It is no secret the relationship between Google and Facebook has been strained. Wired magazine even did a featured article this month entitled “Great Wall of Facebook: The Social Network’s Plan to Dominate the Internet — and Keep Google Out“. Many Android users have been hoping for an official app, but were forced to use alternatives like Bloo or Babbler.
A quick browse of the Facebook mobile page reveals that rich, interactive applications are available for iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm, Sony Ericsson, INQ, and Widsets.
So while just about every mobile platform has a Facebook app designed for it, Android has been mysteriously left out. Popular sites like TechCrunch and Gizmodo have told us to not hold our breath. We recently discussed the issue on the last AndroidGuys podcast and came to the conclusion it would not happen for a long time.
You can imagine my surprise to find a Facebook app poke its head out on two new Android phones. First, there was a spotting on the official myTouch 3G website. Then later in the day, we saw the Facebook app appear in the Sony Ericsson Rachael UI video(0:17). This is no official confirmation, but I think it is a safe bet we will see an official Facebook app in the Android Market soon.
What do you guys think?
Facebook has been spotted on two upcoming Android phones.
p.s. For the Facebook users who read the site, we just created a fan page. I’m still in the process of setting it up so please be patient.
[via shadyhaitien]
Related Posts
About The Author
Follow on Twitter Subscribe
Taylor Wimberly
Taylor is the founder of Android and Me. He loves playing with all kinds of gadgets, but most importantly cell phones. His other hobbies include cooking (BBQ hero!), politics, football, and watching every MMA event possible.
32 Comments
On the right one, you can see a Wordpress app too :O
I hope it isn’t fake
I think the right one is a screen shot of the iPhone as the UI elements look very much like that. This probably to compare the two app stores.
The one on the right is of the Sony Rachael UI. Watch the video from the link I included. It is definitely some form of Android.
Hm, I really hope it is the real thing, because iPhone and Blackberry already got an app….
iPhone’s suck, but now so does Blackberry after the last couple updates. lol
Thanks for hinting out, yes it does look like an Android UI. Moreover, it’s going to need the graphical capabilities of the rumored Sony Ericsson phone.
But first, let’s hope the HTC Sense UI will come to the HTC Magic’s without the Google branded logo.
I think while we wait, people should buy Bloo & Babble and support 2 great Android developers who have put in a lot of time and effort to bring us something we never thought we’d get!
They’re both free apps.
those apps are also terrible
until then im sticking with bloo, its great and getting better with each and every update with great support from the dev.
Native applications instead of custom Web frontends is further proof that the real standards in the mobile space are HTTP and XML/JSON. Just wrap the API using the specific platform’s native UI widgets.
I don’t think we can really use the Rachel UI video as proof of anything. It looked more like a tech demo rather of a UI concept than an actual phone running Android.
Otherwise, we’d have to also assume that the Rachel UI video leaked a whole bunch of other as-yet-unavailable Android apps such as Yelp, AIM, Quickbooks, Wordpress, Wikipedia, etc. (not to mention that the calendar app is also spelled “calender” in the video).
I was thinking that too. When I was watching the video I kept thinking ‘are these icons just for placement? do these apps exist?’
Yeah, I think you may be right about them being there just for placement. But the myTouch “AppPack” seems like a more credible leak for the Facebook app.
This seems to be getting more credible, yesterday Imeem updated their app and are now using that icon. So yeah. ^^
Facbook would be retarded not to make a app for Android even if they hate Google. WIth something like 20 Android devices coming out this year alone they would be shooting their selves in the foot if they didnt make one.