Nokia Messaging for Social Networks is a Beta project that gives you faster access to Facebook and Twitter.

More and more of us are using our phones to access Facebook and Twitter these days. The guys at Nokia Beta Labs recognize this, and have delivered Nokia Messaging for Social Networks to convert your Nokia Series 60 5th Edition phone into a social media hub.

After installing Nokia Messaging for Social Networks, a 'Communities' icon is added to the Applications menu. After opening the app you can enter your account credentials for Facebook and Twitter, adding as many accounts as you like. These accounts will then automatically show up on the front page of Nokia Messaging for Social Networks whenever you open it. It's then just a case of tapping on an account to open it.

Access to Facebook

The Facebook section of Nokia Messaging for Social Networks presents your Facebook page remarkably clearly. The main section of the screen is dedicated to your news feed, showing updates from your friends. Then, along the top or the side of the screen, you have icons that take you to your inbox, events, friends list and home. There's also a free text box that lets you instantly share what's on your mind.

Nokia Messaging for Social Networks is all about merging phone functionality with social networking, to deliver a seamless communication experience. For instance, when you click on a Facebook contact, a pop-up appears that allows you to call them, send an SMS or a Facebook message with just one click.

You can also use Nokia Messaging for Social Networks to post you precise location status to Facebook using Ovi Maps, and the app even allows you to add events from Facebook into your phone's calendar. Add to this the great support for capturing and sharing multiple images and video from your phone to Facebook, and you have a tool that really melds the functions of your handset with the Facebook world.

Twitter support

Also included in this second Beta release of Nokia Messaging for Social Networks is Twitter support. Again, the user interface for this is clear and touch-friendly. The timeline is clear to read and it's quick and easy to post, reply, favorite, etc. You can insert you location into tweets and attach images from your camera.

Nokia Messaging for Social Networks still feels very much like a work in progress. In fact, the Twitter client inside it feels more like an Alpha release, with features such as direct messages, people list, and mentions screen still not functional.

Nokia Messaging for Social Networks makes clever use of your phone's functions to improve your Facebook. However, it still needs more Twitter features if it's to compete with standalone clients such as Twittix or Gravity.