I was thrilled a couple of weeks ago when I read that Facebook was going to release an app specifically for those who manage pages on Facebook. At that reading, it was only available in New Zealand with no set release date for the rest of the world. So, imagine my delight this morning when I fired up my iPhone and saw that it was available for download!

While the official Facebook app leaves a lot to be desired, for those of us who manage multiple business pages, it's nice to have it split off from the rest of the general apps. Now, instead of having pages as a side bar that you have to expand to reach all of your pages, the new app gives you only the pages you manage.

Once you are on one of the pages that you manage, you have most of the same functions that you had before. One nice addition is that you now have the ability to access insights (helpful) and a list of other admins on the page. You still do not have access to the messaging system that was released with the last update, no access to the info page (which you have on the Facebook app), and you still cannot tag other pages or people from the iOS device.

Since it's a completely separate app, it is a great solution for those who don't want to worry about posting to their pages from their personal Facebook account that's loaded on their phone. It is meant to be an "on the go" tool and definitely not one that supports robust page maintenance. You can update statuses, post photos, respond to comments, and toggle which posts you want to view. However, if you're looking to change out profile photos, respond to messages, etc., you are going to need to be in front of a normal web browser.

My hope is that eventually there will be one that allows community and page managers the ability to do these things, but until then, it's nice to at least have the clutter of my regular Facebook items stripped away so that I can handle page needs while I'm on the go.

What updates would you like to see in the next release of the Pages app?