Facebook For Android: Official App On The Way
It isn’t any secret that Google and Facebook have butted heads in the past, so while Facebook apps are on virtually every mobile platform that makes a difference right now, there is no Official Facebook App for Android. This dates back to last November when Facebook dissed Android:
In fact, Facebook execs themselves were heard calling Android “vaporware” and saying things like, “Android sucks, it doesn’t matter.” The more official explanation from facebook was they would rely on 3rd party developers to make Facebook apps on Android.
But rumor now has it that an Official Facebook App could launch on Android Market as soon as this week. Why the 180? A number of reasons:
- Android has proved itself as stable
- Android has proved itself as an area of HUGE growth with nearly 1 to 2 dozen phones coming by year’s end
- Google supposedly “lent” Facebook an engineer to work on the application FOR them. Facebook themselves still (alledgedly) don’t have an Android worker.
The application will utilize Facebook’s new Stream API that provides virtually untainted access to the news stream and status updates. Unfortunately it will NOT be a full featured application as you can’t even access your inbox. However, you can expect the application to be updated with new features and better access as time goes on, especially as the Android installed masses grow.
Thank you to all the 3rd party developers who bridged the gap in the absence of an Official Facebook App for Android. Keep doing your thing!
[Thanks Andrew!]