Facebook for iOS updated and optimized for speed
Facebook has answered the pleas of millions of mobile users with the release of a new application for iOS. The social network has finally addressed the most glaring issue of the company's iPhone and iPad applications: speed. Facebook 5.0 for iOS dropped on the App Store today, and the new version amounts to a complete do-over. The application looks essentially the same, but it's now twice as fast in three areas: launching the app, scrolling through the News Feed, and opening photos in feed. "As you scroll down your news feed, all your friends' stories appear faster than ever. A banner lets you know when new stories come in, and you can tap once to immediately see the latest updates," iOS product manager Mick Johnson said in a blog post on the update. The photo opening experience has been transformed from painfully slow to nearly instantaneous. Users can now tap a photo to open it right away and pull down to close the photo just as quickly. Notifications shou...