facebook

We have received a number of tips that the Windows Phone Facebook app and People Hub integration are not working. There are reports of the Facebook app not loading, passwords not being accepted and status updates not refreshing.  So far hard resets, deleting the account and re-installing, and tinkering with Windows Live permissions have been tried with no success. Manually syncing the Facebook account in the Windows Phone settings also fails to correct the issue.

While we would like to give you a reason for the problems but we are experiencing the same issues and have not heard of a cause. Some have suggested it may be an API issue with Facebook.  On my end, I've been watching the load screen for the Facebook app pass the four dots across the screen for the past five minutes.  And the last Facebook updates in the Peoples Hub was from last night.

If you feel like venting, feel free to join the Windows Phone Central Forums discussion here or sound off in the comments. Just remember as you express your frustrations that this is a family friendly site. Should a solution or reason for this problem come about, we'll be sure to pass it on.

Thanks, everyone, for the tips!

We wrote up quite a lengthy article the other day detailing the possibility of a Facebook smartphone, or "FacePhone" for giggles, so we wont go into too much detail here to save your eyes some repetition. According to a report over at Computerworld, a mobile marketing expert based in Paris has predicted such hardware will emerge in 18 months. Yep, we know what you're thinking. Take this with a truck-load of salt.

Paul Amsellem, managing director of Mobile Network Group and the soul who believes such a device will become reality, also states that Facebook could buy Nokia with the state the manufacturer is in, which would give the social network an easy opportunity to get into the mobile market. This in itself is a wild prediction.

"Facebook will launch the FacePhone. And whether it has a blue color and a logo with a big F on it, it will definitely be disruptive. Even at this moment, Facebook doesn't know what it will look like, but they need to do it. Facebook needs somebody with an understanding of networking, technology, carrier relationships and logistics. They can acquire one of these two players [Nokia / RIM] for not a lot of money." 

Amsellem goes onto say that the company needs to do something, which everyone will agree with. Facebook has found itself in a hole with stocks, revenue streams and innovations for the service itself. For the time being, the social network hangs on as an integrated service or app for current mobile operating systems. This will have a negative impact on advertisement revenues with more and more computer users moving to / adopting portable devices.

Rob Enderle, an analyst at Enderle Group, hits the Facebook situation nail on the head though.

"Facebook appears to be trying to emulate Google, much like Google tried to emulate Apple. A copy of a copy likely won't end up well, given how powerful both of the primary iOS and Android platforms are."

It boils down to the fact that Facebook really is just a place to communicate with friends, and occasionally water the crops. Is there space for Facebook as an ecosystem with a mobile platform to compete with Microsoft, Apple, RIM and Google? Probably not, but then again this is just an analyst's prediction, and we all know first-hand how inaccurate these can be.

What do you guys think? Would Facebook be punching above its weight?

Source: Computerworld

Microsoft has released version 2.5 of the official Facebook app for Windows Phone. The update brings many features requested by the community, including threaded messaging (much like messaging on Windows Phone), group messaging and the ability to tag friends in status updates / posts ('with' and 'at' formats supported).

As well as tagging friends, users can now delete posts and comments by tap-and-holding to bring up the context menu for more functionality. Links within published posts can be selected, which will open up the linked content, and the photo comments and likes views have been updated, that now both match the respective post views. When viewing likes and comments on photos, the photo itself is displayed above the lists, which can be pulled down to view.

And if all that wasn't enough, you can now 'like' comments! You can download the Facebook app for free from the Marketplace. 

Source: Facebook; thanks to all who tipped us!

There seems to be a fascination with baking cakes that look like Windows Phones. So much so that Microsoft is hosting a cake contest where you could bake your way into a new Windows Phone.

Entering is simple. Create a Windows Phone inspired cake, take a picture of your culinary delight and submit it at the Windows Phone Cake Contest page over on Facebook. The three cakes with the most "likes" will win a Windows Phone.

Entries must be received by Wednesday, May 30, 2012 and voting ends on June 6, 2012. You can find all the fine print of the official rules here on SkyDrive. This is definitely one contest that could go straight to your hips.

Good luck and happy baking.

Source: Windows Team Blog

<a data-cke-saved-href='http://video.msn.com/?vid=e0aaf4ff-24c7-42a0-875f-40917489ea1b&mkt=en-us&src=SLPl:embed::uuids' href='http://video.msn.com/?vid=e0aaf4ff-24c7-42a0-875f-40917489ea1b&mkt=en-us&src=SLPl:embed::uuids' target='_new' title='Search with friends'>Video: Search with friends</a>

Microsoft is getting ready to overhaul Bing again and we like where it's going. The new Bing Search will integrate heavily with Facebook (leaving us non-users on the side) allowing you to quickly ping your friends, family and colleagues for tips, advice or to share your finds on the web with them directly.

In a way, it's sort of the logical next-step in search. Merging of social services with web inquiries makes sense and is the reason why sites like Quora have taken off .

The service just doesn't integrate with Facebook though as "social networks" is tossed around like the pop catch phrase it is implying that Twitter, LinkedIn and whatever Live can connect to today will also be on board. The system works by having a side panel that shows your friends' live stream, enabling you to quickly interact with them via the Bing Search page.

Clearly Facebook is front and center here for a few reasons, most notably the fact that's it the most popular of the bunch but also because Microsoft and Facebook love each sooo much it may almost may Nokia jealous.

Watching the demo video above, we can't help but wonder what Bing Search on Windows Phone 8 will be like. We have to imagine that this tight integration will carry over to mobile as well this Fall, giving Microsoft a new edge for search.

No word on when we can expect the new Bing to launch but you can sign up to be notified by clicking the source link. Question for you folks: Good idea or bad ? And do you think this will help them in their battle against Google?

Source: Bing (For US only for some odd reason)

Hot on the heals of the Smarter Apps Sweepstakes over on Facebook, another giveaway has surfaced. The Windows Phone Skype Giveaway is also being held over on Facebook and gives you a chance to win either an HTC Titan II or Nokia Lumia 900. Ten Windows Phones will be given away.

Just go to this Facebook page, watch the Skype video and then complete the entry form. You have until June 7, 2012 at 11:59PST to enter. Unfortunately we couldn't find the fine print so we don't know if you can enter daily or if you only get one entry.  Our guess, one entry per Facebook account per day but we could be wrong.

Oh...and the contest is only open to residents of the United States and District of Columbia (don't hate the messenger).

Good luck everyone and if you win will you choose the Titan II or Lumia 900?

Thanks, Ruslan, for the tip!

Fantastic news for all of you users who use the official (and sometimes panned) Facebook app for Windows Phone: Version 2.5 is nearly complete and getting ready for release.

What's more, the Facebook team has been listening to all of your feedback, taking it to heart and to their software devs. As a result, version 2.5 looks to be a fairly rich update with lots of new features, such as:

• Threaded messaging - Full Facebook threaded messaging including group messaging, all in a beautiful Metro style design.
• Tagging - Now you can tag friends and locations in your posts in the ‘with’ and ‘at’ format.
• Delete posts and comments - Use the tap and hold context menu to delete posts and comments from your wall.
• Active links in posts - Tap on links in posts to go directly to the content.
• Updates to the photo comments and likes page - The photo comments and likes page has been updated to match the posts comments and likes page. You can see a hint of the image at the top of the page, pull down and you can see the whole thing.
• And finally, by popular demand...you can now ‘like’ comments!

We're not huge Facebook users but even we want some of those features ASAP, especially liking comments.

As far as to when the release is coming, the team noted  "We’re just going through our final rounds of testing and sign off then we’ll be able to share it with the world." which sounds quite close to us. Hopefully this will make some of you happier with that app and Microsoft, eh?

Source: Facebook; Thanks, Daniel P., for the tip!

Being actively social while on-the-go is Microsoft's main aim with Windows Phone, and both Messenger and Facebook Chat provide the means for owners to communicate with contacts via the social network and popular IM service. What's great about these features is that they are integrated into the operating system. Switching between text, Messenger, and Facebook can be achieved in the conversation itself with zero apps.

The only issue with such integration is actually setting it all up - it's not as simple as one would like to believe (there's no click-and-go here). Messenger is automatically connected and ready to fire up once you'd attached your Live ID in the Windows Phone setup walkthrough, but to activate Facebook Chat, you'll be required to login on your Live account and set up Facebook Connect via the web browser, as well as adding your Facebook account to your phone. Simply connecting your Facebook account to your Windows Phone only kick-starts the social integration for the People hub and Me tile. Too much, too fast?

Read on for our full tutorial on Facebook Chat and Messenger for Windows Phone....

Have some interesting and / or humorous Windows Phone fan art? Or do you simply have an awesome photo containing a handset that you wish to show off? If you share it on Facebook with the Windows Phone team, they may well include your submission in their album.

Checking out what has been added so far shows there are a lot of cakes around that have been Metro'd. From the previous competitions we've held here at WPCentral, we know our reader base is bursting at the seems with talent (we have to suck up to you guys at some point, right?), so it'll be interesting to see what you call come up with.

Source: Facebook