Joynt: Facebook introduces Home for Android devices

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http://newsroom.fb.com/News/597/Introducing-Home

Jordan Joynt

In the hopes to attract additional mobile users, Facebook introduced its newest software package called Facebook Home on Thursday. The software works as a screensaver on Android devices, replacing the homescreen.

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a news conference to talk about the potential of the new interface.

“Today, our phones are designed around apps, not people,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, at the news conference. “We want to flip that around.”

There have been rumors of a “Facebook Phone” for several years, but the resulting “phone” is more or less a collection of apps. The apps will coalesce in a stream of photos and content, updating constantly even when using other apps.

Facebook’s Cover Feed appears as soon as you turn on the phone. The Feed replaces the home and lock screens, giving an updated collection of photos, links and status updates shared by friends.

Facebook’s chat function, Chat Heads allows users to chat with friends while using other apps. Facebook messages show up along with other text messages using Facebook Messenger’s integrated SMS.

Home is available to Android users, available for download from the Play Store on April 12. HTC First will be the first phone to come with Home pre-installed and is also available on April 12.