Facebook’s released a new version of its app for the iPhone. Version 2.0 of the app is closer to the full version in featureset, making up for the initial disappointment users must have felt about the first Facebook for iPhone.

CNet’s Webware noted that some key features were added to the app such as friend requests, notifications, photo tagging/captioning and inbox search. Webware blogger Harrison Hoffman found the app to be “more snappy and definitely has a better look to it”. He also said that this version was the one that a lot of people were expecting when downloading the first Facebook app, with many disappointed by the lack of wall posting as well as other missing features.

The changes make the app a far more compelling choice than just going to the mobile version of Facebook at m.facebook.com. The News Feed is now pretty much identical with the original Facebook’s, with complete updates on news, relationship statuses and other updates we’re used to. Users now can comment on the news and set options so they can choose which part of a feed they want to see.

Besides adding a whole lot more functionality, Facebook for the iPhone also got a user interface redesign. Perhaps this reflects Facebook’s own site revamp as well? Hopefully users take to the new app UI better than how many users have reacted to the ‘new’ Facebook. From screenshots, the new interface pretty much uses the iPhone screen optimally without too much clutter and everything neatly managed with tabs.

It’s a pity that Facebook, instead of creating a more solid app in the first place, decided to rollout such a sorry excuse of an initial app just to coincide with the launch. Though they’ve fixed all that in version 2.0, hopefully more iPhone developers won’t follow suit and create a solid app the first time around instead.

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 8:18 am under Free Software, iPhone.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Erna Mahyuni.
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