devora
"Facebook iPhone App = Facebook Minus the Clutter"
Social media for PR and marketing professionals
Facebook iPhone App = Facebook Minus the Clutter
-
Jan 17, 2010
- by devora
- posted in iApps
Rating:
I'm not the most avid Facebook user, but I was totally blown away by this app when I first got it on my iPhone 3GS a few months ago. After playing around with it for just a few minutes, it's easy to see why this is one of the most highly rated apps in the app store, and why such a big deal was made when Facebook developer Joe Hewitt, the man who pretty much single handedly put together this app, announced that he would stop working on this app stemming from frustrations with Apple. Fear not, though, other Facebook developers stepped in and have been maintaining what Joe Hewitt created well.
+4
While most well-established websites create mobile apps to supplement their website, as just a mere on-the-go pacifier until the user can make his or her way to a computer, Facebook's is so much more than that. In fact, so much more that -- surprise surprise -- I actually prefer using the app on my iPhone over the website. The user interface is very sleek and compact, and everything about it seems like it would be very intuitive to the average Facebook user. It just clicks right away.
When I visit the website, I don't really care for what's going on in the bars to the left and right of the page; I only look at the feed in the center, and even then, I only look at certain things within that feed. For instance, I pay attention to status updates and other picture, video or link posts, but tend to gloss over who became friends with who or fans of what. Well, lucky for me, the app cuts out all of the latter and only shows the former. Same goes on profile pages, too. The app is Facebook, except succinct; to the point. Pretty much Facebook minus the clutter.
- Homepage Grid -- This grid takes me straight to all the places on Facebook that I would want to go to, including the news feed, my profile, friends, pictures, inbox, friend requests, etc.
- Favorites -- If there are certain friends whose pages I visit the most, I can make a shortcut to their page on the grid.
- Notifications -- Right at the bottom of the page and straight to the point.
- News Feed -- Like I said, uncluttered. And this may seem like a little thing, but I absolutely love how when I click on a friend's profile, link, or view the comments on a post in the news feed, I can go back to the news feed without having lost my place.
- Like -- Liking posts is more fun than ever! Okay, it's not that fun, but it's slightly more amusing.
- Friends -- Friends are displayed in a super compact, organized fashion. If my friends have their phone numbers on Facebook, I have the option to call them from the app, too. Fanpages, groups, birthdays and events are also organized in such a way.
- Viewing Photos -- The photo viewing feature is far superior. They can be scrolled through just like in the iPhone photo gallery, and they can be zoomed in and out.
- Uploading Photos & Videos -- Uploading photos is pretty fun, too. They can only be done one at a time though, so think of it as twitpic or something. The coolest part is being able to tag people on the spot. Same can be done with videos, too.
- Push Notifications -- Certain notifications can be pushed and the user can choose which ones, including messages, wall posts, friend requests, photo tags, etc. Not sure how much battery this feature gobbles up, but it's nice to have the option.
- Sync -- Users can sync up their phone contacts and Facebook friends, including adding Facebook photos to contacts, and having Facebook friends' homepages be made to their Facebook page. Some issues about privacy have been brought up, but I say if you don't want someone to have your information, then it probably shouldn't be posted on Facebook, or your privacy settings should be edited so that only select people can see certain information.
There are a few of downsides though -- I can't search for new friends and groups (Update: scratch this former comment because @thomas666 just schooled me on the "Everyone" and "Pages" tab in the comments section. Mind blown once again!) and I can't share links and Youtube videos the same way that I do through the web. If I wanted to stop seeing certain users/spam in the feed, I can only hide or delete them on my computer. However, those are no biggies for me at all.
I would rate this app a +5, but it's hard to rate such a piece of technology so highly when I know that it's going to be rapidly changing, hopefully and most likely for the better, so a +4.5 it is. Who knows what they have in store for us next. I think whoever's working on Facebook's site should have a chat with whoever's working on Facebook's iPhone app and get some pointers; the website could use a few of these features ;)
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Quick Tip by TheBox193.
March 12, 2010
Need to add functionality. But is awesome.
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Quick Tip by devora.
March 06, 2010
Best friggin' iPhone app out there! So much better than the website.
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Literally the best iPhone app I've ever seen. Go Facebook!
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Quick Tip by MelissaAq.
January 28, 2010
Overall a great app but it HAS been quitting on me unexpectedly lately. Time for another app update, Facebook...
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About the reviewer
devora (devora)
Ranked #1
Ranked #1
When I'm not Lunching, I'm a jeweler, and an all around, self-proclaimed web geek. My passions include social media, the interweb, technology, writing, yoga, fitness, photography, jewelry, fashion, … more
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About this product
The Facebook iPhone website was launched August 2007 and as of July 2008 over 1.5 million people use it regularly. A free application for the iPhone and iPod Touch named "Facebook for iPhone" was launched July 2008. Version 2.0 of this app was released in September 2008 and featured improved services such as being able to respond to friend requests and notifications. Version 3.0 was released in August 2009 and added features such as events, and uploading video with a iPhone 3GS.
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I like the "Sync" feature too. It's not in the WinMo app, but it IS part of the HTC phone interface so all of my contacts have the FB pic and I get their "Updates & Events" in the contact cards. Facebook is the great uniter of technology!
Thanks for a complete review that is also a good read. You have a knack for doing that consistently.
Do you use this app?
And don't worry, food's never too far behind! ;D