Last week when it first updated, we related our first impressions of Facebook for iPhone 3.0. Now that's we've spent some more quality time with it over the weekend, we can confirm that the 3.0 update is huge. Sure, it takes up more room on your iPhone or iPod Touch, but that's not what we meant.
The real growth spurt comes from the pile of new and improved features that Facebook has poured into the app. They range from the typical--support for landscape mode, capability to change your profile picture--to the powerful--such as creating photo albums and kicking off a text message or call from the Facebook interface.
That last point echoes a central thesis in a June 2009 Wired article ("The Great Wall of Facebook"): by storing intensely personal data about real people--their likes and dislikes, e-mail addresses, friends, activities, and even phone numbers--Facebook is creating a formidable "second Internet" to rival Google. Indeed, the SMS and phone call triggers on Facebook for iPhone 3.0 (and a similar feature on Facebook for BlackBerry that hooks into your address book) do influence, even facilitate, the way you contact friends in real life. Now you can rely on a Web-based network as a point of entry to your actual social life.
But that feature is just one of many. See the new Facebook for iPhone 3.0 in action in this First Look video. If you have used it, let us know how you like it.
Four betas, three release candidates, and one version number change later, Mozilla finally gave Firefox 3.5 the kick out the door that the general public has been waiting for. If you're not convinced that it's worth upgrading, watch what's new in this First Look video, and download it for your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer.
Die-hard fans probably already know this, but this is the fastest version of Firefox yet. Even though some of its competitors can load JavaScript faster, version 3.5 offers plenty of toys for developers and casual users alike.
The latest version of Facebook for BlackBerry released earlier this week with a handful of practical, if not flashy, feature enhancements to partially merge your Facebook profile pictures with your BlackBerry address book, and to add your Facebook events to your native BlackBerry calendar.
Turns out, many users experienced calendar screw-ups that caused Facebook's calendar to cannibalize the native one. In addition, the contact-syncing feature, while handy, irritatingly was sending a phone number request to those Facebook buddies you have manually associated with a BlackBerry contact. For the record, the calendar syncing issue didn't affect our Curves tied into a corporate policy.
RIM has been quick to reissue the app with fixes. The calendar feature should play nicer with merging now if you're installing Facebook for BlackBerry fresh, but those whose calendars have already been thrown out of whack will need to manually reset it using the BlackBerry's advanced options (Default Services-->Reset Calendar.)
In the meantime, take a look at the app's new features in our First Look video. Despite the initial hiccups, we recommend the update for existing Facebook for BlackBerry users, as well as for new BlackBerry owners.
(Source: CrackBerry)
Internet Explorer 8 takes some long-needed strides to bring it up to speed with its competitors. It's more secure, with tab sandboxing and more aggressive malicious site warnings, and introduces some slick new features like Accelerators and Web slices.
Even with better support for Web standards, it's far from perfect. Check out what's hot and what's not in this First Look video.
Safari's currently the third-most popular browser for Windows, but is Apple aiming for number two? The Safari 4 beta debuts a completely reworked program, from the Nitro JavaScript engine to the Chrome-styled interface and Top Sites.
Some users are already swearing by the faster speeds in the beta, while others won't touch a browser without extension support. Let us know your favorite browser and why in the comments.
On Tuesday we shot a "first look" video of Google's new Chrome browser for CNET TV. In case you're on a Mac, running Linux, or if you're avoiding going through Google's entire list of feature videos, we've broken out some of the ones that set it apart from the competition.
- Tab dragging off the browser and back in
- The omnibar search box/address bar
- Customized start page
- Incognito/"porn" mode
What's demoed:
If you want to see the widescreen, high-resolution version, click here to be taken to the CNET TV viewer. You can also catch up on all of our coverage of Chrome on this page.
Mobile browsing has come a long way and continues to gain speed and power as cell phone hardware and processing technologies mature. At the forefront of this evolution is Opera Software, whose most recent efforts bring us Opera Mobile 9.5 beta for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. Watch the video to see what's new and improved in this free, brand-new release.
For more details, check out the full review.
For serious syncers who routinely work from multiple computers or mobile phones, SugarSync is, in more ways than one, a premium solution to file-transferring problems. More flexible than some competing PC-to-PC syncing software or mobile and PC remote access services, Sugar Sync weaves in elements of both. Lite sync some folders for online back-up and fully sync folders or files to load them on each of your computers. A change to one file exacts a change to all.
SugarSync doesn't do everything, and the mobile functionality could use some usability finessing. There are also a few tricks worth knowing to ease your way. Here's a good one--if you're not interested in transferring every icon or EXE to all hooked-in computers, before syncing your Desktop folder, either move the elements you do want to a different folder and bypass the Desktop sync, or throw everything into a new folder on your desktop and exclude it from the syncing.
SugarSync managers are available for Windows, Mac, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and iPhone. A free trial of the service is available for 45 days. SugarSync premium storage prices can be found here.
There's no doubt that the browser wars are back in full swing, with updates in the past week to Opera, Songbird, and a new Flock beta.
The training wheels are finally off Firefox 3, too. If you haven't checked out the five beta versions and three release candidates because you were worried about stability, security, and the all-important extension compatibility, take a look at the new Download.com review for the world's most popular open-source browser, for Windows and Mac.
Want something a bit more visual? Hot off the presses, this Firefox 3 First Look video showcases new features for managing add-ons and saving passwords, the controversial "awesome bar," and why Firefox 3 is the safest version of the browser yet.
Not every social networking concept strikes gold, even when the coalescing factor is the common interest of finding a good Internet cafe. In the case of WeFi, a hot-spot-finding application with a social community tacked on, various CNET editors have raised a collective eyebrow at some of the more intense methods of attaining human connection, but largely agree that being able to chat with verified friends or nearby Internet surfers adds a useful dimension to the search for reliable Wi-Fi access in comfortable coffee shops.
This First Look at WeFi for Windows laptops and WeFi for Pocket PC tours WeFi's easy-to-use interface and automated hot-spot-sniffers from two Internet-thirsty devices.
