Props to Facebook for listening to user feedback. When Facebook released its second major update to the Android app last April, it controversially added three, non-removable icons to people's app drawers. The icons were intended as shortcuts for users to post pictures or send messages via Facebook. Design-wise it was a bad, business-driven move, and within the first week users widely condemned the update. Android users have enough bloatware to contend with!
Facebook v1.9.3 for Android (free) omits the bloatware and fixes some bugs. As a result it's now perhaps the best mobile Facebook experience, compared to Facebook for the iPhone, Windows Phone, and PlayStation Vita. At the same time, loading pages feels slower than ever.
Android-centric Interface
Most of you know what Facebook is, so I'm just going to highlight all the mobile nuances. After installing the app, you're given the option to sync your FB contacts to your phone's contacts.
The app populates your screen with your news feed, apart from shortcuts up top for Notifications, Messages, Inbox, and Status updates. You can slide across to pull out a scrollable menu of shortcuts, including buttons for your profile, photos, messages, events, friends, apps, and groups. Facebook Chat is in there too, but it is essentially a replica of your inbox.?
Notably, in Android you can share content from within the app. This function is missing in Facebook for all other mobile platforms.?
Refreshing news feeds and loading data within Facebook for Android feels sluggish at times, but definitely less so with this update. I performed a simple real-life refresh test on a Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.0.2, with Wi-Fi switched on. It took 4 seconds to refresh my Facebook news feed in the Android app compared to 5.3 seconds after the previous update. This result is comparable to the iPhone 4 on Wi-Fi (4 seconds).
One thing the app could improve upon is implementing CodeGenerator, a spiffy mobile security feature that is only available to Android users?iPhone users have another workaround. CodeGenerator can be found within Account Settings, and simply prompts a user to enter a 16-digit code to log into Facebook from an unrecognized device. I couldn't activate it within the Android app, and was directed outside the app to set it up. A less determined user would probably drop the idea altogether.
Keep the Updates Coming
Despite the frustratingly slow load time, Facebook version 1.9 for Android is still the best way to access Facebook on an Android device. Other Facebook clients, such as Friendcaster, offer much more customization to your Facebook skins and such, but I don't know anyone who uses it. Facebook's Android client is already pretty darn good.
For more Android Software, see:
??? Facebook 1.9.3 (for Android)
??? LastPass Premium Password Manager (for Android)
??? Lookout for Android
??? NQ Mobile Vault 3.0 (for Android)
??? ESET Mobile Security 1.1 (for Android)
?? more
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