I’ve had this thought cross my mind, too… some time ago, actually. My smartphone, a Windows Phone, is a natural social network browser; a mature response to “how to make social networking easy, practical, and physically portable”.
I would roughly guestimate that a good 50% of the OS, fresh out of the box, is dedicated to it (particularly the part known as the “People Hub”). Interestingly, the People Hub isn’t a Facebook app. It’s exactly what it sounds like… a contacts hub, a leads hub, management hub, a communications hub, a social hub… your people hub. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, multiple Exchange domains, even Windows Live.
Some time ago I actually deleted the Facebook app from my phone, because I couldn’t think of a good reason to let it take up space on my phone. That was when it hit me. Aside from the basic description in settings here & there, the Facebook brand did not really exist on my phone. Nor did any of its advertisements. My phone became the better part of the Facebook experience… without Facebook.
It doesn’t surprise me in the least that this has come to light in the recent IPO. I gather that Facebook intends to start adding ads to news feeds. I wonder how long it will be before Facebook starts offering subscriptions to remove them. Or how long it will be before someone figures out how to filter them out again.
http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/the-problem-of-mobility-and-facebook%E2%80%99s-battle-for-revenue-10985/
I have to say, though, the Facebook 2.5 update (relatively new) for Windows Phone does offer a couple features that make it worth keeping on the device.
The latest Facebook app can be found here:
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/82a23635-5bd9-df11-a844-00237de2db9e
I rarely use the Facebook app on my Windows Phone too. I might end up uninstalling the app as well. The problem is that if my Messenger status is Offline then I won't be getting any Facebook Messages (since I'm offline on Facebook too) and there are times where you don't want to be Online. And that's where the Facebook app comes in handy so you'd see you're missed messages.Recently Microsoft updated the Facebook app (it's not developed by Facebook but instead by Microsoft, go figure) and added a bunch of new features yet the app still feels slow, sluggish and the UI still needs some work to make it more usable. I always wondered why even work on that app if you can improve Windows Phone's built in Facebook features? It sounds like the smart thing to do in my opinion.That being said, I am going to hold judgement till we see what's in store in regards to Windows Phone 8 and its tight integration with Windows 8.