There was a large, expectant crowd of people representing the press, self-styled analysts and camera toting eager new-hunters present at the headquarters of Facebook, at Menlo Park, California. The steady drizzle of rain did not deter them as they had gathered to garner news about the much hyped Facebook Mobile Phone. Is this going to be another piece of cleverly designed software that will give Facebook the center stage on devices driven by Android? People were eager to know what Facebook had up its sleeve this time.
The local radio stations were busy giving a running
commentary, with short breaks in between to announce the impending visit of
President Obama to the locality (Bay Area). None other than the CEO of
Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg went onstage, as the announcement was considered
important enough to justify the presence of the most important man at Facebook
HQ.
This is what Zuckerberg had to say, “going forward, starting
April 12 to be precise, Facebook Home Software can be accessed on any Android
phone”. He continued in the same vein
and went on to explain that Facebook Home had some important capabilities that
focused on giving importance to people rather than apps. The implication was
that Facebook’s phones were designed around people, rather than around apps.
The addition of Newsfeed to the most popular social media website was meant to
satiate the needs of the people who had an alarmingly large appetite for
quality content. He expected the people to gobble up twice the quantity of
content that they were lapping up till then.
The experience is to be right onto your phones, and allow
access to as many people as possible. We already know that Facebook has the
largest user base that hit 1 billion in the recent past. The highlights are in
the form of three key components, Notifications (as usual), Chat Heads, and
Cover Feed.\
Cover Feed will have the primary task of changing the face
of the Android device by replacing the home screen, though not completely.
According to Adam Mosseri, director of product at Facebook, you will see the
Facebook Open Graph stories along with prominent images fleeting across the
screen, instead of the traditional clock. Status updates will be as usual, as
well as News Shares. You simply need to press and hold to see the complete
picture, or swipe to go over to the next picture on the screen. Comments can be
added right on the home screen itself, which should be welcomed by most avid
users of Facebook.
Chat Heads will appear with images of close friends with the
latest comments they have posted. Facebook Home will help you keep up with
whatever your friends are up to, and you can join into the current forum by
simply tapping on the Head. The Chat Heads will be popping up all over, and you
know what is happening, irrespective of what you are doing on the phone.
Notifications are meant to keep you well informed, with
complete details of the person messaging you, photo, name etc. Though
notifications of emails are not supported, you can still use the Android
notification bar. The new app launcher helps you retain the old flavor of using
a traditional phone the way you always have. You can get to the app launcher
with a single swipe, because that is how easy it is.
This guest post
is brought to you by Gabbie of massbeacon.com,
a site that offers savings and current information on FiOS Availability.
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