Back in March, RIM released the first public beta for version 2.0 of its BlackBerry Facebook app. There were plenty of interesting additions, like a notification bar, tabbed browsing, and the introduction of Chat support. So far, so good, but that first release of the beta only supported BlackBerry smartphones running OS 6.0, leaving older models in the dust. RIM said that it would be expanding access all the way down to devices running OS 4.6 before the app left beta, and it looks like it’s making progress; RIM has just updated the beta to version 2.0.0.19, now supporting OS 5.0 BlackBerrys.

While RIM hasn’t quite reached the compatibility goal it set (not yet, anyway), 5.0 support is a huge step in expanding access to the app. That may be the big appeal of this update, but even BBOS 6.0 users who could already access it will benefit from the bugfixes it brings; after all, this is a beta. Contacts should no longer take as long to load as they did with previous builds, and there are a couple fixes to problems with Facebook Chat, removing errant error messages and improving the reliability of the server connection.

As with all RIM releases in the BlackBerry Beta Zone, you’ll need to register for a free account before you can download and install. If you’re a BBOS 5.0 user, now sounds like a perfect time to sign up.

Source: BerryReview