Facebook (News - Alert) is still one of the biggest online social networking services for desktop and mobile users alike, according to a recent article featured on Financial Post’s website that tells of its stock soaring; in fact, Facebook has hit an all-time high in both ad sales and mobile revenue. For the most part, Mark Zuckerberg’s (News - Alert) Facebook has become one of the Internet's vehicles of choices for socializing; the market trends of its mobile customers prove it.

Millions of people have established an online account and/or have downloaded the relative mobile app to communicate with friends and other users through private or public settings, to share content (e.g., website URLs, images, and video), or to check out News Feed.

Nowadays, users can find many active applications on Facebook; one in particular dubbed Paper is a standalone iPhone application (designed by Creative Labs and planned for Facebook users) for reading and writing news. It became available last month on Apple’s (News - Alert) iTunes App Store (in U.S. only, for now). This month, on Tuesday of this week, released version 1.0.2 of Facebook Paper, which now lets users find and share news stories socially, simply by tapping on the arrow key at the bottom of the screen.

Facebook Paper so far is available only for iOS. This app comes with multiple options for getting and following news on a unique user interface that allows one to browse Paper with simple, natural movements. Users can swipe down to enlarge a story and swipe up to close one. Paper is introducing something new, according to the many tech reviews.

With the latest update, the Paper app, that requires iOS 7.0 or later, enables one to share certain Facebook posts by email, text message, or a Facebook message even to those who are not on the popular social network, as explained in a post featured on ValueWalk.com. The app also allows users to turn off sound effects and create posts in different languages. Even more, Paper enables them to share stories in immersive designs and full screen, distraction-free layouts, as described in iTunes. With Facebook Paper, now, news feeds show in a graphical way!

The objective in releasing Paper (and now with an updated version) is to give members plenty of sharing options. Consequently, the app may become the go-to newsreader of choice for Facebook users, as it offers a simple, yet, creative way for them to generate/read news posts.

CEO and co-founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, became directly involved in Paper’s plan and development. The application, believed to be the first of many more updates to come in the near future, is likely to include more features for its photos, videos, and articles, including newspaper-like sections, as suggested in a CNET post on the topic. With its new features, Facebook aims to be a viable source for staying connected to breaking news, pop culture, and memes.

The ValueWalk post explains that Paper is very similar to other news sharing apps, including Flipboard (News - Alert) and Google Currents. However, for users, Paper “offers a neater way to view articles and photos on their feed. [It] also makes it easy to do other common social tasks like create posts, view notifications, send messages, and more.”

The app has yet to catch on in popularity. Not long ago, it ranked at #28 in social networking apps in the U.S. and #290 in all US apps. When it first came out, it nearly topped the charts at #2. In time, Facebook hopes to get more Paper users.

As of today, Facebook has no immediate plans to release Paper on Android (News - Alert) or other mobile platforms. So far, Paper is available only as an iPhone app; although it is compatible with iPad and iPod touch. Furthermore, Paper is exclusive to the United States; it is only available through iTunes.