Let's be honest, the name "Friends with Benefits" made us feel that this would be a cheap, poorly-designed Facebook companion app amongst many. Thankfully, it didn't deter us from actually giving it a shot -- and we're quite glad we did!
To put it simply, Friends with Benefits is the most comprehensive Facebook companion app out there that we've tried. In addition to the basic Facebook tasks and features, the user can block unwanted ads, change the font settings, save images, view links from within the app, engage in witty banter via the chat feature, and do all of these tasks while using a custom theme of your choosing!
The app's interface is simple, and the home page looks much like Facebook, but with added features. For those who crave a bit of style and change from the usual blue/grey/white color scheme, the many themes that can be applied provide a visually enhanced browsing experience. Furthermore, the awkward (at times) Facebook ads that typically appear on the right side of the page are removed by default and can be added back to the page if the user chooses to view them. Increasing the font size also enables a better browsing experience for many and can be done by a quick visit to the settings menu.
One of the features we enjoyed most was the ability to view shared links from within the app itself. This eliminates the need to switch constantly from app to Safari to app back to Safari, which quickly grows tiresome in other apps. Although the browser that launches is fairly basic, we found it to work fine for basic Facebook needs. If necessary, a Safari window can be launched from the web browser and the link can also be shared via email.
We were impressed with how well the chat messages were displayed in a threaded style, and how the messages appeared just as they would when you're normally browsing Facebook.com. The Facebook chat was easy to access and showed our buddies according to the list under which they were categorized. Although a bit awkward at first, a two finger swipe up or down was all that was necessary to scroll through the list.
The newsfeed in Friends with Benefits is displayed exactly as we'd expect, and the overall browsing responsiveness has been stellar -- so far it's been extremely stable, with no performance issues or crashing to speak of. We're impressed with how seamlessly themes are applied, and how the entire app works just like Facebook while adding new and desirable features. As a matter of fact, we've enjoyed it so much that it's likely to replace the Facebook site!
On the flipside, if you're unable to deal with the fact that you can't do certain flash-based things like upload photos or play your favorite games, this app might not be for you. However, for the majority of users searching for a powerful Facebook app, this one of the most promising solutions we've come across so far!
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