The facebook app is a “real” android application (it’s not a wrapper around a web panel), and for that reason alone the interface feels more responsive and natural than some of the others. There are a number of nice features included:

• Rolling notification updates with like/dislike, comments, and user avatars
• Configuration for what notifications you would like to receive, how often, and what kind of notification you’d like from the phone (vibration, ring tone, light blinking, etc).
• Home screen widget showing the latest updates and allowing you to post updates directly from your android ‘desktop’.
• Photo upload integration

And of course, the best news is that the app is free (of both price, and at least as I’ve seen so far, of advertisements as well). Of course, that could always change as many of us recently learned with Useful Switchers (not that I am criticizing him for his choice to charge $0.99 for an excellent app).

I’m pleased to let you know about several updates to Android Market. First, we will soon introduce new features in Android Market for Android 1.6 that will improve the overall experience for users. As part of this change, developers will be able to provide screenshots, promotional icons and descriptions that will better show off applications and games.

We have also added four new sub-categories for applications: sports, health, themes, and comics. Developers can now choose these sub-categories for both new and existing applications via the publisher website. Finally, we have added seller support for developers in Italy. Italian developers can go to the publisher website to upload applications and target any of the countries where paid applications are currently available to users.

To take advantage of the upcoming Android Market refresh, we encourage you to visit the Android Market publisher website and upload additional marketing assets. Check out the video below for some of the highlights.