Facebook releases 'home' software for Android phones

Facebook is releasing software that puts feeds from the social network on the home screen of Android phones.

The software will act like a "wrapper" for the Android operating system and become the main way to use a phone.
Notifications, images and messages will appear on the main screen of the phone instead of being accessible via a downloadable app.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the change would put people, not apps, at the heart of the mobile experience.
Handset home
 In a presentation given at Facebook's campus, Mr Zuckerberg said phone apps were a legacy of the computer world in which people clicked on an icon to start a program.
While this worked well with desktops and laptops, it made less sense with phones, he said.
"Now there's a new use case that's more and more important," he said. "We have our phones with us all the time and we want to know more what's happening to our friends."

Continue reading the main storyJan Dawson Ovum

Facebook's Home software will hide apps and instead pipe all the content and chat carried on via the social network to the home screen.

The software "wrapper" will also change the way that people swap messages or content by letting them respond by tapping on pop-up images, known as chat heads, rather than opening up apps and navigating through menus.
The software will be available via Google's Play Store as a download and will work only with phones running Android 4.0 or higher. Facebook home will be available from 12 April on six phones - three from HTC and three from Samsung. Only four of these handsets are available now. The others are set to launch alongside Facebook home.
No information was given about whether home would be re-developed to work with Apple or Microsoft phones.
Facebook said users could try the software rather than have to commit to use it all the time. Initially, the code will only be available for phones but a version for tablets is under development.
Cory Ondrejka, Facebook's head of engineering, said the company started its push to make everything it did centre on mobiles in early 2012. Figures from Facebook suggest that users spend about 25% of their time on their handsets looking at their feeds and chatting with friends.
Facebook's fourth quarter earnings revealed that about 23% of the money it made from advertising came from adverts shown to mobile users.

The home software will swap apps for a people-centred system, said Facebook

Prior to the news conference, many people speculated that Facebook would announce a branded handset. Mr Zuckerberg said the firm shied away from doing this because even the best selling phones would only reach a small percentage of its user base.
"This can start to be a change in the relationship that we have with how we use these computing devices," he said.
Jan Dawson, senior telecoms analyst at Ovum, said: "To Facebook, this is about becoming more deeply embedded in the operating system on mobile devices, and creating a broader platform.
"Since Facebook doesn't make an operating system for mobile devices, this is the next best thing," he said.
Mr Dawson added that the change would let Facebook track more of a user's behaviour on devices and to serve up ads.
"That presents the biggest obstacle to success for this experiment: Facebook's objectives and users' are once again in conflict," he said. "Users don't want more advertising or tracking, and Facebook wants to do more of both."

Facebook home: First impressions

Facebook's home software takes over the main screens of Android handsets

Facebook nailed its mobile colours firmly to the mast with the launch of home - code that wraps around Android and puts the social network on the start screen of a handset.

The launch was fairly low key but what does everyone else think?
Here is a short round-up of what the world's technology-watchers thought of Facebook's mobile moment.

Technology press

Ina Fried, AllThingsD:

"In introducing Facebook home on Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company was building it first for Android.
"But, in reality, Facebook really can't do many of the same things for the iPhone.
"Zuckerberg acknowledged this in responding to a reporter's question, saying that anything deeper on the iPhone will probably have to come in collaboration with Apple."



Matt Warman, Daily Telegraph (UK):

"Two questions jumped out at me from what we've just watched.
The HTC First looks like another beautifully designed HTC smartphone, but who will buy it?
Facebook home will be available on the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S3 from 12 April.
It will be no bad thing for HTC if consumers opt for the more expensive One range, but with Samsung leading the way in the smartphone market, heavy Facebook users may choose the S4 when it comes out."



Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch:

"Chat heads has a very dumb name, but in practice it actually looks very practical. You have a running conversation that jumps from app to app, and can either use Facebook's own Messenger product, or your phone's built-in SMS to communicate.
"It's actually a surprisingly smart way to think about mobile messaging, and it's surprising it hasn't been done before. Again, I can't even believe that they went with "chat heads" as the actual name, but it looks like a very promising service.
"And potentially a big blow to cross-platform messenger apps like WhatsApp, LINE, and others."


Hunter Skipworth, Pocket-lint (UK):

"Facebook and its partners have announced the HTC First, making a major u-turn on something it said it would never do: launch a Facebook phone.
"It won't be for everyone, but Facebook does hope to tempt you in with a clever Android user interface tweak.
"As launchers go, Facebook home looks impressive from the brief demo we've seen already.
"It promises to drastically change your smartphone the moment you install it and ramp up the social side of things no end."


David Pierce, The Verge:

"An app called Coverfeed overhauls the home screen and the lock screen, giving you updates on what your friends are doing without you having to launch an app, or even unlock your phone — and you'll get ads in all the same places.
"You can comment or like posts from your home screen — it feels incredibly native.
"Everything is full-screen and incredibly visual, really looking nothing like Android.
"Notifications are sorted by friend, rather than app — it says when your friend is doing something, rather than letting you know that an app has something new for you. Facebook wants to make your phone a lot more like your news feed."

अब फ़ोन की दुनिया को बदलेगा फ़ेसबुक

सोशल नेटवर्किंग साइट फ़ेसबुक एक ऐसा सॉफ़्टवेयर 'होम' जारी करने जा रहा है, जो सोशल नेटवर्क के फ़ीड को सीधे आपके एंड्रॉयड फोन्स के होमपेज पर भेज देगा.

ये सॉफ़्टवेयर एंड्रॉयड ऑपरेटिंग सिस्टम के लिए एक 'रैपर' की तरह काम करेगा और फ़ोन के इस्तेमाल का मुख्य रास्ता बन जाएगा.

सूचनाएँ, तस्वीरें और संदेश फ़ोन के मुख्य स्क्रीन पर नज़र आएँगे न कि फ़ेसबुक ऐप के माध्यम से.
फ़ेसबुक के संस्थापक मार्क ज़करबर्ग का कहना है कि इस बदलाव से मोबाइल का इस्तेमाल करने वालों के केंद्र में ऐप की जगह लोग आ जाएँगे.
फ़ेसबुक कैम्पस में एक प्रस्तुति के दौरान ज़करबर्ग ने कहा फ़ोन ऐप कंप्यूटर वर्ल्ड की एक विरासत हैं, जिसमें ऐप पर क्लिक करने के बाद ही वो काम करना शुरू करता है.

ख़ासियत

"अब फ़ोन के इस्तेमाल का नया तरीक़ा आ रहा है, जो ज़्यादा महत्वपूर्ण है. हमारे पास हमेशा फ़ोन्स रहते हैं और हम जानना चाहते हैं कि हमारे दोस्तों के साथ क्या हो रहा है"

उन्होंने कहा कि डेस्कटॉप और लैपटॉप पर तो ये अच्छा काम करता है, लेकिन फ़ोन के संदर्भ में इसका कम ही मतलब है.
उन्होंने कहा, "अब फ़ोन के इस्तेमाल का नया तरीक़ा आ रहा है, जो ज़्यादा महत्वपूर्ण है. हमारे पास हमेशा फ़ोन्स रहते हैं और हम जानना चाहते हैं कि हमारे दोस्तों के साथ क्या हो रहा है."
फ़ेसबुक का होम सॉफ़्टवेयर ऐप को छिपा देगा और इसकी जगह सोशल नेटवर्क के सभी कंटेंट और चैट को फ़ोन के होम स्क्रीन पर दिखाएगा.
ये सॉफ़्टवेयर गूगल प्ले स्टोर के माध्यम से डाउनलोड के लिए उपलब्ध होगा. फ़ेसबुक का ये होम सॉफ़्टवेयर 12 अप्रैल से पाँच फ़ोन्स पर उपलब्ध होगा. इनमें से एचटीसी के दो और सैमसंग के तीन फ़ोन्स हैं