Bad blood to blame for MIA Facebook Android app?

There's a MySpace app for Android, and the Facebook iPhone app is a runaway hit. But if you've got a new T-Mobile G1 and you're pining for your own Facebook app, well … get ready to wait, as Facebook is apparently giving Google the silent treatment.

Both TechCrunch and GigaOm are reporting that Facebook has "dedicated exactly zero resources" (as Michael Arrington puts it) toward building an Android app. When pressed by GigaOm's Om Malik, a Facebook PR rep tossed off the usual "we don't have anything to share about future products" line, adding that "m.facebook.com enables people to use Facebook on any mobile device." (Facebook apps are also available for BlackBerry and Palm devices.)

So what's going on? As TechCrunch's Arrington explains, we're pretty much talking a feud here, what with Google partnering with MySpace for search, Facebook subsequently cozying up to Microsoft, and Google launching its OpenSocial set of social-networking APIs for sites such as Plaxo, Friendster, Orkut, Linkedin ... everyone but Facebook.

OK, so Google and Facebook are fierce competitors; no surprise there. What does that mean to you and me? Not much, really ... except that from what Arrington and Malik are claiming, it sounds like the execs at Facebook would sooner toss their iPhones over a cliff than help build an Android app for the G1 (or any upcoming Google phone).

That's a shame, because the Facebook iPhone app (a few quirks aside) is pretty cool; I fire it up several times a day, and it's considerably more powerful than the standard mobile version. I'd been assuming that a Facebook Android app would arrive in short order, but … guess not.

Of course, nothing's stopping some enterprising developer (or Google itself) from building its own Facebook app for Android (and according to TechCrunch, Facebook is indeed "looking to others to develop these applications). But there's no telling when that might happen, or what we'll get if and when it does happen.

So, you (new) G1 owners out there: How many of your were counting on a dedicated Facebook app? Or are you just as happy with the standard WAP version?

Related:
MySpace Yes But No Facebook on Google Phone [GigaOm]
Don’t Hold Your Breath For The Facebook Android App [TechCrunch]