Application Review #1 – Facebook

For the first review, I would like to start off with a commonly known app, the Facebook app. This is the official app from Facebook.com. It is one of the many free apps from the App Store. Let’s begin.

Here is what the application looks like.

Features: 4 out of 5 Points
The Facebook application functions mostly as you would expect it to. You can access many of your common features of Facebook: inbox, profile, chat, and notifications. It also lets you swipe the page, similar to the iPhone SpringBoard, and add shortcuts to all of your favorite friends. However, there are two complaints I have about this application. The first is about the chat feature. Yes, it lets you chat with all of your online friends… Well, as long as you have the application open at least. The minute you leave the application, you sign off. This stops users from using chat with the Apple Push Notification Service.You cannot leave the application without ending the chat, which is extremely disappointing. The second complaint is not as bad, but is a feature I would like to see in the future. As of the current version, there is no support for any 3rd party Facebook apps. This is not entirely Facebook.com’s fault, as it is more of the 3rd party developers. Due to this, I will not count off points on this.

Every-day Usability: 5 out of 5 Points
As many active Facebook users may realize, this IS one app you probably use at least once everyday. I personally use Facebook on my iPod more than I do on MacBook. The ability to post on my friend’s profiles, send messages, and uploads pictures gives this app a 5 out of 5 for every-day usability.

Layout: 4 out of 5 Points
This application does include a very simple, easy to use layout. However, I can see much room for improvement. Although this app gets the job done, it does not leave a great impression. It is very bland with its blue and gray layout.

Speed: 2 out of 5 Points
Yes, this is the area that hurts the application the most. Speed. After playing around with this app, I realized it lags quite often. This occurs most often while viewing others profiles and pictures. Hopefully this issue will be resolved in the future.

Overall Score: 3.75 out of 5
The Facebook application gets the job done, but overall, it could use some improvement.

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Our bloggers will review each application/game based on the following criteria:
Applications will be reviewed based on: Features, Layout, Speed, and Every-day Usability.
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