Facebook - once condemned for its lackluster collection of mobile apps - has really been on its game this week. Following the updates to both the Android and iOS apps just a day or two ago, the social network has now released one for those running Windows Phone 8. Just like the refreshers released to the Big Two platforms, the new Facebook app for Windows Phone 8 brings significant speed improvements. More details after the break.
Not so long ago, it was deemed cool to slate the Facebook for iOS app. Zuck's team had mastered the art of ramping up its user base, but despite boasting the largest social network on the planet, could not master the comparatively simple task of delivering a functional app. However, when version 5.0 came along, things changed dramatically for the better thanks to a complete re-write using native code, and ever since, the hundreds of millions using Facebook on Apple's iDevice range have been able to enjoy the service with relatively few seams. Today, version 5.3 has been released, and as well as improved News Feed and image uploading, iPhone users will also notice that the Timeline has been worked on.
When you're running a service for over a billion active users, the emphasis on privacy and security are perhaps even greater, and Facebook has always been diligent in its quest to maintain the privacy of its extensive user base. Today, the world's foremost social network announced a bunch of new privacy features, as well as other general alterations in a press statement entitled "Better Controls for Managing Your Content". Here, we summarize what these changes mean for you.
The Windows 8 umbrella of products are definitely promising, but one thing that has been quite clearly lacking thus far is number and selection of apps. The interface itself is generally lauded by those using it, but apps have been a nagging issue, and as the world still waits for a Windows 8 Facebook app, one third-party developer has given a little false-hope, if you will. Windows 8 and Windows RT owners have been pining for official Facebook support, and while neither Microsoft nor Facebook seem to be offering any straight answers, an app entitled "Facebook" made an impromptu entry to the Windows Store today. Unfortunately, despite looking every bit the real deal, it has turned out to be the brainchild of Pearl Apps LLC.
Although Facebook is used every day of the week to upload photos and send millions of chat messages through the website and the company's various mobile apps for different platforms, there are still things that users simply don't like about the service which Facebook offers. Although it isn't brand new, one feature that seems to irk a lot of people is the read receipt status indicator that appears in Facebook Messages that shows when a message has been read, or otherwise commonly known as “seen”. If that bothers you, then it's now possible to install a simple browser extension to disable the feature when using Facebook chat through the website.
It has always been a subject of curiosity as to why Facebook decided to make its Messenger feature a separate entity on mobile devices. The fact the version 1.0 of Facebook Messenger was riddled to the core with bugs certainly didn't help, but while many had seen the move to separate the two as merely arbitrary or for purpose of vanity, it appears there is, after all, some method to the madness. The Android department of the Facebook Messenger app will soon be releasing an update fairly soon to users in select countries, and intriguingly, it will no longer require users to own an account to log in and get chatting. A direct challenge to the likes of WhatsApp and the traditional SMS app? We think so.
Although Facebook currently holds the title as the world's largest social network with over one billion active monthly members, it doesn't mean that success is guaranteed. The face of companies such as Facebook and Twitter are constantly evolving to meet the demands of their user base, so it stands to reason that Facebook will be continuously trying to innovate and add new technologies and services to their social experience, one of which is the Photo Syncing feature we reported on last week. Although Photo Syncing was initially in a private beta stage with a select few iOS users, Facebook have now rolled the service out on a large scale to all compatible iOS and Android devices using the official Facebook app.
Firefox may not be your browser of choice, but considering it has been placed onto a fairly frequent update schedule and is benefitting from a number of impressive changes and feature additions, then it could be worth checking out for those who are growing tired of using the likes of Google Chrome, Safari or dare I say it… Internet Explorer. Being able to stay in touch socially with through the likes of Twitter and Facebook is always important to a lot of people, so it may come as a surprise to some to learn that Firefox 17 brought with it a hidden feature that extends into Facebook.
It shouldn't come as any surprise that Facebook prefers that their employees fulfill their smartphone needs by using an Android device, after all, they originally took steps to convince workers to move across to an Android device back in August of this year. It makes sense that the Palo Alto company wants their own employees to extensively test their Android app variant, but it seems that they are once again attempting to switch employees over to Android in an internal campaign they are referring to as "Droidfooding".
We are all well aware that Facebook is the largest social network in the world with over one billion active users, but it has only been over the last few months that we have seen a noticeable change in the company’s strategy as the Palo Alto based network has moved to pay more attention to its vast number of mobile users. Updates to both the iOS and Android official apps have brought greater stability and increased browsing experiences, and it now seems that Facebook is going to be focusing on enhancing their iOS mobile photo upload experience by trialing a Photo Sync feature that borrows a fair amount of its power from the previously created Android functionality.
