Android social networkers on the go can now enjoy an updated Facebook app that adds Groups and Places—features added to the PC version over the course of the last few months—as well as an improved notification system. It isn't a radical departure from the version that came before it, but Groups and Places give users new toys to play with, and the new notifications (which are now integrated into the app itself, instead of sending users to Facebook's mobile site) brings much-need cohesiveness.
Interface
Once you've download and launched the app, you're treated to an easy-on-the-eyes blue-and-white color scheme with a layout that's very similar to the Apple iPad version—the app features three rows of icons that let you quickly access News Feed, Profile, Friends, Messages, Events, Photos, and Requests (oddly, Chat, which has been a staple of the iPhone version is still, sadly, absent here).
Beneath the main icons is a strip that houses thumbnails of the latest photos and videos your friends have posted to the social networking site—it's a nice touch that the iPhone version lacks. The upper-right section of the app has a magnifying glass that lets you search for you search for Facebook contacts when tapped, and the word balloon icon takes you to the News Feed where you can see all your friends' updates, and post your own (including images).
Overall, these features will be familiar to event he most casual Facebook user, but the Groups and Places icons, recently introduced to the desktop version of Facebook are the new faces here.
Groups and Places
Groups lets users create a public or private page based on a topic or event, and then invite other users to post media, collaborate on basic documents, schedule events, and comment. I created a "Testing Testing" group on my PC that synced over to my handset when I opened "Groups." There I could see the new group, but when I entered it I received an error message stating "cannot fetch the user data at this time. Please try again later." Unfortunately, this happened on every occasion that I tried to access the group.
Places is a location-based feature that lets Facebook users "check-in" to a business or other locations, and then post and media about that location. Tapping the Places icons left my friend's most recent check-ins, and I could add my own location and description after hitting the Check in button. Unlike Foursquare, Facebook also allows users to check their friends into a place, if the ability to do so isn't nixed in privacy settings.
Some Notification Improvements
The new Android app improves on the previous build's sloppy notification implementation by keeping the updates within the app—users are no longer bounced over to Facebook's mobile site, which keep things not consistent, but convenient. The app still lacks push notification; a Facebook note was sent to my e-mail notifying that someone left a comment in my created Group, but I didn't see the actual app notifications until I fired it up again a half hour later.
Should You Use The New Facebook Android App?
Quite simply, yes. If you're using the current version of Facebook, upgrading is a no-brainer as it adds new features and improvements that weren't in the older build. The push notification and chat omissions are still headscratchers (the iPhone version has the leg up here), but if you don't mind those absences, it's a very solid social networking app.
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