Microsoft updates Live Messenger iPhone app
New to version 1.1 of Windows Live Messenger for the iPhone is Facebook chatting, the ability to filter your list of friends, and support for iOS 4 fast app switching.
Microsoft has beefed up its Windows Live Messenger iPhone app with a few new features.
Launched on Monday, Live Messenger 1.1 now lets you incorporate your Facebook account directly into Messenger. You can view updates from and chat with your Facebook friends and update your own profile. Through your Windows Live Service account page, Microsoft gives you some control over the Facebook integration, so you can limit who sees what.
Also new to Live Messenger is a filter for your friends list. You can choose to view all your friends, only those in certain groups, or only those currently online, a handy option for those of you with lengthy contact lists. You also now have easier access to your status screen, so you can more quickly change your status or sign out completely.
Live Messenger 1.1 takes advantage of the fast switching feature introduced in Apple's iOS 4, which means you can pause the app to do something else and then quickly return to it without having to launch it from scratch. To reach out to more of the world, the app also now supports 31 different languages, including Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Turkish.
The 1.1 update represents the first refinements that Microsoft has made to Live Messenger for the iPhone since the app's debut in June. The Facebook integration new to the mobile version also gives us a taste of what to expect with the upcoming Live Messenger 2011 desktop version. Currently in beta, the new desktop edition will offer Facebook chatting among a host of other enhancements.