Facebook for Android Updated

As an Android powered smartphone user, I’m aware that the best and/or most polished version of most applications usually exist for Apple’s iPhone first. Even though Android is gaining market share among smartphones (and may even eclipse the iPhone), developers concentrate a great deal of time and effort on making apps for Apple’s devices.

However, that doesn’t mean Android apps are completely forgotten. They do get made, made well and many are frequently updated. Case in point is the Facebook app for Android. Last night the app was updated to bring it more inline with its iPhone counterpart.

The update offers quite a few minor fixes as well as several major ones to the app’s homescreen. Some of the changes and improvements include:

• Post a status update or search for friends with just one click.

• New photo reel that enables easy viewing of photos and videos from friends in your News Feed.

• Draggable Notifications drawer where you can easily see if a friend posted a note on your wall, commented or liked a post or tagged you in a photo.

• Video playback from the app. Similar to the Facebook for iPhone application, we are using the H.264 baseline profile for encoding videos.

• Support for Events. You can now review your upcoming events, read your event details, and even RSVP – all from the application.

• Respond to friend requests without leaving the application.

The update brings the app to version 1.3 and is available now in the Android Market. If you decide to update, let us know if you have any problems. I did and so far, so good. Love the new interface.