Hasta La Gadget!

Hey everyone! In just a few moments, the Facebook Home on Android event is set to go live, and we’re here to bring you all the bits and details as soon as they appear. Earlier today, we saw AT&T CEO and president Ralph de la Vega enter into Building 16 on 1 Hacker Way, signaling that AT&T, like before, will most likely be getting exclusive rights to Facebook and HTC’s upcoming phone.

Facebook is set to debut its new Facebook on Home software, which at first we thought would be Facebook’s custom Android operating system, but it may in fact be more of a launcher. We’ll find out which is which soon, but our bets are lying with the latter option. Of course, the launcher or OS is going to be highly integrated with Facebook, and Facebook will be replacing several default apps with its own. For example, it will most likely be replacing Android’s default messaging app with its own messaging app, which will handle both Facebook Messages as well as SMS messages.

The HTC/Facebook phone set to debut today isn’t much at all. It is codenamed the HTC Myst, however it may be released as the HTC First. The specs are extremely lackluster. It has a 4.3-inch 720p display, dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB RAM, 5MP rear-facing camera, 1.6MP front-facing camera, Sense UI 4.5 (with Facebook modifications), Bluetooth 4.0, and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Jelly Bean and 4G LTE are the only features that make this phone worthwhile.

The event is starting in just a few minutes, so stick around to see the latest features Facebook will have to offer to the Android operating system. Be sure to keep track of our Facebook Tag Portal for the latest news from both this event, as well as future and past events pertaining to everyone’s “favorite” social network. Also be sure to check out our Android Hub for the most important news in the Android world.

Facebook Home on Android event: we’re here! is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Shortly after Facebook’s big reveal this morning, we caught up with HTC President of Global Sales Jason McKenzie and spent a few minutes with him discussing the First. As expected, he was pretty excited about this collaboration between his company, Facebook and AT&T. Jason revealed to us that HTC’s strategy involves ultimately catering the First to hardcore (or at least frequent) users of the social network, whereas a device like the One will be more appealing to those who aren’t interested in staying constantly connected. Interestingly, HTC seems to have put Facebook in the driver’s seat here, as the First will not only come pre-loaded with Facebook Home (and its firmware optimizations), but no sign of Sense anywhere. It’s certainly a departure from HTC’s usual branding efforts, so it’ll be intriguing to see exactly how well the device sells on AT&T. We have our full interview with Jason below, so take a few minutes to get the First scoop.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC, AT&T, Facebook

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We’ve taken a closer look at the HTC First hardware, so let’s dig into the firmware side — namely, the Facebook Home user interface featured on the First. As we heard prior to the event, Home is essentially a skinned version of Android OS that unsurprisingly offers a deeper amount of integration with the social network. As the name of the phone implies, this isn’t going to be the same one-and-done deal that we’ve seen on other devices bearing the unofficial title of “Facebook Phone”; Home is likely here for the foreseeable future, so we’ll go more in-depth on the UI and our first impressions.

Filed under: Internet, Facebook

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After endless months of speculation, the collaboration between HTC and Facebook has finally been revealed to the world. It’s not a Facebook Phone per se, it’s simply a skinned Android smartphone that just so happens to bestow deep social media integration upon the OS, a move which makes the First — as well as future devices that feature the newly announced Facebook Home interface — an appropriate candidate for the term. The First will be available April 12th for $100 on AT&T, but it can be pre-ordered starting today.

While Facebook Home is taking the spotlight, let’s examine the first piece of hardware it will be featured on. On the spec sheet, the First isn’t going to take anybody’s breath away: it’s a midrange phone with 1.4GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB RAM, 5MP rear camera and 1.6MP front-facing cam, Android 4.1 and a 4.3-inch 720p display. We’re just getting our hands on the device right now and will continue to offer up our First impressions, along with a full gallery of images.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, HTC, Facebook

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Like what you’ve seen so far of Home, Facebook’s newly announced UI for Android devices? Well, get used to it because, according to Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, it’s the “next version of Facebook.” The people-centric integration, shown off today on the AT&T-exclusive HTC First, makes your individual user profile the “hub” and relies heavily upon a card-like interface for swipe notifications that can be easily read and dismissed. That Facebook would look to Home, a seemingly mobile-native implementation of the social network, as the framework for its platform going forward is unsurprising — changes recently made to News Feed were done specifically to adapt it to the smartphone space. Whether or not that means you’ll see this new interface take over your desktop anytime soon remains to be seen. But take this as a sure sign that Facebook, oft criticized for lagging behind in mobile, is in major course correction mode.

As for when Home will make the transition to iOS, Zuckerberg seemed less optimistic, telling reporters that Android’s openness and lack of direct oversight from Google was the major contributing factor to its unveiling today. A version of Home for iOS would require a “partnership” with Apple, which maintains strict control over its “closed” ecosystem; a pairing that would implicitly see Facebook ceding some control to Cupertino. Frame it in that manner and it’s easy to see why Home’s First debut is a Google-based affair and may continue to be for the foreseeable future. It does seem likely, however, that Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform could play host to Home before even iOS, as Zuckerberg’s referred to the live-tile OS as falling “somewhere in between” due to the licenses involved.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google, Facebook

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Source: Facebook