Microsoft Redesigns Facebook App for WP8; Releases it as an Open Beta

The Facebook app for WP is a bit of a conundrum, on one hand it deals with the metro layout very nicely; on the other hand it is occasionally usually, very clunk. In an effort to change that Microsoft have built up and redesigned a second app (called Facebook Beta for now). So far the app looks pretty awesome, it’s insanely smooth (relatively); and uses the dame design of the Android and iOS apps where swiping to the right brings you your dashboard/navigation and to the left shows you your online contacts for chatting (plus it has pull to refresh! yay). Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a way to post images in chat…yet.

If, on the other hand, you want to see where we and the Facebook team are headed and want to provide engineers feedback during a time when it actually matters, you can grab the beta app here.  (To avoid confusion, the beta won’t show up in Store search results and is only available via this direct link.)

As you’ll see, the app is undergoing a major redesign and now includes several much-requested features, including new support for high-res photos, post sharing, and Facebook Timeline. Once you’ve put the beta app through its paces, we hope you’ll pass along bug reports, feature requests, and other feedback by going to Settings>About in the app. You can also post a Store review. Your comments and suggestions will inform future releases.

By the way, the existing Facebook app (version 4.2.1) isn’t going anywhere yet. So you can have both apps installed side-by-side on your phone. Happy hunting.

You can go ahead and grab the app from over here:

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/facebook-beta/93da5d29-daf0-4783-9ed5-a87b33247ec6?appid=93da5d29-daf0-4783-9ed5-a87b33247ec6&signin=true

Via

Category: Applications, Lumia, Nokia, Windows Phone