery issue was a bit bogus. I want full control over how and when my apps connect to internet.
It's a shame they still haven't implemented the chat feature. For now I use Meebo IM. I also don't understand why they can't open notifications from within the app interface, it seems like it should be easy! The only time I want to leave the Facebook app is if I long-press on a post or picture that I want to open in my browser.
More features, more bugs. So for all the extra good, there's more bad. Let's hope the next update adresses the two big issues here. The browser launch, and the phone sleeping.
" The new app still opens new notifications by opening the Facebook mobile site on the web browser, instead of loading them inside the app's own interface."
Wierd. I see a notification button in the new UI on the bottom that slides up with all the notifications. It's not using the web browser.