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If your kid is spending too much time on Facebook, what should you do? Cut the Internet? Annoying for you. Restrict their access? Not realistic. Ground them? Haha. What about give them a signed contract that promises them 200 bucks if they stay off Facebook for five months? Sounds like a plan! More »

There have been persistent rumors surrounding the possibility of Facebook launching an Android smartphone of their own. This is in spite of Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg claiming multiple times that no such phone exists. Well for those who think that a Facebook phone is a good idea, even though previous efforts such as the HTC ChaCha yielded results that left a lot to be desired, here’s a new rumor you might be interested in. According to this particular rumor, a Facebook phone is expected to be made by HTC and is going by the name “Myst” (hence the picture above).

The specs aren’t too impressive and if the rumors are right, this alleged HTC Myst will sport a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus processor with 1GB of RAM, 16GB of memory, a 4.3” HD display, a 5MP main camera, a 1.6MP front-facing camera and will run on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. There was no mention of why it is considered a Facebook phone, but if this device is indeed real, we guess we should know soon! We won’t place too much importance in this rumor for now and will be taking this with massive doses of salt, but we’ll definitely be keeping our eyes and ears peeled for more information – if it exists.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Motorola X Phone Gets Sony Camera, Maxx Battery Life (Rumor), Samsung Rumored To Be Testing New Update Service With The Galaxy S4,

For some, Facebook has simply become a part of day-to-day life, but for others, it can be hard to keep up with the constant stream of (sometimes pointless) status updates. A new poll from the Pew Internet & American Life Project suggests that many Facebook users take breaks from the social network from time to time, with these breaks stretching for weeks at a time. If you have ever felt overwhelmed by Facebook, it would seem you’re not alone.

The survey of 1,006 adults found that 61% of current Facebook users have taken a break from the social network that lasted several weeks or more. 21% of these users said they took their break from the site because they were too busy to visit, while 10% said they took a break because they just weren’t interested in the site. 9% cited too much drama as the cause of their departure, while 8% recognized that they were spending too much time on Facebook and decided to give the social network a rest as a result.

The survey told us some other interesting things, including that 67% of the online adults polled use Facebook. Of the online adults who don’t use Facebook, 20% percent said they did at one time in the past but don’t any longer, while 8% said they would like to start using it in the future. We’re not sure what’s stopping them from just opening an account now, but it seems there are some folks who aspire to have a Facebook account of their own someday.

The survey was carried out in December, with adults from across the continental United States polled. It’s interesting to hear that so many users say they’ve taken a break from Facebook, especially when it seems like everyone uses Facebook these days. Have you ever needed to spend some time away from the incredibly popular social network?

Pew study finds 61% of Facebook users have taken extended breaks is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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There’s no better motivation than public humiliation, err, community support. Which is why Jawbone’s extending its Up band’s social circle to encompass the likes of Facebook. Previously, Up users could only share their dietary, exercise and sleep habits with other registered users, but now that feed will also extend to a user’s Facebook Timeline. The company’s also ushered in a few tweaks for its Sleep alarm, now offering the ability to set specific wakeup alerts or configure Smart Sleep timers for 30, 20 and 10 minute windows. The update’s live in the App Store today. So, if you’ve been dying to share your physically fit and / or gluttonous ways with a much larger audience, well, now’s your time to shine.

Filed under: Wearables, Mobile, Apple

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Are you an avid user of the social network that is known as Facebook? If you have answered in the affirmative, then you might want to take note that Facebook is now developing an app which is able to track its users at all times, and when we say that, it will work even when the app itself is not in use. Don’t you think that is scary? I suppose so, especially if you want to keep tabs on your privacy settings at all times. For instance, right now Facebook already has plenty of details concerning yourself, ranging from your collection of friends and their friends, your marital status, as well as your various activities. But to have it track your whereabouts all the time? This starts to sound like a government program more than anything else.

According to Bloomberg, Facebook is “developing a smartphone application that will track the location of users … even when the program isn’t open on a handset.” The noble purpose of an app like this is supposed to assist Facebookers find friends whenever they are outside and away from the desktop. Well, I suppose this is encroaching on Foursquare territory, no? Heck, a simple phone call or text message would make far more sense if you ask me. This tracking app is scheduled for a mid-March 2013 release.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Verizon Might Get HTC M7 After All, Jelly Bean Picks Up The Pace In Market Share,