Hasta La Gadget!

Facebook announced Facebook Home just a few days ago with an expected release on April 12. Unfortunately for Facebook, Facebook Home was leaked earlier this morning by MoDaCo which most likely resulted in a number of curious Android users to download the leaked version in order to see what it’s all about prior to its release. Even more unfortunate is the fact that those of you who already have Facebook Home will now be out of luck as Facebook has killed the leaked build from accessing the service.

MoDaCo’s founder Paul O’Brien reports the leaked version of Facebook Home is no longer accessible as he believes Facebook made a server-side change, causing Android users who installed the leaked version to be met with a black screen. A number of beta testers for Facebook Home also report they’re being met with a black screen when they attempt to access the service. O’Brien has followed up by saying he has implemented a “dirty fix,” but has not decided to make the fix public yet. Considering how quick to the trigger Facebook was today, we think that’s probably the best course in this situation.

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We reported back in January that Facebook was testing out a new messaging system which would allow its users to send messages directly to another user’s inbox, one who is not in their connections, for $1, $5 or $15. The price was exorbitantly high for some celebrities. Those wishing to send a message directly to Facebook supremo Mark Zuckerberg’s inbox had to part with $100 per single message. At the time Facebook said that they were testing various price points so as to figure out what works best to filter out spam. As of now the $100 fee option has been pulled.

(more…)

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We’ve talked about the Facebook Home software that’s coming to Google Play on April 12 several times already. We already know what Facebook Home will look like and what features it will bring to the mix. If you missed our previous coverage, you can learn all the major details of Facebook Home here.

UPDATE: It appears that the leaked builds have been shut down on the server side – Facebook must have seen what was going on and kicked the plug out. You’ll have to wait until the 12th or find some other way in, too bad!

Once you know all of the details for Facebook Home, if you can’t live without it, a pre-release version of the smartphone software has been leaked. The leaked build was apparently pulled from a pre-release HTC First ROM. If you download the available APKs, you need to keep in mind that indications are that the software is buggy and incomplete.

The Chat Heads feature is said to be non-working in the leaked version of the software. However, that could be due to some Facebook backend that’s not activated at this time and won’t go live until the April 12 official launch. Still, if you have an Android device laying around and want to give the software a try, there are three APKs available for you to download.

The three APKs include the main Facebook app, the SMS messenger app known as orca, and the home/launcher shell known as home. You’ll have to install the three APKs yourself, and as with installing any unofficial software, you run the risk of bricking your device. If you’re able to install this and play with it, be sure and let us know what you think.

[via Modaco]

Pre-release version of Facebook Home leaks [UPDATE: Choked!] is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Remember the Facebook experiment that’d let you pay to send messages to strangers inboxes? According to several reputable sources, not only will you be able to inflict your opinions on members of the general public, but for a premium you’ll also be able to abuse celebrities. According to The Sunday Times, figures such as Michael Rosen, Tom Daley and Salman Rushdie can all be reached if you splash out around £10.68 ($16) — with the fees on a sliding scale based on how many followers they have. According to prolific twitterer Rosen, he wasn’t asked about being charged for access, and won’t receive a penny of the paid fan mail. In an effort to test it out, we sent a cheery Monday morning missive to Snoop Dogg Snoop Lion, who is meant to be on the price list, but strangely we weren’t charged a penny — so we’re not sure how far this has been rolled out. Either way, that’s a tenner saved right there.

Filed under: Internet

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Via: The Telegraph, PC Advisor

Source: The Sunday Times

According to rumors, Google is negotiating an acquisition of popular cross platform messaging service WhatsApp. The deal reportedly started over a month back. As it now stands, the WhatsApp team is rumored to be “playing hardball” and pushing for a higher price, which according to inside sources is close to a staggering $1 billion as of now. It is said that Google first approached WhatsApp for a possible acquisition back in December, around the same time it was rumored that Facebook was considering acquiring the popular service. The service has a user base spanning over 100 countries and more than 750 mobile networks around the globe.

The rumor of this acquisition comes hot on the heels of another rumor that claims Google is developing its own cross platform messaging service called Google Babble. Acquiring WhatsApp would mean that the internet search giant will bring in an accomplished team of this niche and merge them with its own. Google has previously done the same with Sparrow, a very popular mail application for iOS, which it acquired back in July 2012. Having WhatsApp under its belt would definitely put Google in a better position to emerge as a major player in the cross platform messaging niche.

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