Review: Facebook for BlackBerry v1.5

I've been using the Facebook for BlackBerry v1.2 application for about 3 months now and it's okay. I can create messages, write on the wall, poke friends (not sure why though?) and invite friends to join Facebook. That's all well and good.

And, now there is Facebook for BlackBerry v1.5 which offers additional features and functions that I'll get to in a moment.

Background
I have a Verizon BlackBerry 8830. For those that know me, this is my personal BlackBerry and not my government-issued device. ;-)

Installation
After 3 successive failures that stated I needed to format my media card, I did just that. It asked for a Restart and so I did that. After reading and accepting the EULA (okay, maybe I didn't read it so closely), I was taken to the Setup Wizard.

Setup Wizard

Screen options
"Connect your Facebook account with:

• BlackBerry Message application


• BlackBerry Contacts application


• Update existing photos in your BlackBerry contacts list with Facebook friend profile photos."

BlackBerry Message application

This feature integrates your friend's Wall Posts to you as a message in the same stream as your email message lists. A small Facebook icon is provided to easily distinguish these posts.

BlackBerry Contacts application

• Facebook offers the following warning that shoud be carefully read and understood: (In other words, this is something you shouldn't ignore because it affects the privacy of your BlackBerry smartphone contacts and your own. "(Enabling this feature will periodically send copies of your BlackBerry device Contacts to Facebook Inc. to match and connect with your Facebook Friends. Profile pictures and information about you and your Facebook Friends will also be periodically sent from Facebook to your BlackBerry Contact list and Calendar, and you acknowledge that access to this data (e.g., by applications) will no longer be subject to your and your Facebook Friends privacy settings once stored on your BlackBerry device.)"

Overall, the new features are well worth the upgrade. One major recommendation for a future realease is to add the person's phone number when your using BlackBerry Connect, let me explain:

• While it is an option to "View {{JohnDoe}}'s Phone Numbers" in the menu when you click on a Facebook friend's photo from the "View Status Updates" menu, it does not add the person's phone number should you add him/her as a BlackBerry Contact. That action only adds the person's photo and his/her Facebook Name as a selectable entry for future use.

As someone who spends a fair amount of time in 5-mph traffic, the occassional viewing of Facebook for BlackBerry and Twitterberry posts are never too far away or apart.