Facebook for iPhone Actually Works

Last night opened up the App Store on my iPhone, curious to see what new apps have been released, and got the usual badge saying that there updates for my apps.

I tapped the button and instead of looking at what apps actually got updates and what each one entailed, I just hit update all and let the iPhone do it’s work. As I scrolled through the pages of apps I saw that Facebook was getting updated.

About effing time! Maybe the app will actually work correctly.

I opened up the app and found that status updates were actually posting real times! I’ve been so used to translating that 4 hours ago on the Facebook iPhone app was actually a few minutes ago to an hour ago. This may be a trivial thing for some, but for me this was amazing. That was one of the few things that just, “grinded my gears,” as Peter Griffin would say.

Also, I haven’t experienced a crash or glitch yet with any of the screens – I just opened the Knock on Wood App so I hope that helps. What would frequently happen on my phone was after browsing for a short time on a profile page, or any page really, I would start to see nothing but blank spaces in each table. I would then have to restart the app and browse from there. Again, this may seem like a minor inconvenience to you, but as heavily as I use Facebook (which can add up to about 30-40 launches a day) you can see where it would become a huge annoyance.

Commenting also seems to have been fixed or improved! I haven’t had any errors yet with commenting on wall posts like I used to have. I remember typing long, thoughtful comments, only to find that there “was an error while posting my comment” and I would lose all the work that I just did. The fun part was attempting to remember and retype the whole thing.

So far so good Facebook, good job!

If you haven’t updated yet, run iTunes and check for updates or run the App Store on the iPhone.

Which also reminds me… where in the world is that darn Push Notification System? It would be nice of these updates would PUSH NOTIFY us.

Just a thought Apple.

App Store!

The iPhone 3G is an awesome phone. It now has 3G speeds and built-in GPS, nicer form factor, flush headphone jack, and better audio. A lot of people say this is the iPhone that should have come out last year. Also many say it’s not worth the buy for two extra features. While this may remain true, one overlooked factor that applies to both handsets is the amazing addition of app store.

App store really is a one of a kind way for developers to get their apps to consumers. With the 2.0 fimware update every iPhone and iPod touch has access to hundreds of apps. There are many apps out there that are free such as AIM, Pandora, Last.fm, Facebook, and Myspace. All of these apps work wonderfully and take advantage of the multi-touch user interface of iPhone.

The app store really sets the iPhone apart from other handsets, in my opinion. I’ve always worked with CDMA networks before switching over to AT&T and I have to admit, I haven’t seen anything like this. Also, the quality of the apps are far beyond anything you could get on a Blackberry, Treo, or other smartphones. I’ve used a Treo 755, Moto Q, and Blackberry Curve before and haven’t been able to get apps or an app delivery system that is up to par with App Store.

The final part that will make the apps literally untouchable by other smartphone apps is the implementation of the Push Notification Service. This service keeps the apps on iPhone from having to run in the background, therefore preserving the battery life (which by some, including me, hasn’t been that sporty with 3G). The way the push notification service works is that it keeps a constant connection to your iPhone through direct IP. A developer can push a badge, notification sound, or notification window that requires input.

I think this is a far better way than having run applications in the background and give the user a “task manager.” Although, from a power user’s point of view, a task manager isn’t’ that bad because we know what the processes are. I think it would be excellent to give the option for you to run the app in the background. I’d love to be able to listen to Pandora, AOL Radio, or Last.fm while sending a text or taking pictures, as if it were the native iPod app. We all know, though, that as soon as you hit the home button or click “view” when you receive a new text, the music stops and you can’t go back to the song you were just listening to. So, in reality, not having background processes is a double-edged sword.

So, what do you think of app store and what are your favorite apps? Feel free to post your sceenshots of you home screen. You can do a screen shot in iPhone by pressing the Home button + Sleep/Wake Button. Hope to see some cool shots from everyone!

App Store is Open! (For devs… :P)

The App Store is open, for developers only. Developers are asked to get their final versions of their apps ready for distribution through App Store. We all remember, of course, that Apple has the final say on what Apps are put on the store. No pr0n, bandwidth hogs, etc. Sources also speculate that larger app developers may get preferential treatment on how fast their app gets put on the store (duh).

Something new for App Store, devs get to choose a price for their app at units of $0.99. So $0.99, $5.99, $183483593.99, and so on. Yes, free apps can still be put on the store. Devs will also utilize the same route that musicians use, iTunes Connect. Here they can monitor their app sales and such.

Here’s a fun fact: Apple will withhold any payments until the app reaches the $250 threshold or the region’s equivalent. There’s no information on how much Apple will pay after crossing that threshold.

Kinda bollocks eh?

Free apps ftw!

[Read at TUAW]

Porn Loves the iPhone 3G

[Image via jesusdiaz from Gizmodo]

It looks like the porn industry is excited about iPhone 3G. With faster speeds, porn will be easily accessible through the handset. Evidently, the mobile porn market is about $1.7 billion dollars. Isn’t that crazy? Of course, we all know that Steve said no porn at the March iPhone SDK event. Goodbye App Store, hello App Tapp Installer. The porn industry is labeling the iPhone as “the porn-friendliest phone.” I guess this would be one of the reasons to have a jailbroken iPhone 3G – fortunately, I’m not THAT guy.

[Read via Gizmodo]

iPhone App News Roundup

TUAW has a good roundup for iPhone apps that have recently surfaced. Check out the roundup at the link!

[Link]