Facebook lifts the curtain on new “Home” platform for Android phones; HTC First will be the “first” to get it

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With a video featuring lots of cool-looking people staring off into the distance wistfully, Facebook’s Home service debuted today for Android operating systems, with HTC’s new phone First being the first platform the service would land on.


Among the features that Home boasts are Cover Feed, which  replaces the lock screen of your phone with an ever-updating series of Facebook posts, notifications, pictures, and more.  Users can double tap from the lock screen to “like” a post, and dragging the circle near the bottom with their profile picture in it will bring up a list of apps. Notifications come from people, not apps, and notifications can be stacked and swiped away with the flick of a finger.  Another feature, called “Chat Heads” will allow you to continue the conversation on Facebook Messenger on any app, without exiting that app.  Just tap on the head that pops up, and boom, you’re in the conversation.  This is one feature that really shines.

Will Facebook Home ever come to iOS?  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg is open to the idea, but according to an article on 9to5mac which you can read here, Facebook would have to partner with Apple to do it.

“We have a great relationship with Apple. Anything that happens with Apple is going to happen with partnership. Google’s Android is open so we don’t have to work with them.”

If you’re an Android user and you love the idea of Home, you can download it when it comes to the Google Play store on April 12th for FREE, however, only a handful of phones will be supported, including the HTC One X, One X+, Samsung’s Galaxy SIII, and Note 2.  Eventually, HTC One and Galaxy S4 will be supported as well.  Or, you can just go buy the new HTC First, which opens for preorders this week and ships on the 12th with a new contract price of $99.

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