The much heralded Facebook 3.0 update for the iPhone is finally here, bringing with it a host of new features unavailable in the previous Facebook app. Among the new features are the ability to create photo albums, upload video, and get to notes and custom pages. And perhaps the best feature is that they managed all of this without cluttering up the interface.
A major component to any platform is a standardized graphical user interface (GUI). This allows users to quickly learn how to use an application because standard features are located in the same place, like File, Edit and View always being located on the far left side of the menu in Windows.
Facebook 3.0 may very well have hit upon the perfect GUI for the iPhone by simply emulating what Apple already did: arranging icons in a grid and allowing you to scroll from screen to screen. This allows for a neat and easy interface where you can quickly get at multiple functions without cluttering up each individual screen with a clunky menu.
A neat addition is the ability to touch the top of the screen to get back to the main menu (or to be taken back to your last page if you are already on the main menu). This is like hitting the iPhone home button to get back to the home screen.
Not all apps need a complicated GUI because many aren't all that complicated, but we are beginning to see more and more apps that pack a good set of features, and Facebook 3.0's interface makes for a great template for these iPhone apps.
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