With the lack of an official Facebook app available for the iPad, developers have been taking a stab at creating the best social networking experience. Facebook Touch HD ($2.99) is a solid attempt at bringing your social stream to the iPad. However, even with its extensive customization options, it’s still not the best way to browse Facebook.
The main selling point for this app is the customization options available to the user. You can change colors, fonts and font sizes. Your color choice is further customized by changing the saturation and brightness levels. Customization is always nice, but I really don’t have any desire to customize my Facebook experience. Facebook is Facebook.
The interface is well-organized and intuitive. There are tabs for the live feed, friends, events, etc. You can pretty much do everything you would do on facebook.com. One added convenience is when you scroll through your feed, the app will automatically load more posts when you reach the bottom of the list.
Unfortunately, photos are not handled well. When you tap on a photo, you’re brought into a gallery view. However, you can’t simply swipe your way through the photos. You have to tap on the right arrow to advance to the next picture. Especially on the iPad, you should be able to swipe through your photos. There is also a bug that distorts the photo before it settles into the correct format. Speaking of bugs, there were also times when my entire screen went white, and I had no control over the app. A restart of the app was the only way to fix it.
Overall, Facebook Touch HD is a decent way to browse your Facebook account. However, I would personally rather use Safari on my iPad and get the real Facebook experience.
