Hasta La Gadget!

Plans to launch the HTC First “Facebook phone” in the UK have been axed, with Facebook now focusing on finessing Home instead. A poor reception to the Android handset in the US, where carrier AT&T unexpectedly slashed the cost from $99.99 to $0.99 on contract after just a few weeks of sales, has been blamed for the decision, which is said to have come from Facebook rather than either HTC or the network. Update: EE has confirmed the First won’t be launching in the UK; more details after the cut.

EE had been named the Facebook phone’s initial exclusive partner in the UK, with sales expected to start within a few months of the First arriving on US shelves. In the intervening period, however, Facebook released the Home launcher – which the First comes preloaded with – as a free download (for select devices) in the Google Play store.

It’s that software availability – along with middling first-impressions of Home – which is said to have doused expectations around HTC’s device. As we discovered in our review, the hardware isn’t bad, but users will need to be significantly – and pretty much solely – invested in Facebook for their social lives in order to get the best out of Home.

Unofficially, insiders have claimed that HTC was surprised by Facebook’s release decision for the Home launcher, the original plan having been to stagger the availability. That would have left the First with a period of market exclusivity, as the only way for Facebook fans to get their hands – officially, anyway – on the system.

We’re waiting to hear back from HTC and EE as to what’s happening in the UK, but the assumption is that the cost of launching a region-specific First variant with EE LTE support was deemed too much given the predicted demand. Whether HTC recycles the design (which was met more positively than the software) for a Home-free version remains to be seen.

The news is the latest in a spate of generally pessimistic chatter around HTC, which has seen several high-profile executives – including the CEO of HTC Asia – leave the company in recent weeks. One high point has been HTC One sales, which according to an unnamed executive at the company have now reached 5m units.

Update: An EE spokesperson gave us the following statement:

“Following customer feedback, Facebook has decided to focus on adding new customisation features to Facebook Home over the coming months. While they are working to make a better Facebook Home experience, they have recommended holding off launching the HTC First in the UK, and so we will shortly be contacting those who registered their interest with us to let them know of this decision.

Rest assured, we remain committed to bringing our customers the latest mobile experiences, and we will continue to build on our strong relationship with Facebook so as to offer customers new opportunities in the future.”

VIA: Mobile News Online; Engadget

HTC First “Facebook phone” UK launch plans axed [Confirmed!] is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Eminem’s music publisher is suing Facebook and its ad agency for allegedly copying on of the artist’s songs.

Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It Original content from Ubergizmo.

This week it’s become apparent that not only are sales of the HTC One lacking – that device also known as the first “true” Facebook Phone – the software isn’t doing so hot either. As the Facebook Home software for Android reaches 1 million downloads, it also falls off the top 100 downloaded apps list. Much less exciting than it was when it first launched – finding more excitement specifically on SlashGear’s own Facebook page than any other subject in the past few months (barring the GALAXY S 4 and the HTC One, of course).

According to a “trusted source” speaking with BGR, the HTC First has already been scheduled for an “end of life” date. This means that the device will no longer be sold in stores, its support date will be shorter than expected, and the carrier will no longer be advertising for it (of course).

This news comes soon after the device started its pricing at $199 several weeks ago and just last week started a sale for less than a dollar. This pricing indicates that either Facebook, HTC, and AT&T decided they’d sell as many phones as possible to get the word out about how great it was, or they simply haven’t had as many sales as they’d liked – so few that they’re getting rid of what they’ve got before they axe the program.

If such a tip were true, this would be a bad sign for Facebook. That’s needless to say, but it should be said nonetheless. With suggestions out in the wild this week that the crew creating Facebook Home were actually a bunch of landlubbers – or iPhone users working on Android software, that is – it should come as no surprise that pitting the HTC First up against the iPhone would have had little chance at success.

“Factor in things like the complete lack of support for widgets and the inability to tailor who gets included in Cover Feed, and Facebook Home stumbles out of the gate. As a result, it’s difficult to recommend it to anybody other than those solely committed to Facebook (and even those most fervent users of the site were mixed when we showed them Facebook Home and explained what it offered), and if you’re also a Twitter user, or a Google+ user, or rely on other messaging apps like WhatsApp, LINE, or others, for every advantage Facebook Home provides, there’s a compromise to be made elsewhere.” – Vincent Nguyen, Facebook Home Review

Of course because of this perfect storm scenario, SlashGear encourages you to take it all with a spoon full of salt – and make sure you wait until AT&T and Facebook release more official numbers to their investors before you break out the torches and tinfoil hats!

HTC First reportedly discontinued by AT&T: Facebook Home hopeless? is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Facebook Home has quietly added support for the HTC One and – unofficially – the Samsung Galaxy S 4, as the social network Android homescreen replacement attempts to build on its 1m+ existing users. The app originally launched for the Galaxy S III, Note II, HTC One X, and One X+, with the promise of One and Galaxy S 4 support when both handsets were released. Now that appears to have been added, albeit with a slightly confusing error message on the Samsung phone.

Download the latest version of Facebook from the Google Play store, and you can now set Facebook Home as the default launcher on the HTC One, just as you could on previous devices. On the Galaxy S 4, however, there’s an error message thrown up first – telling you that “Your device is not supported yet” and that users “may not get the best experience” if they use Home.

However, tap the “Use Home Anyway” button and the launcher springs up as usual. The same option, warning non-ideal performance but still allowing for us, has also been tested on the Sony Xperia ZL.

Expanding its userbase for Home across more devices is just what Facebook is hoping to see, and so offering a potentially less-than-perfect experience but still getting Home switched on is probably better for the social network than waiting until everybody can get the exact same experience. It’s too early to say just what the potential glitches might be on the Galaxy S 4.

Meanwhile, Facebook has also acknowledged that there is an unofficial APK of Facebook Home which some users are circulating, claiming to be aware of around 10,000 installs. The company is going to make no move to block that, it seems.

Among the other changes in the recent Facebook app update is a new, persistent bar in the notification area, which Facebook calls the “dash bar.” More on Facebook Home in our review.

[via Android Central]

Facebook Home hits HTC One and Galaxy S 4 in quiet social update is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Facebook has announced that its new Facebook Home app launcher for Android has reached one million downloads in just four weeks. The social network giant first launched the home screen app launcher almost a month ago, alongside the HTC First “Facebook phone.” This comes just a couple weeks after Facebook Home eclipsed 500,000 downloads late last month.

Along with the download statistics, Facebook is also rolling out a minor update for Facebook Home as a part of the company’s efforts to release monthly updates for the app launcher. Today’s update isn’t anything special, however — merely just a handful of bug fixes and general performance improvements.

However, Facebook will be issuing more updates over the next few months that will add to the user experience, including the addition of a dock and what’s called a dash bar, which will be similar to an IM buddy list that will be used for Chat Heads. As for more supported devices for Facebook Home in the future, the company says that they’re working on it, but as it stands, only four devices officially support Facebook Home.

However, the company is aware that an unofficial APK of Facebook Home is roaming around on the internet, and they confirmed that over 10,000 users have installed the APK onto their phones, but it seems like the social network is okay with that, as they don’t seem to be doing anything to block or get rid of the hacked APK.

As for how Facebook Home changes the way people use Facebook, the company says that users are logging onto Facebook 25% more often than before, thanks to the quick and easy access that Home provides on enabled devices. Facebook also noticed also an increase in the number of daily comments and Likes someone leaves on their news feed, which is up by 25% as well. Furthermore, Chat Heads has increased use of Facebook messaging by 10%. Check out our review of Facebook Home to learn more about the new platform.

[via TechCrunch]

Facebook Home downloads reach seven digits, minor update incoming is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.