Facebook updating iPhone app to add Chat Head support… today
First, the bad news. Facebook Home isn’t coming to iOS anytime soon due to the underlying technologies that restrict the way apps interact with the iPhone’s operating system. Now, the good news: Facebook is pushing an update to its iOS app right now that’ll add support for Chat Heads. Mike Schroepfer, CTO and vice president of engineering at Facebook, just announced the news here at D: Dive Into Mobile, and it all goes well, you should see the update hit your own device later in the day.
According to Schroepfer: “The goal from the beginning was to get this experience into everyone’s hands. As part of that, we’re shortly going to announce an update to our iOS app that’ll add Chat Heads. Multiple messages, multiple threads, same design, etc. You have to be within the app — that’s a limitation of iOS. You can’t draw across other apps when you aren’t in the app.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Facebook
Source: iTunes
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HTC First with Facebook Home review
With a billion users, it’d be an understatement to say Facebook has done a good job conquering the desktop world. Mobile, however, is the social network’s next frontier: although it has a significant presence on every major smartphone and tablet platform, the company has a reputation for bringing its key features to the PC environment long before they arrive on mobile — if at all.
But the April 4th reveal of Facebook Home, a solidly built Android launcher, reflects a change in attitude for Mark Zuckerberg and Co. Instead of simply maintaining a smartphone presence, Facebook is ready to go to battle and is putting mobile on the top of its list of priorities. It’s even adding a proper piece of hardware to its arsenal in the form of the HTC First, a 4.3-inch device on AT&T with LTE, reasonable mid-range specs and a gorgeous display. Is it worth $99 with a two-year commitment to purchase a handset dedicated to the social cause? Should you just wait until Home is available as a free download in the Google Play Store? Or is it best to ignore it altogether? Continue reading to find out.
Gallery: HTC First review
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, AT&T, Facebook
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Facebook Home ‘Airplane’ ad brings one traveler’s News Feed aboard — literally
Sure, Facebook had a weird ad with Blink-182 for the HTC Status, but its sneak peek at its newest TV spot for the First and Home is on another level. Posted today on its Facebook profile, the campy piece literally brings one traveler’s feed to life inside the cabin of his flight during boarding. We won’t spoil the goods for you, but it’s interesting to see Facebook’s first thrust at marketing this skin and smartphone combo out to the masses. Catch the full clip after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Software, Mobile, HTC, Facebook
Source: Facebook
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Facebook planning Android-related event on April 4th
It looks like Facebook‘s got an Android-related event up its sleeve in the Bay Area next Thursday April 4th. Of course we’ll be there with a liveblog, so be sure to tune in at 1PM ET (10AM PT). So, what is this about? A major revamp of Facebook’s Android app? An Android-based Facebook phone like HTC’s rumored Myst?
Developing…
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Google, Facebook
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Microsoft ‘retiring’ Facebook and Twitter Xbox 360 Dashboard apps
Eagle-eyed gamers may have already noticed that the Xbox 360′s dedicated Twitter and Facebook apps have gone missing after the latest Dashboard update, and now Redmond has confirmed it’s put the applications out to pasture. According to a Microsoft representative that spoke to IGN, the firm is “retiring the Facebook and Twitter apps” as it works to streamline functionality. When asked if the pair of apps will ever make a comeback, Ballmer and Co. didn’t comment. Still crave to update your friends on your latest gaming exploits through the console? Spreading the news on the digital grapevine is still possible, but you’ll have to access the social networks through the freshly added Internet Explorer app — an experience we hope Xbox SmartGlass will improve.
Microsoft ‘retiring’ Facebook and Twitter Xbox 360 Dashboard apps originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Leave a commentFacebook opens mobile ads for apps to all developers, keeps them on the money train
It’s no secret that Facebook saw FarmVille for iOS as writing on the wall: it had to either tap into mobile app revenue or risk losing income (and marketing-savvy developers) whenever someone left the web. Following a beta this summer, the company’s solution to its dilemma is now open to everyone. All developers on the social network can build ads that link from Facebook’s Android and iOS apps to either Google Play or the App Store — offering both an easy plug for their native apps and that all-important ad revenue for Facebook. The system currently takes a shotgun approach and may pitch social networkers for apps they already have or don’t want, but it should be refined in the next few months to where some curious purchasers won’t even have to leave Facebook to load that hot new title. Hopefully the increased recognition for mobile developers is worth sullying our once pristine news feeds.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Facebook opens mobile ads for apps to all developers, keeps them on the money train originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 23:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Native Facebook app for Android is in the final phases of internal testing
Remember when Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook’s HTML5 Android app was a mistake? Well, one of our tipsters, embedded deep inside the Social Network, has let us know that the native version for Google’s mobile OS has entered final testing. As such, it won’t be long before the software is ready for consumption by the public at large, give or take an angry Winklevii or two.
[Thanks, @Gam3sFan]
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Facebook
Native Facebook app for Android is in the final phases of internal testing originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 08:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Amazon launches its own game studio, goes social with Living Classics on Facebook
Amazon is committing itself to gaming much more seriously than providing a storefront: it just launched its own game development house. The simply titled Amazon Game Studios is starting out gently by producing a Facebook hidden object game, Living Classics, that lets the socially inclined dig around through scenes from well-known literature — what else would you expect from the Kindle’s creator? While the free, me-too game isn’t going to give Microsoft or Sony any frights just yet, the company has the ambition of making “innovative, fun and well-crafted” titles. Amazon is actively recruiting more help for the studio as we write, so we’d expect more grandiose work before too long.
Continue reading Amazon launches its own game studio, goes social with Living Classics on Facebook
Amazon launches its own game studio, goes social with Living Classics on Facebook originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 18:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sony teases new Xperia phone unveiling within days, wants you to speed it up on Facebook
As much as we’re used to companies offering big teasers for their future devices, it’s still rare that they put the revelation itself under our control. Sony’s trying just that: its mobile division’s Facebook page is promising a new Xperia phone whose unveiling date is contingent on how many people “fast forward” the unveiling date from its original June 22nd. As we’re writing, the date has already been moved up to June 20th, and there’s a good chance the phone will show up sooner. Just what we’ll see is a mystery — it could be the finished version of the tiny ST21i we saw in April, an international version of the Xperia Neo L, or something else entirely. We’ll know as soon as enough visitors give Sony the go-ahead, although we wouldn’t be surprised if the references to time are clues.
Sony teases new Xperia phone unveiling within days, wants you to speed it up on Facebook originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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ooVoo opens up 12-way chat on Facebook and the iPad, gives other apps a facelift
If there were some video chat corollary to Moore’s Law, ooVoo is adhering to it. Almost a year to the day after announcing six-way calls, the company is expanding its offerings to include 12-way chats on both Facebook and ooVoo’s iPad app. It would seem that on FB, at least, that means true 12-way, face-to-face conversations — an obvious one-up to Facebook’s native video calling app, which is powered by Skype. On the iPad, however, that 12-way claim comes with a substantial quid pro quo: while you can partake in chat with 12 people at once, you can only view up to four people’s streams at a time. Moving on, folks using ooVoo on Android or the iPhone will notice some UI tweaks starting today, while people plugged into the desktop version will be treated to a more drastic overhaul. Rounding out the list of newsy bits, the ability to record and upload video chats to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter is now free. You can get your update on now at ooVoo.com, the Apple App Store or Google Play, and we’ve got one last screen shot after the break to help illustrate what’s on tap.
Continue reading ooVoo opens up 12-way chat on Facebook and the iPad, gives other apps a facelift
ooVoo opens up 12-way chat on Facebook and the iPad, gives other apps a facelift originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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