Facebook For Android… NOT?

• Rob Jackson
• 15 years ago

We’ve been waiting for this moment quite awhile – Facebook for Android has launched on Android Market!

At the end of July it seemed like Facebook for Android would launch any day… and that anyday is TODAY (or is it?) – here is the description from Android Market:

Facebook for Android makes it easy to stay connected with friends. You can share status updates from your home screen, check out your news feed, look at your friends’ walls and user info. Share photos from your phone and can even look up to 125 friends’ phone numbers from the home screen.

Some screenshots:

Here is the message you get when you first agree to the terms of service and log in:

Thank you for installing Facebook for Android. To get the most from Facebook on your phone:

• Place the Facebook widget and Facebook Phonebook Live Folder on your home screen
• Press MENU for more features
• Touch and hold items to open a menu of shortcuts
• Upload and share from the Camera, Gallery and Browser
• Customize a ringtone for Facebook notifications
• Shake the phone to refresh feeds

These tips can be found in the application settings.

The display is very clean and straightforward and the sharing options are quite nice. Initial reviewers were incredibly quick to jump on Facebook for not providing a fully featured app, for example this review from Matthew Wong:

Needs support for Inbox, Friends (With filters for on and off line friends), Facebook chat. Once added this will be an extremely power and useful app.

I’d agree that lack of Inbox, Friends and Chat is a let down but on the positive side – now Facebook for Android has room to grow! Better to have it now with limited features and gradual improvements then continue waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a completely final and finished product – right?

I’m really liking what I see so far and the widget an Live Folder are going to be AWESOME. What are you waiting for? Head to the Android Market, download Facebook for Android and LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

BUT WAIT. In the Android Market the “Developer” of the application is listed as Facebook… sounds official, right? Then why is the Email contact Facebook.Android@gmail.com? And furthermore, why does the app description on Facebook.com say it wasn’t developed by Facebook?

There are two possibilities:

1. This is a 3rd party developer wiggling their way into some attention by trying to “pose” as an Official App but trying to cover their butts with that comment. I hope Android Market wouldn’t have allowed them to use “Facebook” as the developer name!
2. It says not developed by Facebook because it was actually developed by a Google employee with Facebook’s consent… as initially rumored.

Which one is it? This story is going to get interesting – we’ll keep you updated on this exact post so check back!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]