You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Facebook has just revealed its first television commercial for Facebook Home, which is set to hit your television sets soon. The commercial is titled “Airplane” and it centers around a man who livens up his business trip by bringing his friends “on the journey with him”. Every time he scrolls across his Cover Feed, someone will appear, whether its his friends in the overhead luggage compartments, drag queens popping up all around him, or his nephew smothered in chocolate cake.
The commercial also shows off the upcoming AT&T exclusive HTC First, which will come with an embedded version of Facebook Home. The embedded version of Facebook Home features minor differences to the downloaded version, with the main difference being better app notifications integrated into the Cover Feed feature. The HTC First itself is a low-to-mid ranged phone that you will be able to purchase for $99 on a new two-year contract with AT&T. If you want the phone, but don’t want Facebook Home, you can check out our guide to de-programming the embedded Facebook Home launcher.
Facebook Home follows Mark Zuckerberg’s philosophy that phones should revolve around people, and not apps. It brings your friend’s closer to you through features like the Cover Feed as well as Chat Head Messaging, which lets you message your friends even while you’re in another app. It will also have Instagram-like features where you can double-tap a photo to like it.
Both HTC First and Facebook Home are set to be released on April 12th. You can download the Facebook Home app for free from the Google Play store. The app will bring all of your friend’s status updates and photos to the forefront of your Android device, but how many of us actually want that? We should know once the app launches. Be sure to check out our hands-on with both Facebook Home and the HTC First to get a general feel of the app.
Facebook reveals its first TV ad for Facebook Home is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Facebook Home was only recently announced. Dubbed their new Home on Android, it debuts with the HTC First which will be released on April 12th. Facebook has now posted a document online in which it answers some of the questions that users have been asking in regard to what information Facebook Home collects and why. This document is a move on their part to quickly address any and all privacy related concerns that potential users may have at this point in time. At the very beginning it is explained that Facebook Home in no way changes a user’s privacy settings on Facebook and that their privacy controls work exactly the way they’ve set them.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: “Babel” Moniker For Google’s Rumored Unified Chat Service Spotted Again, Microsoft Believes Facebook Home Imitates Windows Phone, 
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
For T-Mobile, March went out like a lion, a roaring one. With passion for both invention and invective, T-Mobile roared against the contract during its UnCarrier announcement. The nation’s fourth-largest (post-carrier) wireless operator will support its move away from contracts with a television spot that shows it as one of four bad guys riding into town to get people to do things their way, but then trades in its “black hat” for a magenta one as it no longer seeks to enforce those policies. T-Mobile says to watch carefully as each of the other bad guys has a distinct personality that reflects one of its main competitors.
T-Mobile is in a battle for getting consumers onto a network that is described as 4G, but evaluating the appeal of its announcement comes down to looking at four S’s – subsidy, selection, speed and simplicity.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, HTC, T-Mobile, Facebook
This week is finally almost over, and there were tons of news stories published everyday. At the beginning of the week, we learned that there was an iMessage DDoS attack going around that would lag your device and inhibit its capabilities. More bad news for Apple followed when the USPTO denied its iPad Mini trademark. April Fools was a blast this year with many companies perfectly executing their well thought-out pranks.
Tesla cancelled plans for a cheaper,smaller battery version of its Model S vehicle, but later on it announced a revolutionary financing product to help make its Model S vehicles affordable to customers. Apple’s next two iPhones were said to be in production while Steve Jobs was still alive, and in related news, Apple issued an apology to China over its “unfair” warranty policies. The Pirate Bay also took the crown as the world’s largest file-sharing website.
Verizon and AT&T are reportedly placing a joint bid for Vodafone. Apple’s iPhone 5S is said to be currently in production, and AT&T, along with other carriers, states that the HTC One will begin shipping on April 19th. Windows Blue will reportedly be Windows 8.1 and be released within a few months, and Samsung’s new phablet will reportedly be called the Samsung Galaxy Mega and will have a 6.3-inch display. The 2nd-gen Nexus 7 is rumored to be released in July, and Samsung and Mozilla are working together on a new web browser engine. The USPTO invalidated Apple’s Bounce-Back patent once again, and Activision laid off 40 full-time employees after they finished development for its Deadpool game.
Facebook’s Event kicked off on April 4th, where it announced its new Android product, Facebook Home, which will be released on April 12th for multiple devices. It will have many features, like Chat Heads messaging and a Cover Feed lockscreen. It will be embedded on the AT&T’s exclusive HTC First, but you can easily disable the software with this guide. Be sure to check out SlashGear’s hands-on guide with both Facebook Home and the HTC First. Samsung is expected to launch “Experience Shops” in 1400 Best Buys to rival Apple’s mini-shops.
The full SXSW Google Glass demonstration video is now available for viewing. Images for the BlackBerry R10 leaked showing a low-end QWERTY Blackberry 10 device. An ITC Judge stated in a preliminary ruling that Samsung infringed on Apple’s text-selection patent, and a German court invalidated Apple’s slide-to-unlock patent. A Skype trojan has been reported to be going around globally, turning PCs into Bitcoin miners, and HP chairman Raymond Lane has decided to step down from his position. That’s all for today’s Weekend Wrap-up! Be sure to check out the Evening Wrap-Up tag portal for more in-depth news for each day of this week.
SlashGear Weekend Wrap-Up: April 6th, 2013 is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
LinkedIn is now rolling out a new feature very similar to a feature already offered by Facebook. When you begin typing out a person’s name or a company’s name in your status update, a drop-down menu will pop up that will allow you to “mention” the person or company you’re discussing. The other party will be notified about your mention in real-time, providing much more engaging conversations.
LinkedIn states that its starting to roll out the new feature to English-speaking users at first, however, it plans on rolling out the feature to its global members soon. You can also utilize the new “mentions” feature in the comments section on your LinkedIn pages as well. You will be able to hold much more organized conversations with individuals in a community, enabling convenient one-on-one conversations.
This new rollout works seamlessly with Twitter as well, despite the two companies severing ties with each other back in July of 2012. If your Twitter account is linked with your LinkedIn account, the mentions in your status updates will transfer over to Twitter seamlessly. The mentions, while appaering as a full name on your LinkedIn status update, will change itself to the mentioned person’s Twitter username.
LinkedIn provides professionals with an easy way to connect to other professionals in their fields, as well as search for new and better jobs. Speaking of jobs, LinkedIn also rolled out a revamp to its jobs page back in February that made it even easier for people to find jobs relevant to their interests and work experience. LinkedIn says that “there’s more to come”, but we should expect no less from a network whose members “are some of the most engaged professionals online.”
[via LinkedIn]
LinkedIn begins rolling out Facebook-like mentions feature is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Sure, Facebook had a weird ad with Blink-182 for the HTC Status, but its sneak peek at its newest TV spot for the First and Home is on another level. Posted today on its Facebook profile, the campy piece literally brings one traveler’s feed to life inside the cabin of his flight during boarding. We won’t spoil the goods for you, but it’s interesting to see Facebook’s first thrust at marketing this skin and smartphone combo out to the masses. Catch the full clip after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Software, Mobile, HTC, Facebook
Source: Facebook
The Civil Rights Defenders have issued their first batch of GPS bracelets that will alert the CRDs’ headquarters, other nearby activists, and the entirety of the CRDs’ social media following if the bracelet’s owner is ever kidnapped. The first 5 bracelets were issued from April 2nd through April 5th during the Civil Rights Defenders’ conference, Defenders’ Days. The CRD plans on issuing 55 of these bracelets over the next year and a half.
The bracelets are described as a personal alarm, and the product is called the “Natalia Project”. It was named after Natalia Estemirova, a human rights defender who, in 2009, was murdered within 24 hours of being kidnapped. The CRD believed that if the authorities were alerted sooner of Natalia’s kidnapping, the tragedy could have been prevented. Robert Hårdh, the Executive Director of Civil Rights Defenders, stated that these bracelets “gives us an opportunity to react faster and extend our hands-on protection further.”
The GPS bracelet can be activated manually, or if an attacker forcefully removes it from the activist’s wrist. A signal with the activist’s GPS location will be sent to the CRD headquarters in Stockholm. Alerts will also be sent out to other CRD activists within the vicinity, and an automatic notification will be sent out throughout the Natalia Project’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The Civil Rights Defenders state that these bracelets could potentially alert hundreds of thousands of people instantly. It would also put pressure on the attacker, because having the entire world become aware of the attack “creates virtual protection around civil rights defenders at risk.” Unfortunately, the CRD requires additional money to get these bracelets to more activists. Its asking anyone who can help to support the Natalia Project with any donation amount they can afford. You can find out more about the Natalia Project here.
GPS bracelet uses social media to protect Civil Rights Activists is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Since its unveiling, many individuals have been vocal about Facebook Home concerns, speculating about privacy and what information the service many gather. To mitigate the worries and clarify the issues, Facebook has released answers to several questions that have been posed repeatedly, talking about what information it gathers, how privacy works with it, and more.
Facebook clarified that users can continue to access the social network on their handsets the same way they currently do – there’s no need to use Home if you don’t want it. If you do choose to use the service, you can likewise ditch it any time you want, turning it off under “Settings” or removing it from the lockscreen. This way, users can try it out, but aren’t obligated to keep it.
As far as what information Home gathers, Facebook says that it collects data on how users use the service, such as what apps the user places in the Home launcher. It also pulls information about how the app is interacted with, such as commenting and liking. On pre-installed devices, Home will display notifications and Facebook collects certain information from the notification, with the exception of its content. This data is stored for 90 days, after which point indentifying information is removed.
Another big question is whether Home gathers data about other applications and how they are used. The answer is “no.” In the example given, Facebook would get data about an app that is launched using the app launcher, but it would not receive any information about how that app is used. Likewise, location information is used the same way the regular Facebook app uses it, and location services can be disabled by the user. For more information, you can check out the Data Use Policy.
[via Facebook]
Facebook addresses Home privacy concerns is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Welcome to Friday evening everyone. First up, it seems HTC will be releasing a variation of the HTC First without Facebook Home, and we’ve a piece on whether you should wait for this handset. Speaking of HTC, it is also rolling out the HTC One Live Experience tour in the US. T-Mobile’s iPhone 5 is now up for pre-order (and an update is rolling out), and the iPad’s prices have been slashed, hinting that a new model could be on the way.
The wonderful Google April Fool’s joke – a pink Tesla Batmobile – is rolling around California right now, and EA has responded to the “Worst Company in America” poll with a statement that it can do better. It looks like the folks in Austin, Texas could be seeing super fast Internet thanks to Google Fiber in the future, and the cube-shaped Android gaming console OUYA has started shipping.
Microsoft has been vocal about Facebook Home, and also has new Microsoft Stores opening up this month. Samsung has rolled out the Galaxy Note 8.0 in the United Kingdom, and BlackBerry’s R10 and Q10 handsets will be hitting shelves soon. Alienware unveiled an Ubuntu version of its previously Windows-only X51 laptop. Improved contacts and a passcode lock have been rolled out for Evernote Hello for iPhone, and the ever-popular Minecraft for PC has exceeded 10 million in sales.
Speaking of games, Black Ops II Uprising DLC will be available on April 16, and GameStop has expanded its trade-in program for electronics. Netflix has added 720p HD for Windows Phone 8/7.8, and Arthur Frommer, not willing to see the popular Frommer’s travel guides go out of print, bought them back from Google. On the automotive front, T-Mobile’s data plan for Audi will start at $15 per month, while the science story of the day involves the Hubble telescope finding the most distant supernova to date. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the rest of the night folks!
SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: April 5, 2013 is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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