UPDATE 8/18 @ 9:25PM The new Facebook 1.8.0.49 should now be available for everyone to download. While blackberry.com/facebook should work, in case it doesn’t, click here to go to the official mobile download page for a direct OTA download instead of the App World download. Let me know how you like the new version! *

It looks like RIM is playing with our emotions a bit on this one. Earlier today version 1.8.0 of Facebook for BlackBerry was made available as a carrier preview and removed, then version 1.8.0.49 was put up in the App World, removed but someone was able to leak it as an OTA download, now version 1.8.0.49 is back in the App World but there’s no way to actually download it now.

The leaked version works fine and since we now have confirmation that it’s the same as the official version, you can go ahead and download it if you’d like but since it’s not coming directly from RIM, it’s still considered a leak. Otherwise, if you’re able to download the official version from the App World let me know in the comments!

Key features of version 1.8:

• Push Based Notifications
  • Receive push notifications for the following features on the go without having to integrate an email account with your BlackBerry smartphone:
    • Comments on Status/Links/Photos
    • Wall Posts
    • Friend Requests
    • Group/Event Invitations
    • Event Updates/Cancellations
    • Messages
    • Tags in one of your photos
    • Pokes
    • Phone Requests Received/Accepted
• Friends List Performance
  • Faster loading speeds, supports up to 5000 friends.
• Photo Performance
  • Faster loading speeds and larger thumbnails than Facebook 1.7
• News Feed Performance
  • News Feed automatically loads additional without the need to request more