Facebook for Android updated with homescreen shortcuts to Messenger, Camera sharing

Facebook is pushing an update to its Android app right now, which will bring with it the usual (and you might say needed) performance improvements and bugfixes. This version of the app also comes with an interesting new feature: direct links to Facebook Messenger and Camera sharing in the app tray. The latter will allow you to jump directly into the interface to sharing photos to Facebook — a move we can’t help but think of in light of Instagram’s launch on Android. We might have said that it’s a response to Instagram’s increased competition for photo sharing on Android, but in light of Facebook’s billion-dollar purchase, let’s just call it a nice shortcut that reduces your number of taps from at least four to just one.

The Messenger icon on your homescreen is also an indication that Facebook has brought the messenger features within the full fledged app up to par with the standalone Facebook Messenger app, including online status, group conversation improvements, and contact sorting.

Version 1.9 of Facebook for Android should be available on Google Play shortly.