For more immediate interactivity, however, we need (and have) a different set of tools, which Facebook has now compartmentalized into Facebook Messenger. The free mobile app for iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPad 2, iPodTouch) is a dedicated tool for chat and SMS text messaging, with optional alerts that wake up your screen (and vibrate, and ring) to let you know when incoming messages are received. It's similar in many ways to BlackBerry Messenger, the private instant messaging service that lets BlackBerry smartphone users text-chat with one another, only Facebook Messenger is confined to the world of Facebook rather than one platform (in this case the iPhone, though an Android version is also available). All the features of the original Facebook app, including Chat, are still available—they haven't disappeared—leaving some people wondering why they would want a second app to do, by and large, what the first one already does. Faster, More Accurate Numbers According to Facebook, the Messenger client works faster than the instant messaging tools in the original Facebook for iPhone, although in testing the app, I couldn't see a noticeable difference. The time it took to send and receive a message from Messenger to Messenger versus Facebook app to Facebook app was so slight (less than half a second), I can't say the difference wasn't caused by human error. All my test messages came through in less than three seconds. The Messenger to Messenger times were all under two-and-a-half seconds.
The real advantages of using the new Facebook Messenger app are 1) it includes SMS (texting) as an option when sending a message, and 2) it draws phone numbers from your Facebook connections' rather than contacts list in your iPhone, reducing the chance that you an outdated or incorrect phone number. Other services have combined SMS with instant messaging before, so Facebook Messenger isn't wholly new in this aspect. What makes it special for most people, however, is that it leverages their Facebook networks. One of the often-overlooked strengths of Facebook is that it's a central source of data about your friends, including their phone numbers, email addresses, and whereabouts. If you want to send a text message a friend but don't have her phone number stored in your phone, you can quickly send her a Facebook message instead. And if she's added her phone number to Facebook and granted the appropriate permissions, the app will automatically pull up her number as an option, in case you would prefer to send her a text.
- Pros
- Free. Ability to send SMS texts in addition to instant messages. Includes multiple settings for push notifications.
- Cons
- No list of friends online. Profile pictures of friends missing when using SMS. Some messages received in duplicate. Isn't one Facebook app enough?
