This is a feedback to the upcoming Facebook for iPhone update on the iPhone platform. The user experience on the full website has never been very well replicated on mobile client. In fact I felt that the mobile version on Safari worked even better than the dedicated application. The Feed is the core of the application. It needs to be clear and precise because screen-estate is limited on a mobile client. In order to display more updates per page a number of design elements can be taken into consideration; a) snip a single feed to 3 lines, and expand only when the user wants to see more b) distinguish users by first name and display picture, last name is redundant c) reduce the space needed in returning time values, by using abbreviations and placing them at the end of the line rather than a new line, and d) use small icons for comments and likes. The feed is able to display up to twice the number of items.
The tab bar should be there to a social networking application like Facebook because it allows fast notification and switching to various features, especially if the user can customize the tabs on the tab bar. The user is able to pick a couple of specific features on the tab bar and have them notify for updates without leaving a page. The user can access the rest of the features using the More tab, and each feature mimics the same feature on the full website. For example the Events page would notify for event RSVP and the user can respond. The user can also update their status anywhere in the application by tapping compose on the top right. To be honest I’ve always wondered why Facebook, a social network with the most active users, places so little concern over one of the most popular application on the iPhone platform. User experience is what drives people to use and continue using the service, but unfortunately Facebook disappoints in delivering this very aspect.
