Preview: Facebook 3.0 for iPhone

If you ask me to pick my favorite iPhone applications, Facebook’s iPhone application is definitely at the top of my list. The application is simply awesome and that is why it can stay on the Top-25 list of App Store since its debut. Now, the developers behind this popular application push themselves even further and release an enhanced version of Facebook app for iPhone – The Facebook 3.0.

As of today, the application is not available on App Store yet. Noted by the Facebook developer on Twitter, he has submitted the new version of Facebook app to Apple for review. If everything goes fine, it will soon be available on App Store for free download.

The previous version of Facebook app (i.e. 2.5) was already an example of great iPhone application. But one usual complaint is that it only brings part of the Facebook experience to iPhone. Say, you can’t accept or create an event or view the full news feed. It’s just a stripped-down version of Facebook.

The Facebook 3.0 for iPhone takes a giant step forward to offer a total Facebook experience. It’s a lot more fun and looks really like the Facebook website (except some minor stuffs). So, what’s new in Facebook 3.0? While the Facebook app is still under Apple’s review and not yet available on App Store, I tried to give you a preview of the app and sum up all the new features as reviewed by PC Magazine and AppAdvice.

Home Screen

The home screen is totally revamped and looks snappier than before. It displays 9 squared icons (3 by 3 grid) that give you access to the most common application including news feed, profile, list of friends, inbox, chat requests, events photos and notes. You’re not allowed to customize or arrange the default icons but are free to add your favorite contacts or page to the home screen. However, for now, the Facebook app does not let you remove or edit the custom home screen. That means, if you have added any pages to the home screen, those pages cannot be removed. The only way to remove them is to re-install the Facebook app.

News Feed & Video Upload

The news feed looks similar to the old version but it now shows the same news content as the Facebook website. You’ll no longer need to go back to the web and check if you miss any news of your friends. There is also a slight improvement of the camera button. For iPhone 3GS users, tap on the camera button. You can now capture video and upload to Facebook directly from iPhone. Cool, right?

By the way, Facebook 3.0 also let you “Like” post or photos. Oh, that’s great to bundle this feature!

Event Support

You can now create an event and RSPV an event invitation from your friends. That’s a great addition to the Facebook iPhone app. One drawback is you still can’t access the event wall in this version.

Write Note & Access Pages

With Facebook 3.0, you can now write note and edit it, as well as, reading your friends’ notes. Also, you can access and become a fan of page. You can even add your favorite page to the home screen.

Friends List

The new version also adds a minor touch on the friends’ list. If your friends have put in their phone number, you can now tap on the phone number and dial/text your friend straight from the application. Some will love this feature (but not for me as most of my friends do not put the phone number in Facebook).

You can also sort the friends list by first or last name according to your preference. And you can also see your mutual friends too.

Photo Management

Facebook 3.0 enhances the ability of photo management. You can now create photo album and upload photos to any album right from your iPhone. What’s more is you can zoom into photos, delete album, photos or tags.

Built-in Browser

Finally, the new version bundles a built-in browser to access links shared by your friends.

More Features in Facebook 3.1

The Facebook development team keeps innovating and brings us even more features. As you may aware, the above feature list doesn’t mention anything about Push Notification. Yes, Facebook 3.0 doesn’t support Push Notification but the team is working hard on it and we will soon see it in 3.1. Another feature you’ll see is the ability to customize the home screen. One point I forget to mention is that you still can’t play Facebook video (note: YouTube video is okay) on iPhone. When you try to play any Facebook video, you’ll get an alert message stating “Facebook Video cannot yet be played on this device.” The Facebook team mentioned they are looking into the issue and will provide a solution in future.

Remember to Check Out the New Version at App Store

The Facebook 3.0 is a huge update for this popular social application. It’s a must-have application for your iPhone. So, when you read over this post, remember to head to the App Store. Probably, the Facebook 3.0 is already available there. You can click this direct iTunes link and check it out.

To learn more about Facebook 3.0, you can further see the video demo:

[Images via Facebook]

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