Facebook recently unveiled what many have been waiting for:
A Facebook phone. Well, not exactly.
On April 12th, Android users will be able to download a new Facebook app known as Home. And while it is technically an app, it actually occupies a gray area between operating system and an actual app. Home does present a lot more than the current mobile version of Facebook, and is promising to put people before apps.
But will it deliver?
From what was seen during the live revealing, Facebook Home puts your newsfeed on the home screen of your phone. So instead of apps, you see what your friends are doing. Instead of needing to click on Facebook to check status updates, it's all right there from the minute you turn on your phone.
Apps themselves will still stay relative, and will be a click away.
But an always-on newsfeed is just one part of the new Facebook Home design. The other big change comes in the form of what Facebook is calling "Chat Heads." Chat Heads allow you to receive messages from your friends (Facebook, text, etc.) while you're using your phone. They pop up in the corner, and a user simply clicks on the circular icon to send the message.
The potentially great thing about Chat Heads is how the new messaging system takes priority over whatever you're doing on your phone. Once you click on the icon, the conversation becomes your new focus until you swipe it away and return to what you were doing before.
Facebook Home, though, is far more than just something users will be able to download. HTC and AT&T have jumped aboard, and are set to release the first phone to come pre-loaded with Facebook Home. The phone, known as the HTC First, will be released for $99.99 on April 12th.
But will the HTC First be successful? It's hard to believe the phone will take off, especially since it will be available on the same day Facebook Home launches on Android phones.
What Facebook didn't touch on was how robust your phone needs to be in order to support the Home app, or how much it will affect battery life. After all, the phone updates your home screen even when you're not using it.Home will be available first on phones, but will eventually be released for tablets as well. Facebook plans to release updates for the software monthly to try to make improvements, and to make it compatible with more phones.
The company also didn't mention how advertising will work with the Home features - something online marketing companies will be highly interested in. Will users see advertisements on their home screens along with status updates from their friends? Or will advertising play an entirely different role in Home?
Android users will have to wait until next week to see if Facebook Home truly "puts people before apps" - or if it's just another way for Facebook to try and take over the world.
image:facebook/shutterstock