Social networking is a big draw on all smartphone platforms, and Facebook remains one of the most popular social networks. RIM recognized Facebook's power by releasing the Facebook for BlackBerry application.
Interface and Use
RIM updated the Facebook application, introducing several new features. Facebook 1.9 is Unified Search compatible, integrated into Social Feeds, and has a dedicated inbox with Push Notifications. The new version has added thumbnail pictures, and added the ability to browse and search for Pages. Most importantly, RIM introduced the Places feature to the app, which allows you to Check In and share your location with your Facebook friends.
Facebook's Chat function was introduced long before Places, but Facebook Chat still has not been introduced into the Facebook for BlackBerry application. The popularity of Foursquare has pushed its competition to mimic the Check In function, and push it to mobile applications, which may be why Places was pushed out to the app before Facebook Chat.
The Facebook application stuffs a lot of functionality into a small space, but the application is still easy to use and navigate. On the News Feed you can view the entire feed or choose to only view Status Updates, Photos, or Links from the drop-down menu. On the Friends page, you can switch between Friends and Pages. Grouping those sets of similar items together saves space in the application, and has kept the toolbar from becoming too crowded.
This is a large application (1.4MB installed) and can take a few moments to open and load your entire News Feed or your Friends list. Once the application has downloaded all of the available News Feed, Inbox, and Friends list changes, it runs quickly.
Conclusions
Pros
- Integrated with Unified Search and Social Feeds
- Introduces Places
- Groups similar functions together logically
- Push Notifications
Cons
- Large application
- Facebook Chat functionality still missing
- Can load updates slowly
Facebook for BlackBerry continues to improve with each successive release, but is still missing Chat, which is core Facebook functionality. It is a large application, and if you have an older BlackBerry, keep in mind that it does take up a lot of space. Once RIM incorporates Chat and optimizes the application for speed, Facebook for BlackBerry will better reflect the Facebook experience on the Web.