Finally, social networking junkies can rejoice! Facebook is officially going to launch an application for Android smartphones soon.
It was thought that Android would never receive a Facebook application as Google and Facebook have an intense rivalry between them. However, recently rumors cropped up that the Android Market would receive a Facebook app soon, as the application was spotted on the myTouch website as well as a video displayed the application being used in Sony Ericsson Rachael smartphone. Needless to say, both smartphones are powered by the Android OS.
Furthermore, TechCrunch stated that this Facebook application could hit the Android Market as early as this week. This application will possess lesser features than the Facebook app for the iPhone. It is going to utilize Facebook’s latest Stream API which allows updates to keep streaming in and gives users a notification number which tells them how many new items are available at any given time. However, it will not possess an inbox.
The reason for this change of heart on Facebook’s part boils down to two main reasons. The first one is that Android is emerging as a competitor to the iPhone. Secondly, Google allowed Facebook to borrow one Android engineer.