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I wonder why it took them so long to release this. Given how picky they are with who they hire, and the sheer number of engineers they got, why did it take them

by vic_nyc 15y ago

I wonder why it took them so long to release this. Given how picky they are with who they hire, and the sheer number of engineers they got, why did it take them over a year to come up with such an essential product - a Facebook app for the most popular tablet device? I'm also going to say that their iPhone app leaves a lot to be desired. Many features are missing, like inability to edit/delete posts, picture abilities and so on. On the non-mobile side, their API is infamously bad. Without wanting to sound negative about them, I do wonder why they hire so many "top software engineers" and what they have those guys working on.

teaspoon 15y ago
Why is a native Facebook application essential on a device that has a serviceable web browser and a netbook-sized screen?
- rbritton 15y ago
  Their existing web interface is touch-unfriendly in a few ways, most notably when it comes to modal popovers with scrollable lists such as a page's fan list.
  - ghiculescu 15y ago
    Last time I checked, chat was also disabled when accessing the web-interface on a tablet. Chat's been my most used Facebook feature for the last few months.
- m0nastic 15y ago
  I don't know how common an example I am, but I absolutely hate interacting with Facebook on their website (even on my laptop). I pretty much only use it via the iPhone application, so I welcome an iPad app (assuming it's laid out similarly).
- jinushaun 15y ago
  Because many people like myself think the iPhone app is a superior user experience to the desktop Facebook website and the mobile website.
  - megablast 15y ago
    This is a reason, but is it a good enough reason to divert resources from other areas for?
    - bdhe 15y ago
      This is a reason, but is it a good enough reason to divert resources from other areas for? Considering that Facebook's most important end goal is to make users stay on their website, an optimized and pleasant-to-use app for the iPad and other tablets is a very good reason to divert resources.
    - bennesvig 15y ago
      Yes. When I got an iPad 2 a week ago, I was very surprised Facebook didn't have an app. It's amateur.
- fookyong 15y ago
  safari does not allow file uploads. you can't share your photos if you're on an ipad using FB in the browser.
- loumf 15y ago
  To post pictures -- which is a major activity on FB. I couldn't figure out how to do it in Safari -- if there's a way, it's not obvious.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
epoxyhockey 15y ago
FB's first iPhone app was even more horrible and it took them a really long time to release the current incarnation. It took so long that I remember pondering the opportunity to create my own version of a FB app. That was before we all wised up to the fact that no one should develop FB assets unless being paid large sums of money on a contract basis.
- keeperofdakeys 15y ago
  The facebook app for android is going through this kind of process. While it is quite decent, I prefer a third party one that exists. The only real disadvantage is that it requires a facebook application to get peoples data. So anybody who blocked friend's apps from viewing information won't show up. It also means I can't disable the social plugin, so I get those stupid "comment with facebook" popups on sites.

by vic_nyc 15y ago

teaspoon 15y ago

Why is a native Facebook application essential on a device that has a serviceable web browser and a netbook-sized screen?

rbritton 15y ago
Their existing web interface is touch-unfriendly in a few ways, most notably when it comes to modal popovers with scrollable lists such as a page's fan list.
- ghiculescu 15y ago
  Last time I checked, chat was also disabled when accessing the web-interface on a tablet. Chat's been my most used Facebook feature for the last few months.
m0nastic 15y ago
I don't know how common an example I am, but I absolutely hate interacting with Facebook on their website (even on my laptop). I pretty much only use it via the iPhone application, so I welcome an iPad app (assuming it's laid out similarly).
jinushaun 15y ago
Because many people like myself think the iPhone app is a superior user experience to the desktop Facebook website and the mobile website.
- megablast 15y ago
  This is a reason, but is it a good enough reason to divert resources from other areas for?
  - bdhe 15y ago
    This is a reason, but is it a good enough reason to divert resources from other areas for? Considering that Facebook's most important end goal is to make users stay on their website, an optimized and pleasant-to-use app for the iPad and other tablets is a very good reason to divert resources.
  - bennesvig 15y ago
    Yes. When I got an iPad 2 a week ago, I was very surprised Facebook didn't have an app. It's amateur.
fookyong 15y ago
safari does not allow file uploads. you can't share your photos if you're on an ipad using FB in the browser.
loumf 15y ago
To post pictures -- which is a major activity on FB. I couldn't figure out how to do it in Safari -- if there's a way, it's not obvious.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

epoxyhockey 15y ago

FB's first iPhone app was even more horrible and it took them a really long time to release the current incarnation. It took so long that I remember pondering the opportunity to create my own version of a FB app. That was before we all wised up to the fact that no one should develop FB assets unless being paid large sums of money on a contract basis.

keeperofdakeys 15y ago
The facebook app for android is going through this kind of process. While it is quite decent, I prefer a third party one that exists. The only real disadvantage is that it requires a facebook application to get peoples data. So anybody who blocked friend's apps from viewing information won't show up. It also means I can't disable the social plugin, so I get those stupid "comment with facebook" popups on sites.