Facebook Home & HTC First to Focus Our Smartphones on Being Open & Connected

[dgstorm]

Phones designed around people. That's the core premise of the new Facebook Home app for Android. Mark Zuckerberg said, "We think it should be deeply personal" referring to your experience on your smartphone. Here are some of the specifics that Facebook is implementing to make that concept a reality:

• Displays your personal content right on Home Screen - Cover Feed
• Home is lockscreen in addition to the Home Screen
• Loads Content in background
• Interactions are smooth and natural
• Notifications will include face and name
• Can push them away (ignore) individually and collectively
• Your face button launches Apps & Settings
• Whole concept is to make sure you don't have to switch back and forth between apps
• Chat Heads give you an immediate personal connection to those you care about - messages pop-up with Chat Head and count of unread messages from that person
• Chat Heads are movable and customizable - click to pop into the conversation
• Chat Heads work with Facebook and your SMS - happen right within what you are doing already
• You can long press a photo to zoom out, and you can double-tap it to like
• Tap comment icon on bottom to comment
• This is all done from the front of the phone interface - no separation between you and your content
• Includes a recently used app to quickly switch when necessary
• Works seamlessly with your other apps and and UI

Above are just some of the new features and functions in Facebook Home. It's really a creative re-imagining of the UI of our phones while using Facebook, yet it isn't a "fork" of Android and works directly with it. It streamlines the efficiency for those who use Facebook on their phone. It's really an amazing new evolution of Facebook for mobile.

AT&T and HTC are marketing the first phones with Facebook Home directly on them. HTC was at the event to announce the HTC First, which is that first Facebook Home phone. They called it the ultimate social phone, and is the only phone to have the Facebook Home app preloaded. It will come to AT&T for $99 bucks on April 12 and is available for preorder now.

Even though the HTC First is the first phone with the Facebook Home app, Facebook Home is easy to install from the Google Play Store, and will be available on the HTC One, One X, Samsung Galaxy 3/4, and Note 2 in about a week. There were no specifics given as to whether or when Facebook Home will come to other devices. We will keep you apprised when more details emerge.

 

[pdroid]

If this device runs as well as Facebook's app, I'm sure it will be a roaring success.

 

[wvdroidman]

I'm guessing Verizon won't have this phone?

 

[skennelly]

If this device runs as well as Facebook's app, I'm sure it will be a roaring success.

±1. Lol

 

[droidbionicmaster]

O what's next the HTC tweet

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Droid Forums

 

[Sweettooth]

Smooth and natural? Deeply personal? Don't use kind words for your data mining and scavenging of my personal data to sell to advertising agencies Mark...