New Facebook App for Android, the Number One Mobile OS in the US
By: Hillel Fuld
Android seems to be on fire lately. While RIM is trying so hard to stay in the game, only the most loyal BlackBerry users can say they are excited about the new BlackBerry Torch. The newest data is that Android not only passed iPhone in terms of mobile OS percentage in the U.S, it also surpassed RIM for the number one spot. The recent study points to a 33% of the U.S consumer market belonging to Android with 28% going to RIM and 22 % to Apple.
According to Google’s CEO, they are now activating a whopping 200,000 Android handsets a day, which is a number that is most likely growing as more handsets are released. To put that in perspective of growth , Google was activating only 100,000 phones a day in May and 160,000 in June.
The newest member of the Android tribe is none other than Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, who replaced his iPhone for Android just one month ago. As soon as he did, everyone was of course talking (half jokingly) about how this would effect the platform, and sure enough, we are seeing the results today. The new Android Facebook app is live in the Market (although, I have a feeling it will not show up if you are using an older version of Android, but I might be wrong on that) and it is no longer the black sheep of the family.
While the iPhone Facebook app is still a favorite among users, it seems the Facebook mobile developers opted to release a new Android app before an iPad one, which is again a clear indicati0n of where the market is going. To be fair, the recent Android growth is also connected to the fact that all U.S providers have Android handsets, unlike the iPhone, which we all know is only offered by AT&T.
In terms of the new app, it adds a whole bunch of new features including some not supported by its iPhone sibling. The new features of the Android Facebook app include:
- Events
- Video Playback
- Friend Requests
- Stream of Thumbnails
- One Click Updating
- Notification Bar
These are just some of the many new options supported, but the main difference is the UI, which is much nicer and more user friendly than the previous version. All in all, both the iPhone and Android Facebook app make accessing the social network from your mobile phone a breeze.
You can see a video of Google’s CEO talking about the Android platform below. Would love to hear your thoughts on these new numbers, Android’s popularity, and the new Facebook app. Feel free to comment below or reach out to me on Twitter here.
