Facebook Mobile Site Gets a Facelift

By Adam Zeis on 7 Oct 2009 09:35 am

I received a Facebook message last night, I clicked through a link and was taken to a strange version of Facebook mobile. I assumed that m.facebook.com had received an overhaul, but after refreshing I saw the same ol' Facebook mobile. A quick bit of recon turned up nothing and that was that. Well browsing through my RSS feeds this morning I came across a post on our sister site precentral.net that said Facebook mobile has been revamped. Apparently x.facebook.com is the way to go for smartphone users. This mobile site is optimized for smartphone browsers, and this is the site that is sporting a new look. I had no idea x.facebook.com exsited, but it definitely will land in my bookmarks now.

See the original post on Precentral.net>>

Topics: News & Rumors

Adam Zeis 3046 (articles) 2792 (forum posts)

110 comments

pipotobe Oct 7, 2009 at 9:38 am

I hope it load a bit faster :)

Editors Oct 8, 2009 at 9:30 am

Dashland is a mobile site that reviews the best mobile sites for smartphones.

They have Facebook mobile and a lot more, with icons.

http://dashland.com

Or just search for "dashland"

mungera Oct 7, 2009 at 9:41 am

Why is there a twitter logo at the top of the screenshot?

codemaker Oct 7, 2009 at 9:48 am

Probably because he has some tweets he needs to attend to. I don't know what app it is from though.

Snipes Oct 7, 2009 at 10:25 am

Might be TweetGenius. -shrug-

pipotobe Oct 7, 2009 at 9:43 am

This site doesn't work with the Storm. I think it's for touchscreen and keypads only. No screenclicks:(

rjl2 Oct 7, 2009 at 9:47 am

I just went to the page on my Storm and while the clickable areas don't highlight when you touch them you can click the screen and have it take you to other areas of the site. It does make it interesting though since you can't be certain exactly where you will end up.

amarryat Oct 7, 2009 at 9:44 am

Nice - this looks like the version that is on my iPod Touch. Much nicer than the m.facebook.com version.

royinferno69 Oct 7, 2009 at 9:47 am

Loads a lot faster that's for sure. hope this isn't a hacked facebook site made to look official, only saying that because of the "x" in x.facebook.com

codemaker Oct 7, 2009 at 9:49 am

It is highly unlikely that this is a hacked version of facebook.

amarryat Oct 7, 2009 at 9:49 am

I doubt its hacked - I didn't even need to log in. It used my mobile site credentials automatically

royinferno69 Oct 7, 2009 at 9:57 am

Awesome! Thanks for the reassurance

agband Oct 7, 2009 at 10:13 am

The x.facebook.com is not an aliased or hacked site. It is legit. As Adam noted in his post, the x.facebook.com site is designed for smartphones. There is actually another facebook site specifically designed for the iPhone as well, iphone.facebook.com. not sure if facebook is planning on customizing a subdomain for every smartphone type like that, but in the mean time, iphone.facebook.com or x.facebook.com should work.

rrrebo Oct 7, 2009 at 9:52 am

This site is non-responsive in the BlackBerry browser, even if I turn on the cursor. I was able to log in, but the header and footer load and the rest of the page is blank. I cleared cache and cookies, still didn't work. Anyone confirm this site is legit and not a phishing hole?

jeffreii Oct 7, 2009 at 9:56 am

I was able to login but could not click the blue login button to do it - had to press enter after my password.

After that I see a Facebook bar with Home, Profile, Friends and Inbox and below it all white with a hard-to-see loading icon: |||

Doubt it's hacked though...it's using the facebook.com domain.

Bold 9000 OS 4.6.0.297 v2.

j.p.hatfield Oct 7, 2009 at 9:57 am

worked fine on my 8330...and 5.0 os

jeffreii Oct 7, 2009 at 10:00 am

And it's still working fine for you?

I ask because you say that in past-tense - perhaps the x version of the site is down or having server issues right now.

aeldes1 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:30 am

Turn Javascript on!

samisgr8#cb Oct 7, 2009 at 12:47 pm

Thanks for that info...I was having the same issue that others were with just the bar along the top...now it works very nicely!

jeffreii Oct 7, 2009 at 9:57 am

Doesn't work in IE8 either. Same issue - just totally unresponsive.

berryromancewriter Oct 7, 2009 at 10:02 am

It worked beautifully on my Bold. No response problems or anything, very fast, and nice and clean interface. I hated the FB app for BB because it was useless, so I was using the mobile site, which I had no complaints about but I like this x.facebook.com site much better! I didn’t have to log in or anything.

I am also on 4.6/297.

royinferno69 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:03 am

Yep i just accessed it through my BB Browser (was using bolt before) and it accessed my facebook info so i didn't need to login. It's about time they made this. really responsive and faster compared to their m.facebook.com counterpart. Now if only facebook would update the facebook app for all BB's.

jeffreii Oct 7, 2009 at 10:03 am

I find it hard to believe it's going to work on my BB considering it won't even work in IE8...

royinferno69 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:08 am

I tried it on Safari and Firefox and it worked just fine actually. I don't know what 's up with IE8 i think its just a software issue with IE8, IE has always been buggy at times and i never use it unless i have to for business purposes only because majority of businesses have not adopted the ways of Firefox, Safari, or even Google Chrome. Just try it on your BB wouldn't hurt right?

jeffreii Oct 7, 2009 at 10:10 am

Already tried it on my BB - same unresponsiveness I got in IE8. My findings are above.

elvin1983 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:05 am

Won't let me click the login prompt on my 8330... Oh well, I use the app more than the actual mobile site anyways...

jeffreii Oct 7, 2009 at 10:11 am

Same issue I had on my 9000 - if you press enter after your password it should log you in. Good luck from there though.

I wonder if this is some browser setting issue.

bweston1 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:06 am

i don't know about anyone else, but i just compared this site to the one for the iphone/ipod touch and they are identical. I think that x.facebook.com is the real redirect for iphone.facebook.com.

zerog46 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:07 am

The real site is iphone.facebook.com if you want to book mark it.

amarryat Oct 7, 2009 at 10:10 am

Makes sense, because I just tried it on my iPod Touch, and then tried the iphone version and they appear identical.

Sexy NJ Oct 7, 2009 at 10:09 am

Each time I typed in x.facebook.com I get the message on the screen that it is an invalid address. What am I doing wrong? I am on a Tour OS 4.7.1.40 (yes, I know, I need to upgrade to OS 5.0 but I am too new to do it myself...lol)

amarryat Oct 7, 2009 at 10:11 am

you had the http:// in there as well?

Sexy NJ Oct 7, 2009 at 10:14 am

I did it once without and once with...lol

zerog46 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:16 am

Type in iphone.facebook.com

Sexy NJ Oct 7, 2009 at 10:18 am

though I am on a BB??? (remember I am new so don't laugh...lmao)

Sexy NJ Oct 7, 2009 at 10:20 am

I get the top part of FB with home, profile, etc in Blue. The a blank white section and at the bottom is says logout, full mobile site, etc....

Sexy NJ Oct 7, 2009 at 10:17 am

I did it once with the www and once without..... HELP!!!! LOL

tturner23 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:12 am

I'm running 5.0.0.230 on my Tour and also live in an area that doesnt have great coverage (a lot of bouncing between 3G and 1X) how do I get the coverage indicator to always show?

*Yay new FB!

lulugirl896 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:12 am

This version of Facebook is the default for the Palm Pre. Its optimized for that device and your mileage may vary using a Blackberry.
Its not a 'hacked' version at all.

esmooth Oct 7, 2009 at 10:18 am

The site does not work on my 8320 for tmobile. when I go into x.facebook.com it doesnt let me click into anything. seems like this website is ONLY for the iphone and the pre

lucblanchet Oct 7, 2009 at 10:14 am

I could enter my user email and password but as soon as tried clicking on login, there's no response.

zerog46 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:40 am

Put the mouse over the login and hit the enter button.

lucblanchet Oct 7, 2009 at 10:49 am

That's what I did and still..

Pilot Prop Oct 7, 2009 at 10:18 am

works just fine on my bold but its "ok" at best....not a fan of x.facebook.com

sarah2323 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:18 am

if i wanted to use an iphone site, I would've bought an iphone.

Sexy NJ Oct 7, 2009 at 10:19 am

Nice! LOL

48hughey Oct 7, 2009 at 10:23 am

Tried it on my Storm running 5.0.0.230, it logged me in fine (automatically using existing credentials), but then...no response to any screen clicks. Back to the app for now!

amarryat Oct 7, 2009 at 10:41 am

hmmmm - worked for me and I am also running 230.

germster Oct 7, 2009 at 10:24 am

wheres the download??????

48hughey Oct 7, 2009 at 10:25 am

Its a WEBSITE update, NOT an APP update...there is no download.

jeffreii Oct 7, 2009 at 10:25 am

Seems about 50/50 for BB users whether it works or not. The question is, what's the difference??

codemaker Oct 7, 2009 at 10:30 am

This site appears to use javascript and does not work on my 8830 running OS 4.5. Reading through this thread some 4.6 and 4.7 users are also having problems, although some of this may be because they have javascript turned off.

Note: I tested OS 4.5 with javascript turned on.

keaton Oct 7, 2009 at 10:36 am

enable javascript for this site and it works.

Figured that's what it was once I visited it on safari, and yep.

I had the same issue on my storm, nothing clicking. Enabled javascript and BAM seems everything works.

edit: dangit codemaker, I was in the middle of typing my response when you posted that! haha.

codemaker Oct 7, 2009 at 10:45 am

LUCKYBOLD Oct 7, 2009 at 10:38 am

Works great on my Bold

jakeh0 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:40 am

this is way better than the app

miller7796 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:41 am

I get logged in to the site, but nothing happens when I click the Home/Profile/Friends/Inbox links, nothing happens. Javascript is on, Bold 9000, 4.6.0.297. Back to m.facebook.com since it works, kinda.

vannoj Oct 7, 2009 at 10:42 am

I guess its working on my Tour running 5.0.0.230 but I have no idea why someone would use this. Its all ugly scroll bars surrounding posts and misaligned headers and such. This is clearly not designed for the BB but for the Pre and iPhone.

codemaker Oct 7, 2009 at 10:47 am

The problems you see are probably more a result of non standard behavior by the BB than the site being designed for the pre or iphone (which both use the same standards compliant rendering engine).

jakeh0 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:49 am

same issue on my tour bb browser but it looks incredible on opera mini beta 5

LuLu051705 Oct 7, 2009 at 10:43 am

I typed in x.facebook.com into the address bar and it went right to it. It looks so much better and is easier to navigate through. I then went into browser configuration and changed the homepage to http://x.facebook.com and it works beautifully on my Tour! Awesome!

jeffreii Oct 7, 2009 at 10:47 am

Ok - so it is enabling JAVASCRIPT that allows this page to work, as suggested by previous posters.

HOWEVER, for some reason you cannot just edit the bookmark and tell it to enable javascript for that particular bookmark. That didn't work. I had to go to options/general/enable javascript and then the page would load fine.

Good luck.

trees247 Oct 7, 2009 at 11:04 am

a no go 8320 did everything

joedirt2217 Oct 7, 2009 at 11:07 am

Works fine on my 9530 Storm! Nice, clean pages, fast and easy to navigate through. Had Opera 5.0 but got rid of it because I didn't like how it loaded FB in mobile view, I am now back to Opera 5.0!

redsoxnation17 Oct 7, 2009 at 11:31 am

which facebook do you like better? facebook app or x.facebook.com? seems you could use the xfacebook and get rid of the facebook app that way you clear up some memory on bb. what yall think?

SaraBear Oct 7, 2009 at 11:32 am

This site is a no go for me on 8310/4.5 with javascript turned on. The banner loads but the rest of the page is blank.

jimbl Oct 7, 2009 at 11:32 am

I've enabled all the Javascript options that I can find, all I get is a header and some links to Home, Profile, etc that can't be clicked.

It appears to be working fine from the Bolt browser though.

qu3lly Oct 7, 2009 at 11:33 am

I have bolt and ie8 on my 8900. Everytime i go to the site, i get an error message stating, unable to determine IP address for x.facebook.com. help please. I have turned on javascript and still no show! os 5.0.0.190

BlackBerry Brian Oct 7, 2009 at 11:33 am

I think I'm in love!

Being a BlackBerry ABUSER gets more rewarding every day!

qu3lly Oct 7, 2009 at 12:11 pm

what browser did you use?

BlackBerry Brian Oct 7, 2009 at 12:19 pm

I will be getting a LOT of use from this when the FB application falls short, which is often.

qu3lly Oct 7, 2009 at 12:24 pm

still getting unable to determine IP address for x.facebook.com

BlackBerry Brian Oct 7, 2009 at 12:50 pm

Put that in the browser JUST LIKE THAT!

My guess is everyone is leaving in the WWW...

http://x.facebook.com/ <--- copy and paste that into the browser!

Sexy NJ Oct 7, 2009 at 12:21 pm

over it now... Good luck everyone. I guess I will stick to the app and the normal mobile site. :)

teddyp6 Oct 7, 2009 at 12:30 pm

I enabled the javascript and I am still just getting the banner at top and the stuff at the bottom but just white space in the middle. Anyone have any other ideas? i am using the Bold

danimal1968 Oct 7, 2009 at 1:16 pm

Enable javascript. Hit reload. If that doesn't work, try closing the browser then reopening.

teddyp6 Oct 7, 2009 at 1:50 pm

I tried that and still gives me the same white space. Thanks for your help though.

teddyp6 Oct 7, 2009 at 2:25 pm

Apparently it was a problem with internet explorer, I downloaded opera mini 5 and it works perfectly.

billante251 Oct 7, 2009 at 12:42 pm

I have the FB app for my tour and it SUCKS!! So as soon as i saw this i went and added it to my bookmarks and it works so much better then athe app and the old link I had in place So thank you to who ever found this.
Now all we need to do is find Twitter that works like this.

BlackBerry Brian Oct 7, 2009 at 12:54 pm

http://x.facebook.com/ <--- EXACTLY LIKE THIS!

This URL is what you need to be putting in the browser!

You can NOT leave the WWW in the URL address!

Captivate me Oct 7, 2009 at 12:54 pm

I tried this site using the update Bolt browser, and it works great! Its fast and I can actually update my status on this site, something I was have problems doing on facebook.com.

BTW I have the 8900

Captivate me Oct 7, 2009 at 1:02 pm

I forgot to say THANKS for sharing this:)

Buzzkillington Oct 7, 2009 at 1:15 pm

Based on what I have seen so far when it comes to it working with the Storm, you cant just click the screen to use the buttons on the website. I think this is a good start to a better facebook site but not perfect for the storm yet.

bleeding_green Oct 7, 2009 at 1:15 pm

Worked fine for me on Opera Mini 4.2. I couldn't get it to work on the BlackBerry Browser though. The site is awesome. Definitely the next best thing to visiting it on an actual computer.

breyt0n Oct 7, 2009 at 1:18 pm

I tried using Opera Mini 5 Beta on my Storm 9500, and it works great!

decolur455 Oct 7, 2009 at 1:28 pm

Trying it out on my 8130 using Opera Mini V Beta. It's not bad so far. I don't think I can delete things from within facebook though. Since my beloved Pearl is limited in the memory department, I would love to reclaim the space that FB's BB App takes up. Is there anyone out there that does not use the FB BB App on their Berry?

kellidotca Oct 7, 2009 at 1:50 pm

got it working on my 8900 .250 but i had to enable javascript and then clear my browser cache to get it to work.

jdntea Oct 7, 2009 at 1:42 pm

turn on javascript to see wall posts.

the log-in button doesn't work. just press enter on your keypad when you type in your password to log-in.

Overall, a bit sluggish on 1XEV w/ 4 bars coverage.

no photo/video upload options.

brindaarnold Oct 7, 2009 at 1:54 pm

When I'm in the facebook and have the option of going to the "mobile site" will it take me to m.facebook? Is there a way to change that? Never mind, it doesn't work on 8310 OS 4.5.0.161 anyway.

skynny70 Oct 7, 2009 at 1:48 pm

No dice for me on 8330 w/ 4.5. I enable java and still doesn't work. I can log in but doesn't let me do anything after that. No luck with Opera Mini either.

Magic Rat#WN Oct 7, 2009 at 2:00 pm

very quick on my Tour using the updated Bolt browser. The Facebook app has been banished from my home screen!

abigorbot Oct 7, 2009 at 2:44 pm

I've tried as well and have the same problems with the http://iphone.facebook.com and http://x.facebook.com. I can get into the site [even after discovering that you have to press enter to login] but nothing else is clickable. I've enabled javascript and even tried changing the emulating mode to IE but it's not working. I've dumped the cache and cookies.

I'm honestly at this point turned off from using facebook at all on my blackberry. The app is less than stellar and it seems that any type of improvement in functionality is more the 5.0 os.

Running: 4.5.0.163(257)
Platform: 2.7.0.92
T-Mobile 8320

superfestiva Oct 7, 2009 at 3:15 pm

It won't load...??? Says error!

mookish Oct 7, 2009 at 4:04 pm

This is old news:

"Mobile Web Sites
Facebook has two mobile web sites: m.facebook.com, which works on any mobile browser, and x.facebook.com, which is designed specifically for touch screen phones like Android, Palm, iPhone and Nokia. These sites have been translated into more than 60 languages and allow you to update your status, browse your News Feed and your friends' Profiles, comment or "like" stories, and view or update your Facebook Page."

number_nine Oct 7, 2009 at 5:16 pm

I tried this on firefox, it works great, and looks pretty cool too.
Unfortunately, it dosn't work on my Bold, there's a blue bar at the top with Home, Profile, Friends and Inbox written, and the loading bar which dosn't move. When i click somewhere nothing happens, and java is enabled in my BB browser.
Anyone having the same issues? If you have a solution please help me, this looks much better than the m.facebook.com mobile site :(

SaraBear Oct 7, 2009 at 8:11 pm

Same issues with me. I've tried tinkering with every setting I can think of and I always get the the result you mentioned on an 8310. Maybe it is a network thing? I'm on AT&T. I wonder if the people who have it working right have the same carrier(s)?

chops20n8 Oct 7, 2009 at 5:30 pm

i keep getting Error 504 Gateway Timeout???? any suggestions

BlackBerry Brian Oct 8, 2009 at 9:37 am

You can NOT leave the WWW in the URL address!

This URL is what you need to be putting in the browser!

http://x.facebook.com/ <--- EXACTLY LIKE THIS!

murso74 Oct 7, 2009 at 6:06 pm

this is better then the bb app =\

Jackamus Oct 7, 2009 at 7:13 pm

Not working for me.. =(

kingb71 Oct 7, 2009 at 7:16 pm

I prefer to have javascript off, am going back to the old mobile site.

cdf3 Oct 7, 2009 at 7:19 pm

I like it. Thanks for posting.

B.Charles Oct 7, 2009 at 8:06 pm

Just chiming in so that others will know that it actually works on 8320. I am running 4.5. On my first try, while using the bolt browser, I entered in x.facebook.com. The site came right up and I entered in my info and I was in. No problems no hiccups. I didn't do anything with settings or javascript. Nothin. I don't have any problems with the mobile site so for me, I guess I really don't need to access x.facebook.com unless I just want somethin different. I dont know. I'll play around with it more

mohitkalra Oct 7, 2009 at 9:55 pm

KILLER

a.leah86 Oct 8, 2009 at 2:22 am

Is this recommended for the BB browser that came with the phone or is this meant mostly for the 3rd party browsers like Opera Mini or Bolt?

I couldn't get this to work on the native blackberry browser (which is what I'd prefer, so I can use my Quicklaunch) but it runs gorgeously on my Opera Mini.

On the BB browser I'm having the same problem that many others mentioned. I get the header bar, and the footer bar with nothing in between but white space and nothing is clickable. (I'm on a Pearl 8130 OS 4.5.0.169)

patm7330 Oct 8, 2009 at 2:22 am

LOVE IT. Works on my Storm. It's great...wish it could have an icon on my main page though.

scruz1981 Oct 8, 2009 at 2:43 am

I have the blackberry tour from verizon where do I go to download x.facebook.com? I typed it in google and in the www. section and nothing..