Facebook home: Facebook will not build phones. Nevertheless, at least to any Android smartphone become the Facebook Phone – by making the social network with an alternative launcher itself to the surface.
“We do not build smartphones and develop any operating system,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the launch of Facebook Home. Instead, use the social network for Android and offers an alternative to Launcher. Android users can choose from a plethora of alternative launcher offered quite regularly in Google Play Store for a long time.
Home on Facebook are no more typical Android icons to see, but status messages and pictures of friends from the social network that can be commented on and liked immediately. If the smartphone is turned on, the so-called feed cover can be seen, which replaces the previous lock and home screen. Facebook Home, the company had to rewrite core components of Android. As with other launchers and apps can be started on Facebook Home, there is virtually Home screens for apps and an important overview of the installed apps.
Notifications come “from people and not from apps,” Zuckerberg said. Therefore, the so-called chatheads on Facebook Home are crucial. In a message, the profile picture of the person appears on the home screen and can be moved wherever you will, for example in the Facebook chat or in the SMS application. Your Profile image appears at the bottom of the screen and can be moved.
Facebook integration is Google’s operating system in a way to monitor the behavior of its users even more and evaluate. “We analyze the data, but they are kept anonymous after a certain time,” Facebook said.
Facebook Home will only be available for the U.S
Facebook Home to 12 April 2013 appear now and then to get its Google Play Store. For the time being there will be the Facebook launcher but only in the United States. Facebook has given no indication as to when Facebook Home will appear in other countries.
There will also be the first Launcher only for smartphones, a tablet version is planned in a few months. A start date for the tablet version has not called Facebook. Facebook plans to release an update that will then provide new capabilities for its own launcher every month.
At a minimum, the device with Android 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich must be running devices with older Android versions are generally not supported. This includes the high percentage of devices running Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread . But first there is the launcher anyway only for a few selected devices.
Among the five supported smartphones include the HTC models One X One X + and One and the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note by Samsung 2. Facebook Home will also run on the Samsung Galaxy S 4, which is only at the end of the month on the market. Support for other devices will come later, a timetable for Facebook has not called. Though Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had promised during the presentation of its own launcher, facebook Home offer on as many devices, no statements were made as to whether the app will at least come in a similar form for other mobile platforms.
HTC First – first smartphone with pre-installed Facebook Home
In the U.S., 12 April 2013 also the HTC first come on the market and there at the mobile operator AT & T have to get. The first will be the first smartphone that will be preinstalled on the Facebook home. Whether HTC will later offer the first in Germany, is not known. There may be other manufacturers of Android devices also get later once smartphones or tablets on the market, where Facebook Home preinstalled. Specific announcements are not yet available
