Hasta La Gadget!

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Back in November, word surfaced that Apple‘s Richard Williamson was given the boot as part of a change in the Maps team. Now sources have again talked to Bloomberg, this time saying that Facebook has hired him as a manager with its mobile software group. The alleged hiring is said to have happened sometime in the “past couple of weeks.” The info comes from two sources who are said to be familiar with the dealings.

As noted by Bloomberg, Williamson’s original work at Apple was working on the original iPhone, having been assigned to the job by Jobs. Further into his long career at Apple, Williamson was switched to the company’s Maps efforts, a change that eventually cost him his job as Apple purged employees and started fresh in light of the many criticisms the mapping service garnered.

As Facebook makes a bigger entrance in the mobile world with the recently-announced Home, it has brought in quite a few software engineers, including another former iPhone manager, Greg Novick. In another big-name hiring, the social network also nabbed Loren Brichter, a software designer who made the first Twitter app for the iPhone. The latter is a rumor stated by two sources.

For now at least, Facebook has declined commenting on the claim and nothing official has been stated. Earlier today, rumor surfaced that the social network is in talks with Apple to bring its Home software to the iPhone, again via sources that spoke with Bloomberg. Others state that the talks were not taking place, however, and many are dubious of the claim due to the closed ecosystem that is iOS.

[via Bloomberg]

Facebook reportedly hires former Apple manager Richard Williamson is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It is no secret that Android smartphones account for 70% of the entire smartphone market. While its rival, the iPhone, maintains a clear lead in the U.S., Android has long passed it in the global market. One major reason for this is that Apple does not license iOS, whereas Android can be used by any mobile manufacturer in any part of the world. Despite its global success, Windows Phone Chief Head Myerson believes that Google’s mobile operating system is still “kind of a mess.”

Speaking at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference today, Head noted that Samsung is the only manufacturer that is really making money off of Android. He said that Windows Phone is thought to be more of a global competitor as they have momentum in markets where carrier subsidized phones are only a dream. He also snubbed Facebook Home, which sits on top of the core Android OS, and makes the smartphone more “people-centric.” While Google has said that Facebook Home is what open source is all about, Head believes that there’s probably an entire team at Google that is devoted to figuring out how they can quash Home. When asked about the possibility of Home like relationship of Facebook with Windows Phone devices, he didn’t rule it out, despite the company already labeling Home as an imitation of Windows Phone.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: LG Optimus Zone Could Be Verizon’s LG Optimus L3, Sony Xperia Z Sold Nearly 5 Million Units,

Facebook Home was officially announced some ten days ago, alongside the HTC First. Facebook hopes to make Android smartphones more “people-centric” with its latest software offering, which Microsoft believes to be an imitation of Windows Phone. That side, Facebook hasn’t exactly had the best launch. At the moment Home is only available for a select few Android devices and HTC First is the only smartphone that ships with it pre-installed. Those who have installed it through Google Play Store have mostly given it bad reviews. Majority of the reviews give it a 1 star rating.

Facebook has already said that it aims to update its mobile apps at least once every month. The head of Mobile Engineering at Facebook, Cory Ondrejka, has revealed that Facebook Home’s first ever update will be released in the second week of May. He did not reveal any details about the actual update, so it is not know as of now what improvements it will be bringing. The update will not be exclusive to the HTC First, rather it will be available for those users as well who download Home through Play Store for their supported devices.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Now Available For LG Escape, Microsoft Has No Plans To Release Its Own Windows Phone Anytime Soon,

When Facebook announced its new Facebook Home launch screen alternative earlier this month, it was quite obvious why Android was the only mobile platform getting the new launcher — it’s openness provides Facebook to easily implement Home on various Android devices. However, it’s rumored that Facebook is currently in talks with Apple to bring Facebook Home to iOS, but we’re not sure if it’ll be possible.

Actually, it’s quite possible, but Apple probably won’t allow it. Apple likes to keep things uniform across their platform, and they’ve received plenty of criticism over that because of the “closed ecosystem” surrounding iOS. Then again, we can’t blame Apple for not allowing Facebook Home onto iOS. We’d be pretty upset too if someone came in and practically replaced our proprietary messaging service with Facebook’s own Chat Heads, and all that good stuff.

Bloomberg reports that Facebook and Apple are discussing the possibility of bringing Facebook Home to iOS. The two companies have had a decent general relationship in the past, but we’re not sure if it’s at the level that will bring Facebook Home to Apple’s mobile platform. However, it’s reported these talks actually aren’t even taking place, according to The Next Web.

In any case, whether there are talks or not, we’d be surprised if Apple allowed Facebook Home in the first place. Facebook wouldn’t be able to simply submit an app for Home to iTunes, mostly because Home is really an app to begin with, so the social networking giant would have to create a partnership with Apple in order to bring Home to iOS, but the likelihood is slim at this point.

Facebook Home rumored for iPhone, probably won’t happen is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.