Thanks to the xda-developers forums, or more specifically Twitter for pointing me to the post, I am soon going to be checking out the updated Facebook app. Of course, by updated Facebook app, I am referring to the version that was released with the Motorola Droid.
As to what exactly has changed, or has been added as compared to the Market version. Honestly that is a good question, and so far the best I can come up with is that “the new facebook app is so much better than the original.”
Now, I realize that is a pretty sad answer, and normally I would not run out and just take the word like that, but figure anything would be an improvement over the current Market version. That said, if you are feeling like being a guinea pig, hit the link below to get your own copy of the APK to install.
Finally, it was also suggested that you uninstall the Market version of Facebook first.
[megaupload and xda-developers via Twitter users @kevinawhalen and @chriseckman81]
November 10th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Droid Facebook app has the same functions as the Current market app.the layout is a lot nicer though, and theres a notifications link now. What I would really like to see, is an app with Chat built in. For now I will use the link to the popout chat, and SMS.
November 10th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Thanks David, I did a little searching but could not find anything really in terms of features. And searching was giving me general Droid info. But what you mentioned sounds good. Any improvements are welcomed and yes the Chat integration would be nice.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Will this work with the Magic?
November 10th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Is it me or does the Facebook app on the Droid never update? I have set the refresh interval to 30 and 60 minutes, but everytime I look at the widget it shows the same post. Would you want to see the latest post done on your wall or am I missing something???
November 10th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
This does work on the Magic, but not 100%. Firstly the header of the page doesn't seem to display correctly and secondly the button used to display the meny is the 'return' key. Pressing teh 'menu' key displays context-based options such as Refresh.
The menu screen has the options for News feed, Friends, Photos, Take photo, Profile and Notifications. From what I have seen so far I can say that it is a dramatic improvement on the market Facebook app and I will be sticking with it. It is much quicker and slicker to use.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
does not install on European HTC Hero
November 10th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I can't log in to facebook from the droid, but can with the PC…On the droid it just won't let me log in..Username and password is 100 percent correct but just doesnt let me log on..
November 10th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Thanks Andy. I'll have to give it a shot later and see what's what.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:05 am
How do you uninstall the built in Facebook app on the VZW Droid.
November 11th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Why is it that I can't log into the facebook app for Droid? It keeps telling me that there's an error while logging in, try again later. Arrrgh :[ ! Can someone please tell me if i'm doing something wrong.
November 11th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
It does the same thing for me and my friend as well. I have no idea why
November 12th, 2009 at 1:40 am
Does anyone know how to uninstall system apps on the Droid, FB for example. I don't have permission or I keep getting an uninstall error.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:08 am
The built in facebook app doesn't seem to let you read messages. Am I wrong? This seems like a crazy thing to leave out.
November 12th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
It does seem to me that it never updates. I have had plenty of things to be notified about and have not had a notification on my FB app since I got my phone 2 days ago.
November 12th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Who do you report these issues to, Google or Motorola??? I wish they didn't touch a thing with the OS and just ran straight Android 2.0. Everyone getting there hands in on the OS is going to be a nightmare in the future for everyone.
November 12th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
I reported it to Verizon. We'll see what happens…
November 16th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
like the push notifications option on this phone, and the fact that it looks somewhat like the iphone app, but when you go to home, then notifications and you have one unread one, you still have to go the browser to view it, still of replying from with-in the app, since I clicked on one of the links and downloaded it, installed it onto my phone, will I receive updates for this app, when they update it?
November 16th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Wow, if this version is an improvement, I can't imagine how bad the old version must have been. I'm a new Droid user and I think the FB app is terrible.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:30 am
Works on Samsung Moment — WAY better than the marketplace version, at least for the time being.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:31 am
I doubt it — I expect that we will have to keep an eye out for updates, and hopefully for an improved Market version.
November 17th, 2009 at 4:55 am
I still think they need to get rid of the re-directing you to the browser, it's ridiculous, what is the point in having a Notification option, when you still have to go to the browser?
November 17th, 2009 at 5:48 am
when you are in the notifications tab, there is a globe to the right of each notification, it's like they are forcing you to use the browser….and there should be a tab for friend requests, because that sends you to the browser as well, also view photos, we should be able to view them with in the app…but as far as I am concerned if they can just fix the app to where we are not being re-directed to the browser just to respond to notifications, I would be happy
November 17th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
There's a lot here, so I'm going to do my best to answer as many of these as I can. So bear with me, please.
First and foremost, the use of the browser. It isn't a secret that "Facebook" and "Google" haven't had the best relationship in the past. It's also not a secret that the Facebook team greatly supports the iPhone (and the iPod Touch). With that being said, it's (almost) a miracle that Android users have an official Facebook app at all. No, it isn't the best app, especially for those who want the majority of features right there in the application, but it does the trick for the most part.
You can't uninstall the standard Facebook application from the DROID. As previously mentioned, you simply don't have permission. Once the phone gets rooted (and it will get rooted), you'll be able to do what you will; but only if you're brave enough to actually go through that process.
With the application not updating, that could be a lot of things. Unfortunately, the only real thing I can suggest is to try and kill the running application with an app killer (which hopefully you've downloaded already), and then try to input your information again. Otherwise, you should already be logged into the Facebook application simply because you set your phone up for the first time. Or, you may have to set up the notifications within the settings menu. They can be altered for time, as well as content: pokes, messages, and other things like that.
From a personal perspective, the Android 2.0 Facebook application is a step-up from the 1.5 or 1.6 versions, so they are obviously going in the right direction. However, I wouldn't expect many updates to it. Especially not from Facebook themselves. Since I've downloaded the Facebook app for my Hero, when it was first launched, I've only ever received one update, and that was a standard update to support Donut. But who knows, maybe we'll see a vast improvement some time soon. Stranger things have happened, right?
November 25th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
help!!! i just got the droid, but the facebook app wont tell me when i have notifications. it doesnt even show them, i check my facebook and get new ones but they dont show up on the phone. ???? if anyone could help thatd be great.
i thought it could be the email. so i swicthed the email to the other one on my phone
nothing
December 16th, 2009 at 5:07 am
I have the same Problem. It worked when I first got it and then, once I recieved a phone update, I can't log in….
December 27th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
i get this…..cannot retrieve the notifications. please try again later.[601/parser error:unexpected '-' at position 57.]
December 28th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
HELP me too!
I'm trying to publish a post and I keep getting the following error message:
Can not publish the post at this time. Please try again later. 200/The user has not granted the application the permission to automatically publish feed stories
What to do?
December 28th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
for those that are having problems posting, try this…
On your computer, go to settings and click on application settings from the drop down menu.
Once in the application settings, there's a box on the right called "show" with a drop down menu. On the drop down menu, go to "allowed to post"
Once in allowed to post, click on "never allowed to post any stories" – this should pull up a few categories.
Click on Edit settings for facebook for android and then additional permissions and check the boxes.
should work now – it did for me.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:44 am
I have the same problem, how do you get the notifications to come up for the facebook app?
January 12th, 2010 at 7:21 am
Coming from a storm 2 to a Droid, this worthless Facebook app is so depressing. Step in the right direction regardless. Having such an amazing phone, I was expecting the Facebook experience to be just as good. Oh well
January 13th, 2010 at 4:20 am
Tried everything everyone suggested to no avail. Weird how it first works then tanks
I got an update just now and uploaded it but it doesn’t fix the notifications error.I
January 27th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
This app sucks compared to iPhone,no messaging doesn’t connect properly and cumbersome. What a let down
January 27th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Suddenly I also can’t login to Facebook. When I try I get the same error message described above. I originally logged out because I was no longer able to post messages, so I decided to logout and then log back in.
January 28th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Is there a way that u can see who is logging into your facebook from your droid phone??