After a long time Facebook for iPhone and iPod touch has finally received a major update in the version 3.5. This update brings several new features and bug fixes to the native Facebook application. Most important of all new features is that Facebook app now allows users to tag friends and places in your posts. You can also share external links from the web view of the app and a new design for profile and group walls has been added to the app too.

Facebook has also improved the sharing tool that now adds privacy controls for your posts. Once you make changes to your settings, those changes are automatically updated on Facebook’s website too, and vice versa.

Here is the change log for this 3.5 version of Facebook app:

Made it easier to share with who you want
- Added the ability to tag friends and places in posts
- Added the ability to share external links from a web view
- Added new design for Profile and Group Walls
- Improved the sharing tool to add privacy controls on posts and match your settings on the web site

Improvements and bug fixes:
- Improved Notifications speed
- Fixed a number of Chat bugs
- Made it easier to select filters in News Feed
- Fixed a bug with the Notifications bar disappearing
- Fixed a number of Photos bugs
- Improved performance and stability overall

As noted by @Chpwn, Facebook has removed the elements of Facebook for iPad from this app, so after updating iPad users won’t be able to use that version of the application even with FaceForward Cydia Tweak. So if you want to keep on using the iPad version of Facebook app, stay away from this update. Facebook is expected to release the iPad version of Facebook very soon.

Facebook app for iPhone and iPod touch can be downloaded from the App Store for free here

Popular instant messenger for iOS devices Verbs has today received a major update. Now the updated version of Verbs allows user to chat with their friends on Facebook. Verbs features a very simple and sleek design. Previously users could sign in with their GTalk, AIM, and MobileMe accounts and chat with their contacts, and now with Facebook on board this app is going to become even more useful.

Along with the Facebook chat feature, several bugs have also been fixed in this update.

You can update the App from the App Store, or download it for $0.99 if you don’t have it already. [iTunes Link]

You know Facebook isn’t good at hiding secrets in the codes of their apps, they recently leaked their dedicated iPad app that was hidden inside the code of their iPhone app. Now they have done the same thing with this newly released Facebook Messenger app that contains certain codes and images that are pointing towards the possible release of video conferencing feature for this app in the future.

This feature could be the result of their deal with Skype, that has brought similar feature to their website on PCs. 9To5Mac, who discovered the code say that the code looks very rudimentary at this point and it is very unlikely that this feature could be enabled by a simple hack like this one. Similar feature has been found by a site called HowToArena in the code of Android version of the same application.

Facebook has released a standalone instant messenger for iOS devices. The messenger that is available in the App Store for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad for free enables users to directly chat with their Facebook friends.

Facebook Messenger allows users to send and receive messages to their Facebook friends and also send a group message to all of their contacts. It allows users to share photos with their friends too.

Here are the features of the application

• Message friends, groups of friends or anyone in your mobile contacts
• Map your location, find your friends and make plans on the go
• Get mobile notifications so you never miss a message
• Include photos so friends can see what you’re doing

You can download Facebook Messenger for your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad here for free

Update: Facebook Messenger app’s code hints at incoming video conferencing feature

TechCrunch today revealed the hidden Facebook app for iPad that was sitting inside the iPhone version and posted a gallery of screenshots of the app. Now iClarified has posted a simple how to guide here by following which users can try this new Facebook app on your iPads and enjoy the app they have been waiting for.

Embedded below is a nice video guide by a YouTube user on the same topic.

Facebook for iPad that was sitting inside the iPhone app has been exposed by TechCrunch. Facebook is yet to release the iPad app and TechCrunch has confirmed that this is how it would look like. The app that was discovered in Facebook’s iPhone app code is executable, and TechCrunch’s MG Siegler has actually used the app on his iPad and posted a full gallery of screenshots from the app here.

All of this is possible apparently thanks to a seemingly tiny update Facebook pushed yesterday to their iPhone app. Version 3.4.4 seemed like a small version that restored the “Send” button for comments and chat among a few other little things. Facebook may have even pushed it out in response to some backlash they had been getting about the app, as Financial Times covered a few days ago. Perhaps it was the rush to fix some of those issues that caused Facebook to push this version – which will clearly eventually be Universal Binary (meaning it will house both the iPhone and iPad versions of the app) – with the iPad elements inside. Whatever the case, the app is carrying a payload of much greater importance than some bug fixes.

An iOS enthusiast from Canada recommends the following method for those who want to get their hands on the unreleased iPad Facebook app

If you change the UIDeviceFamily to 2 for iPhone on the Facebook app you get an iPad version! http://t.co/wlCgGJthttp://t.co/CUwYS3R (Source)

There are still no reports about when Facebook will release this iPad app to public, but meanwhile if you want to try this app on your own iPad then follow this handy guide by iClarified here.

Update: Here’s how to get Facebook for iPad app right now

[TechCrunch]

On Tuesday an independent iOS developer named Chase Blossom received a Cease and Desist letter from Facebook for using the word “Face” in the title of his app “Facemouth”. The app that is available in the App Store allows users to create funny videos by blending user’s mouth on the faces of their favorite celebrities. The app has nothing to do with the social networking site and is in no way related to their business.

But because Facebook, Inc. reserves the trademark for the word FACEBOOK, they won’t allow anyone to use the word FACE on anything even unrelated to Facebook.

Facebook writes, “As a result of the considerable publicity afforded the FACEBOOK mark and the enormous and loyal base of customers that Facebook has for its services, the FACEBOOK mark has extensive consumer recognition and is, indisputably, famous and entitled to all the protections afforded famous trademarks.”

This is not the first time Facebook has sent cease and desist letter to developers. The creator behind Facemouth, Chase Blossom, states, “I was well aware of the Lamebook and Teachbook cases when I created the app but our application isn’t near the realm of a social networking site. I didn’t think we were close to infringement.”

Here’s the download link of the letter’s PDF file (Link)

Facebook had its iPhone app ready for the launch of the App Store back in 2008, but haven’t released an iPad app even after one and half years of its launch. But now that is going to change as NYTimes reports that Facebook has completed the work on Facebook iPad app and is ready to release it in coming weeks.

That is about to change. People briefed on Facebook’s plans say that in coming weeks the company plans to introduce a free iPad application that has been carefully designed and optimized for the tablet.

The app is especially designed and optimized for iPad’s touch interface and offers a lot more than Facebook’s website for iPad. Users can shoot and upload photos as well as videos within the app using their device’s camera.

The app that was in production at Facebook for almost a year is now in final testing stages. According to the report, Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg paid close attention to this project and supervised many design decisions and app features.

Facebook now has a total of 700 Million active users and there have been over 25 Million iPad already sold worldwide. So it is a great move by Facebook to provide users with unique experience through a dedicated app….better late than never.

[NYTimes]

WWDC 2011 is just a few days ahead and we have already started counting the days and become impatient and excited, because it is not often when Apple is expected to completely revamp its popular mobile operating system which has not changed a lot since 2007 when it was released for the first time with the original iPhone and was named iPhone OS.

I am not saying that Apple has not changed the OS since it was released for the first time 3 and half years ago, in fact Apple has made several changes to it by introducing new features and making it more stable – and of course biggest change was to change its name from iPhone OS to iOS in 2010 and making it the operating system that will be used in all of its handheld portable devices including the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Apple has already announced that this year’s WWDC will be iOS and Mac OS X centric, indicating that both the operating systems that act as the backbone of its ecosystem will see big changes in their next major update.

Revamped Notifications

Rumors, speculations, and so called inside scoops indicate that Apple is going to revamp its notification system that it has not touched since the release of the operating system, people demand and wish for a complete overhaul of the system that can bring more functionality and management options for the users. And this change is inevitable now because a lot of third party developers have developed notification solutions for iOS that are good enough to bring the current notifications system of iOS to shame and competitors such as HP’s webOS have better notifications too, and besides everything notifications are essential for mobile users because it drives all the information on a mobile device and notifies the user about whats going on.

Widgets

A lot of reports such as this one by TechCrunch indicate that iOS will finally deliver widgets to its users. I won’t comment on this much because i am not a big fan of widgets found on Android OS, but of course we expect everything a lot better from Apple than what Google has already delivered.

Voice Recognition

Apple is reported to integrate Nuance’s voice recognition technology into iOS. Android already features a very good voice recognition system built right into it and we know Apple will do anything to compete with that. Apple iOS currently has “Voice Control” feature but that is very limited and is not widely used by consumers and we know there is a lot that can be done in this particular area. We just hope that Apple will do it this time. Check this patent by Apple and also the video below.

FaceTime over 3G

We don’t have any rumors or reports on this particular topic and the only ground we have to list this feature here is that Steve Jobs said in his iPhone 4 keynote last year that FaceTime will be Wi-Fi only in 2010…so it probably could mean that 2011 would bring the 3G video calling to iPhone and iPad…hope for the best.

Integrated Cloud services

That large data center Apple bought has to get in to good use, and what could be better than deep integration of the cloud services by Apple itself into iOS 5. Apple is expected to introduce and integrate its cloud service and cloud music player right into iOS in the coming update.

Social Integration

Apple is also expected to integrate Facebook and other popular social networks deeply into iOS 5, i don’t know how they are going to do it but if they actually end up doing this, that would be really nice. I mean how nice it would be to change your Facebook account settings from settings.app in your iPhone and post your latest status from your messages.app and also share photos and videos to Facebook right from your Photos.app, that would be really nice – right?

What do you think?

FBUploader tweak for iPhone, that allows users to upload their photos directly from the Photos.app on their iDevice is now available in the Cydia Store for $1.99. The tweak adds a new option to the menu of your Photos.app by tapping which you can directly upload your photos to your Facebook account without leaving the native app.

The app is useful for those who like to take photos of every incident/thing in their life and like to share every photo in their iPhone with their friends. We are expecting that similar options will be added to iOS 5 by default by Apple, that is long rumored to make iOS more Facebook friendly.

No new icons are added to your homescreen, you can configure the tweak from your settings app.

You can get the FBUploader tweak for your device from the Cydia Store for $1.99. It is available in the BigBoss repo.

Check out our full coverage of iOS tweaks here