When recent Facebook app updates only came to the iPhone, some Android users started asking questions. If you look close enough, it’s not hard to notice the flaws of Facebook’s Android app. Just for starters, the entire app is just a webview of the touch website. The biased development of Facebook’s app may be due to the fact that Facebook primarily offers its employees iPhones.

Now, according to TechCrunch, Facebook’s HQ is flooded with posters asking its employees to switch to Android. Some of the posters talk about dogfooding (testing your own product), while others show the extreme projected growth of Android. Facebook recently released a big update to their Facebook SDK for Android. The third version of the SDK brings multiple pre-built views and tasks as well as better integration with the Facebook APIs.

The fact that Facebook has refreshed its developer tools for Android shows that they are turning their attention to the platform. Additionally, we should expect to see more updates to Facebook’s Android app soon. Recent updates have made the app faster and added various bug fixes and improvements.

One thing is clear, change is on the horizon at Facebook. Is it a wise move for Facebook to push Android adoption as opposed to alternative platforms like iOS and Windows Phone?

[ source ]

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What else is coming? Other features include: “deep linking capability, the ability to link features like Messages and News Feeds to the Start page, Features toasts and tile notifications and the ability to pin selected elements of the app.”

Having push notifications is being warmly welcomed by Windows Phone users.

[Source via Windows Phone]

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750 million users is far from being enough for Facebook. The company has recently launched a smartphone app called Facebook Messenger that allows mobile phone users who don’t necessarily have a profile use it.

The new service applies not only for Facebook chatting with friends from your list, but also for sending sms text messages with contacts in your phone. Both iPhone and Android owners can enjoy the new free app, but somehow, Windows Phone users are left aside.

This came as a big surprise, since Facebook is in a closer relationship with Microsoft than with Google or Apple. But bussiness is bussiness, and Zuckerberg’s company went for the big money makers, leaving its less successful friend on the outside.

The new service aims to reach the hearts of those who are still skeptical about joining the huge Facebook group. It allows you to reach both your Facebook friends and your phone contacts, by sending messages to individuals who aren’t signed up to the world’s largest network…yet.

The Facebook chat for smartphones already existed. But the new Facebook messenger is said to be faster and to bring more interesting features.

[Facebook Messenger]

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Facebook wants to follow you everywhere, regardless of the kind of phone you have, and that’s why it has just announced a new mobile application for feature phones. Interestingly enough, it’s almost as full-featured (pun intended) as its smartphone counterparts. You can write on walls, check messages, view pictures, read profiles, and so on.

The app can apparently be used without incurring any data charges, so I’m not exactly sure how the carriers are going to be billing you for your usage. They surely want their nickels and dimes as part of this package, right?

The other kicker is that the initial release of the Facebook feature phone app does not include any North American carriers. Instead, it’s being launched on guys like Dialog (Sri Lanka), Play (Poland), Viva (Dominican Republic) and Three (Hong Kong). Mobilicity (Canada) should get it soon, though, as will Telcel (Mexico).

Those coming from Nokia smartphones may recognize some of the visual cues on the Facebook feature phone app. That’s because the social network worked closely with Snaptu to develop it. I don’t think this is any real replacement for a true smartphone, but the feature phone folks will likely enjoy the “no data charges” part. No news yet on a US release or if it will make it that far, Mobilicity in Canada is “coming soon.”

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