“We’re not building a phone and we’re not building an operating system, but we’re building something a whole deeper than just an ordinary app” – Mark Zuckerberg
Earlier this week in the article “Facebook: Come See Our New Home On Android” we touched on the abounding speculations that the Menlo Park social giant was about to announce the release of a long rumored Facebook phone. A couple of days ago though, reality came to light and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stood before a spellbound audience as he described Facebook’s latest venture, and perhaps one of their most significant in recent times. Facebook Home.
Facebook showed just how easy it is to actually make a Facebook phone, without making well, a Facebook phone. There’s no need for specialized hardware, no need for smartphones with customized Facebook buttons all over the place, no need for any manufacturing. At least not for Facebook. An App, but more than just an app. Facebook Home takes your smartphone and tuns it into an almost completely Facebook centric device. That’s Facebook Home in a nutshell.
Mark says that phones are currently currently designed around apps, but Facebook wants to change that and make phones more sociable by designing their use more around people.
“We’re not building a phone and we’re not building an operating system, but we’re building something a whole deeper than just an ordinary app”. Facebook has essentially created a “family of apps” that you simply install on your smartphone and voila – you have what you can essentially call a new shell that turns your phone into a new Facebook Home, phone.
Using what Facebook calls Cover Feed, you get all that’s happening in your Facebook world in an actually dazzling and brilliant new way:
Facebook Home is extremely gesture friendly. Swipe to end conversations, complete chats, remove notifications, etc. You can of course perform all your typical Facebook functions such as commenting, Liking, etc., but obviously the interface is a completely new way of looking at your social strata.
Notice what Facebook calls their “inline composer” at the top of the screen.
That bar allows you to post a photo, check your status or check-in. Such differences you’ll see on your phone will completely change the way in which you interact with Facebook and convert your Android phone into a Facebook Home phone.
Speaking of Android. Come April 12th users will be able to install Facebook Home, but it’s currently only available for a limited number of handsets, and they’re all Android based.
As can be seen here, tablets are in the works but Facebook Home is not quite ready for them as of yet.
Every month Facebook will be updating Home with more features, to work on more devices and as needed corrections we suppose as well.
It should be noted that HTC and AT&T have formed a partnership to actually release what can be called a true “Facebook phone”. Just take a look at the back of the phone as well and you’ll see the Facebook logo.
No matter how you look at it then, we guess the Facebook phone is actually here.