Apr 08
Facebook home won’t charge into the Google Play store in all its launcher-replacement glory until April 12. But if you need to see it right now, you can satiate your sick urge with a pre-release leak unearthed by Modaco. More »
Apr 08
Pre-Release Of Facebook Home Leaked
Posted in: Today's Chili
It was just last week that Facebook Home for Android was announced and was pegged for a release on the 12th of April. However thanks to the folks at MoDaCo, they have managed to get their hands on what looks like a pre-release version of Facebook Home that according to them, will play nice with a wide range of Android devices, including the Nexus 4. This is particularly interesting as officially, Facebook Home will only be compatible with 5 handsets at launch.
However since this is a pre-release version, there are some things to take note of. For starters there will be several features not working/missing, such as the Chat Heads feature. The maximum resolution supported will also be 1280×768, which we guess for non-Full HD devices shouldn’t be an issue, along with other risks associated with unofficial releases. The good news is that it does not seem to require root access, for those with unrooted devices, you can rest easy. For more details and the download, head on over to MoDaCo’s website (source link below).
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Galaxy Win Global Availability Announced, Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 Specs Leak Prior To Reveal [Rumor], 
Apr 08
UPDATE: The leaked Facebook Home APK described below no longer works, as FB has cut off service since it isn’t fully complete. Luckily, you only have to wait another few days to get your hands on the official release.
Android users will get the chance to try out the official public release of Facebook Home later this week, but if anyone is really impatient a beta version has leaked and is available to try now (via Verge). MoDaCo has published the beta (which is actually made up of three separate APKs covering the Facebook app itself, a new Messenger app and the Home/launcher app.
Another benefit of the pre-release version of Home, besides getting to try it out early, is that it works on a wide variety of devices beyond the five specified by Facebook as being compatible in the event it held last week to officially announce Facebook Home. The only requirement seems to be that the device has a maximum resolution of 1280×768, and that a user is able to completely uninstall their existing Facebook app. The Nexus 4 is therefore a viable candidate.
Functionality is somewhat limited, however. Chat heads doesn’t work as of yet, for instance. But Cover feed appears to function as intended, and all the settings appear to be there. The settings reveal that in choosing where your Home content comes from, you can both enable and disable updates from Pages and status updates from users in your network. You can also enable or disable the notification/status bar at the top of the screen for a more edge-to-edge Facebook experience.
The leak shows that there doesn’t really appear to be any huge technical barrier to putting Facebook Home on a wide variety of handsets, which is good news for users who don’t own one of the five devices initially set to receive it. If you’re interested, you can head over to MoDaCo to download the APKs and try this our yourself, but as with any side-loaded software, remember you do so at your own risk. Friday might just be a little too far off for some curious folks, however.
To install the Facebook Home beta, first make sure you’ve uninstalled both Facebook and Facebook Messenger. Then navigate to your device’s security settings and then tick the box that allows you to install apps from unknown sources. Then download the APK files above to your computer. Plug in your Android device and make sure that it has USB mode enable, or download Android File Transfer if you’re on a Mac. Drag and drop the three APK files to your device, preferably in the “Downloads” folder.
On your Android device, if you don’t already have one, download and install a free file manager application from Google Play. The free and aptly named “File Manager” does the job. Within that app, navigate to where you copied the Facebook Home APK files from your computer, and tap on each to install them.
Once they’re installed, sign in to Facebook with your credentials, and then activate Facebook Home. It’ll take a few seconds to load, but should quickly go from a gray screen to photos from your FB feed and a home circle with your face at the bottom. You can choose to have pressing the home button on your device activate FB Home by default, or your default launcher, and you can change these settings at any time in Android Settings.
Apr 08
Move Over, Apple and Google: Apperating Systems Are Taking Over Your Phones
Posted in: Today's Chili
Last week’s Facebook announcement was not much of a surprise. Everyone knew Zuck & Co. were out to invade Android, offering big, blue and white thumbs to stamp on every aspect of a user’s mobile experience. Sure, Chatheads are neat, …
Apr 08
What is your opinion on Facebook Home as well as the HTC First which was er, for the lack of a better word, first announced just last week? Well, we do know that AT&T in the US will be the only mobile carrier to carry the HTC First on an exclusive basis, where this particular smartphone will arrive right out of the box alongside the Facebook Home launcher pre-installed to get you started straight away. Apart from that, April 12th is also the date that the launcher will be made available in the Google Play Store.
Due to that particular exclusivity period, folks who reside in Canada will have to play the patience card, where they will need to wait for at least a few more weeks before Facebook Home is made available in the Great White North. Oh and by the way, just in case you are wondering whether there is any wisdom in picking up the HTC First in lieu of installing the launcher, a minor difference could help sway your decision, where folks installing the launcher on a compatible smartphone will not be able to check out notifications that are specific to Facebook, save for Cover Feed. There ya go!
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Play 4.0 Screenshot Leaked By YouTube Employee, Pre-Release Of Facebook Home Leaked, 
Apr 07
Microsoft is of the view that Facebook Home imitates Windows Phone and that the launch event for Facebook’s new Home on Android “was remarkably similar” to the launch event the Redmond based company did for its Windows Phone over two years back. This claim was made by Frank X. Shaw, Corporate Vice President of Corporate Communications at Microsoft, on the company’s official TechNet blog. Shaw says that when Microsoft got down to developing Windows Phone they put three words on the wall, “Put People First”, to guide the team that the phones should be developed around people that matter the most to a user and not the apps that they might use to reach them.
Shaw then praises Facebook, albeit sarcastically, saying that they understand why Facebook is finding a way to bring similar functionality to a platform that lacks it. He adds that Android users know that their platform is complicated enough without having to add another skin upon what is already a custom variant of the core OS. Shaw goes on to applaud Facebook for giving Android users a taste of people-centric phones, but suggests people that they get the “real thing and simply upgrade to a Windows Phone.”
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: “Babel” Moniker For Google’s Rumored Unified Chat Service Spotted Again, Samsung Infringes Crucial Part Of Apple Patent, Says ITC, 
Apr 07
The Weekly Roundup for 04.01.2013
Posted in: Today's Chili 
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.
Apr 07
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.
Apr 07
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, 
Apr 06
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.
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