Facebook Home may not have been the success the company wanted it to be, but they the Facebook team is not ready to give up on its Android platform. Facebook engineering director Mike Shaver and product manager Ragavan Srinivasan, disclosed some of the details of Facebook’s new beta program, which gives Android users the opportunity to contribute to further development of the Android app. Shaver describes the program as a “really interesting opportunity for people to take part in a piece of software that means a lot to them.”Facebook did previously attempt to initiate a beta program, but its lack of compliance with the Google Play ToS saw it quickly discontinued. However with Google Play now allowing official beta testing through the Play Store, Facebook has now adopted this as an opportunity to better their Android experience.
In order to partake in beta testing Facebook for Android:
- Join the Facebook for Android Beta Testers Google group:http://bit.ly/FBAndroidbeta
- Tap Become a Tester in the Google Play Store and download the latest version of Facebook: http://bit.ly/121po70
The new Facebook for Android version 3.4 beta has the following features and improvements:
- Share News Feed stories in a private message
- Swipe left and right to open chat and bookmarks
- Based on feedback, you can now store the app on your phone's SD card (Android 2.3.7 and lower)
- Stability improvements
- Organize your apps with folders—just drag one app onto another to create a folder
You can help improve the core stability and the functionality of the Facebook for Android app by proving feedback using the Report a Problem option located in the bottom of the left Nav bar.