The new Facebook for BlackBerry, version 1.5, is scheduled for release in January 2009, according to crackberry.com. The latest version of the BlackBerry-specific mobile site hosts a few new features that you may find helpful.

New account creation lets you make a new account directly from your BlackBerry, and you can also access and manage your Facebook phone book. This includes the ability to view your friends’ phone numbers, publish your phone number, and request phone numbers. This is an important feature as it allows users to tie in phone numbers from Facebook straight into their BlackBerry contact lists.

As birthday reminders have proven to be one of the most useful applications of a Facebook account, it’s no surprise that the new version 1.5 has a birthday and BlackBerry calendar link, automatically importing and linking your friends’ big day to your phone’s calendar. This useful calendar integration goes for Facebook events as well, with multi-color differentiation for both birthday and event markings on the calendar. Need an additional reminder for birthdays and events? This can be set up as well.

With a major highlight of Facebook for BlackBerry version 1.5 being the furthered integration into the Facebook network and BlackBerry mobile device, there are some concerns that come to mind, considering the initial issues that arose for the first Facebook for BlackBerry release last year. Too much integration in an un-modified manner led to some overrun applications on the BlackBerry, as Nick experienced on his own handheld device.

Yet given Facebook’s involvement with the development of the BlackBerry version of the popular social network, as well as previous experience and the seemingly minimal leaps that the new version 1.5 features will offer in comparison to the first version, such BlackBerry malfunctions seem to be an unlikely occurrence. It’s also important to note that Facebook for BlackBerry version 2.0 is also reported to be in the works. According to crackberry.com, Facebook for BlackBerry version 2.0 is slotted for release later on next year.