The Facebook iPhone app got a nice update today: push notifications! It took awhile, but considering the application’s most prominent developer recently quit, it’s not much of a surprise.

The update seems small, but it’s a pretty serious change in the way you can use the app. You no longer need to be working in the app to see updates. They’ll get pushed straight through, just like a text message. If you have friends like mine, that kind of up-to-the-minute response can be crucial. Incriminating photo gets tagged? Now you know instantly.

The update also included some handy contact syncing. Your Facebook contacts can now be linked up to your contact list, photos and all. It’s a nice way to get pics of those people you might not otherwise have in your phone. It also feels slightly less creepy than copying a picture from Facebook and using it. Yes, I’ve done that. Yes, I am ashamed.

Image: TechCrunch

According to Joe Hewitt’s Twitter feed, Facebook 3.0 has officially been submitted to the app store. If you need the details on Facebook’s latest face lift, check out this post from earlier in the month.

The Facebook devs are definitely excited about this one. They’ve got a new page up where they plan to release more details and screenshots as our waiting begins. I don’t think we’ll be waiting for long, though. Apple already has enough app problems on their hands without adding Facebook to the list.

The feature I’m most looking forward to is video. I don’t really use my Facebook account for much more than keeping my family up to date on my comings and goings. Adding video to the mix is most certainly welcome.

The new and much-improved Facebook app is pretty much done, according Joe Hewitt, a Facebook programmer.

“The app is pretty much done – we’re just working on translating it into a bunch of languages,” he wrote on Twitter. The updated version of one of the iPhone’s most popular apps brings features everyone’s been waiting on for some time. We’ll finally have the ability to manage events, a more streamlined news feed, and a customizable homepage. The update also brings video support for the iPhone 3GS, which I’m pretty excited for.

Hewitt wasn’t willing to project a timeline for release. According to a response to TechCrunch, translating can take more time than you might expect. I don’t think end of the month is an unrealistic assumption.

Source: TechCrunch