Facebook Announces Facebook Home App

Yesterday Facebook announced its latest innovation – Facebook Home. The new app, which will be available to download from 12 April will apparently bring us all even closer. Facebook is billing it as “The family of apps that puts your friends at the heart of your phone”.

Those with the app downloaded onto their smart phones will no longer need to go onto the original Facebook app to view their notifications. Posts, messages, photos etc are now going to pop up on our screens, even if we are using other apps.

Facebook Home is to be comprised of four apps:

• Cover Feed – a real time stream of status updates, photos, links and more. Profile pictures and app icons will make it easy to see what’s what. You will be able to tap the items that you are interested in and swipe away those that you are not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tWKE0HTl0ig

• Chat Heads – chat to your friends while using other apps. Drag their chat heads (profile pictures) to where you want them on your screen. This will incorporate texts and Facebook messages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9p_y9dAK94Q

• Notifications – Notifications regarding interactions with your profile such as a friend posting on your wall will pop up on your home screen. You will be able to open with a tap or hide with a swipe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HKyO0hJEp-g

• App Launcher – Drag your favourite apps to the App Launcher so you can quickly access them.

Check out the Facebook Home promo video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Lep_DSmSRwE
The new HTC First phone that hits shelves in America on 12 April is already going to be pre-loaded with the app and will apparently be “the best Home experience possible”. If you already have an Android phone, you will be able to download the app from Google Play Store on the same day. No mention yet of when this will be available to iPhone or Windows Phone users.

It will certainly be interesting to see how popular the app is and whether, as Facebook anticipates, it will change the way we connect with our friends, family and favourite companies. Will businesses benefit from page updates appearing on users’ screens while they are playing a game on their phone? Only time will tell, watch this space…

Related Posts from Social Media

Different ways of marketing your business

How Social Media Could Improve Search Engine Rankings

The Web Taylor now has the new Facebook Page Insights – Here’s Our Overview

Easy Ways To Get More Facebook Followers/Likes