Yesterday, Facebook unveiled its updated Instagram apps for iOS and Android that now include a new Vine-like video feature for creating 3-15 second long videos with, of course, Instagram-style filters. While there has been some backlash over the decision from a small group of users, it appears that a nice chunk of the service’s now 130 million strong user base are embracing the new video features. As noted by CNET, Facebook has since confirmed that over 5 million videos have been uploaded in the 24 hours since the updated apps were released.
Facebook also notes that Instagram was seeing around 40 hours of video uploaded per minute during the NBA Finals:
At peak, Instagram users uploaded 40 hours of video per minute. The climactic moment came Thursday night as the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs during the NBA Finals, the spokesperson said.
Following the failure of the HTC First, Facebook has reportedly moved on to its next smartphone idea (via the Korea Herald). Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg supposedly flew to South Korea this weekend to meet with several Samsung executives about working on the next “Facebook-friendly” smartphone together. According to the report, however, Samsung shot down the idea. “Samsung doesn’t want to help nurture a second Google, which is now becoming a formidable rival for Samsung in the handset business,” the source said. The company also cited the recent HTC First failure as another reason to avoid the Facebook phone market.
Google is expected to generate $8.8 billion in revenue from mobile advertising this year (via CNET). The market for mobile ad sales is expected to reach $16 billion this year, giving Google a 56 percent share. The company sold $4.6 billion in mobile ads last year.
Facebook is expected to come in second with a 13 percent share, while Pandora will come in third with 2.5 percent of the market, and Twitter fourth with 1.95 percent.
“Across all digital platforms, Google continues to reign as not only the largest beneficiary of digital ad spending in the U.S., but worldwide as well,” eMarketer said in a statement.
Update: Facebook has just sent out an invite to an event it is holding on June 20th. While the it doesn’t offer many hints as to what the company has up its sleeve, TechCrunch says again that it is sure it’s a news reader of some sort.
The day that many have been dreading is quickly approaching. On July 1st, Google Reader will officially close its doors, but according to some code discovered, Facebook might be working on a replacement (via TechCrunch). A developer has noticed several mentions of RSS feeds in Facebook’s code, which he says are exactly what would be needed to start a Google Reader alternative. The service would supposedly be tied to your Facebook ID, which would make it accessible to the more than 1 billion people already on the social network. It’s unclear, however, if users would be able to add feeds to the service or if it would simply be content from Facebook.
After getting some complaints from users about being able to quickly access apps via the app launcher when using Facebook Home, Facebook is including in today’s update a new dock that lets users quickly launch a selection of their most often used apps. The feature will let users customize the”app launcher by dragging the apps you use most to a new favorites tray.” It also told us folders and widget support is on the way.
Other improvements in the update today for the Facebook for Android app include the ability to change select who sees the content you share, support for sending multiple photos in a message, and other memory/stability enhancements. Expand Expanding Close
Tim Cook noted during his interview at the D11 conference tonight that “Apple has no religious issue porting an iOS app to Android,” but was careful to point out that they would only do so “if it made sense.”
When asked about Facebook’s Android home screen replacement and whether such access would ever be available to developers on Apple’s platform, Cook noted that there are plans to allow deeper access to iOS, but such changes will only be allowed if they don’t impact the customer’s experience. Kara Swisher specifically asked about the possibility of Chat Heads becoming part of iOS, but Cook was quick to shoot the idea down: Expand Expanding Close
Kickfolio, a service that allows developers to offer demos of their iOS apps directly in the browser using an HTML5-based platform, today announced it is now allowing devs to embed their iOS apps directly in the Facebook news feed. The news comes as the company raises over $1 million in seed funding and changes its ‘Kickfolio’ branding to a more suitable “App.io”.
We’ve told you about the service before, which allows devs to embed playable HTML5 demos of their iOS apps directly on webpages and in press releases for as little as $9 a month. Today the company is not only bringing that functionality directly to the Facebook news feed (as pictured above), it’s also announcing that support for Android is on the way.
App.io currently has about 3000 devs signed up, most of which are using the service as a marketing tool to drive users to the App Store. The company says the average user spends about 1 minute, 19 seconds playing the demo with 12 percent making their way to the App Store and those stats are expected to increase thanks to the new Facebook integration. App.io plans to integrate its service with other ad networks and platforms in the future and also launch tracking and analytics features.
Bloombergreports that Google is considering making an acquisition offer for mapping company Waze. Numerous reports over the past few weeks have claimed that Facebook is also eyeing an acquisition of the maps firm.
Google Inc. (GOOG), maker of the Android operating system, is considering buying map-software provider Waze Inc., setting up a possible bidding war with Facebook Inc., people familiar with the matter said. Waze is fielding expressions of interest from multiple parties and is seeking more than $1 billion, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The Palo Alto, California-based startup might also remain independent, instead seeking to raise a round of venture capital financing, the people said.
Waze’s price-tag is current said to be around $1 billion.
Google’s potential bid would likely create a bidding war with the Menlo Park-based social network. Bloomberg reiterates that Apple is not in discussions with Waze. Rumors from earlier this year claimed that Apple was eyeing an acquisition, but many of those claims were immediately debunked.
BGR has confirmed that HTC and Facebook’s little experiment is nearing its end. BGR has learned from a trusted source that sales of the HTC First have been shockingly bad. So bad, in fact, that AT&T has already decided to discontinue the phone.
Mother’s Day is right around the corner and AT&T is celebrating moms with a fun, shareable video e-card for a special edition of the popular “It’s Not Complicated” campaign. In a new rendition of the commercial that will air Friday through Sunday, mediator Beck Bennett strays from his usual, “what’s better, bigger or smaller?” and instead asks, “who gives the best hugs?” to a unanimous response – mom does! The video e-card can be personalized, offering consumers a simple Mother’s Day themed e-card video, with Beck and the kids, to share with mom via social media (Twitter, Facebook, email). Make your own personalized version of the “It’s Not Complicated, Moms are the Best” video e-card atATTMothersDay.com.
You know the rules: To enter, simply follow @9to5Google and retweet this post telling us why your mom would love an HTC First Facebook phone.
Google just announced a nice bit of API code that will allow developers to to make it easy for readers of websites to download files to their Google Drive account.
Adding a Save to Drive button on your website is easy. You simply have to include the script and HTML tag below:
<script src="https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js"></script>
<div
data-filename="My Statement.pdf"
data-sitename="My Company Name"
data-src="/path/to/myfile.pdf">
</div>
It isn’t hard to see how this could come in handy.
On Android devices, people also have the option to flip an item into a magazine from other applications, including YouTube, a web browser or their photo gallery. There are also many ways to share Flipboard magazines on Android: in addition to the social networks they have connected to Flipboard, Android users can share a magazine from the magazine’s cover “share” button, via text message, email or on Pinterest.
Flipboard has also introduced a new web tools system for personalized magazine creators to edit their magazines via a web browser. Additionally, the new update includes single-sign-on for Facebook accounts and the ability to login to a FinancialTimes account.
Facebook announced updates regarding mobile today at its Mobile Developer Conference in New York City continuing its effort to transition to a mobile-first platform.
Changes include an improved experience with Facebook Login, easier implementation of Open Graph on mobile, a new Object API and Object Browser, a native Share Dialog and Facebook SDK 3.5.
The new Share Dialog allows users in non-Facebook apps to share directly to Facebook without leaving the app.
Facebook says its permissions dialog is 20% faster now.
The social network is encouraging mobile developers to integrate Facebook into their apps as it announced that 70% of the top grossing 100 Android apps already integrate with Facebook.
Facebook Home doesn’t seem to have wowed early adopters, with TNW pointing to the fact that by far the most common rating of the app in user reviews on Google Play is just one star out of five … Expand Expanding Close
Facebook Home is the mobile experience that puts your friends at the heart of your phone. From the moment you turn it on, you see a steady stream of friends’ posts and photos on your home screen. Upfront notifications and quick access to your essentials mean you’ll never miss a moment. And when you download Facebook Messenger, you can keep chatting with friends when you’re using other apps.
In addition to the new HTC First, Facebook Home is currently supported on the HTC One X, One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, and eventually the HTC One and the Galaxy S4.
When Facebook unveiled its new Facebook Home Android experience set to roll out on number of devices today via Google Play, one of the most talked about features was “Chat heads”. The feature allows users to quickly access Facebook messages and SMS through circular profile pictures that users can access from anywhere in the OS and organize freely on the screen. Today, seemingly as part of its official roll out of Home, Facebook has updated its Messenger app for Android bringing a small piece of Home functionality to all Android users.
The updated version of Facebook Messenger implements the new Chat Heads feature, allowing you to see a small round icon with the face of the person you’re talking to hovering on the display even when you exit the app. When engaged in a conversation in Messenger, exiting the app will automatically create a chat head floating on top no matter where you navigate, allowing you to quickly jump back into the conversation. The chat heads can be arranged freely and dismissed at any time by dragging them off the bottom of the screen.
On top of rolling out the first device to come with Facebook Home stock– the HTC First– Facebook Home will also initially be supporting the HTC One X, One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, and eventually the HTC One and the Galaxy S4. Expand Expanding Close
Last week, Facebook announced two new products to expand their reach in the mobile market: Facebook Home, a downloadable Facebook-intergrated skin for Android phones and the HTC Facebook First, the first official hardware by the company. The First is scheduled to be released April 12th for $99 exclusively through AT&T. Naturally, the First comes pre-loaded with Facebook Home.
Facebook Home is a downloadable launcher for Android phones only, and a few of its key features such as Chat Heads are getting much praise by reviewers. On the other hand, the First is being criticized for its lack-luster hardware such as the mediocre 5MP camera and lack of a dedicated shutter button.
If you want to read all about Facebook’s new duo of software and hardware, below is a round-up of some of the reviews from around the web…
The HTC First is compelling for two reasons. For Facebook fans, it’s now easier to maintain social connections with friends and family. For the tech-savvy crowd who has little interest in the service, the phone is a stock Android 4.1 device that comes with AT&T LTE, which is still something of a rarity. Including this opt-out was a smart move on Facebook’s part, because it’s difficult to recommend that consumers sign two-year contracts on an unproven product that depends so heavily on their engagement with Facebook. Worst case, it’s a decent mid-range phone for $99 on contract (or $450 without any commitment).
Facebook Home isn’t perfect, nor will it convince many non-Facebookers to start Liking and commenting with reckless abandon. But it’s aesthetically pleasing, and surprisingly polished for a 1.0 product.
An updated Google Play with an image-centric design will be rolling out to all Android devices running Froyo (2.2) and up over the next few weeks, the Official Androidblog confirmed. The redesign focuses on connecting ‘similarly themed’ content so apps, songs, and movies of the same genre are grouped rather than scattered everywhere.
Perhaps it’s too soon to state this with any certainty — surely this update has been in the works for some time now — but we may already be seeing the influence of Facebook Home on app design, at least as it pertains to the use of larger imagery and simplified interface. Something to keep an eye on at the very least.
I’ve been really excited to get my hands on the HTC One.
The world is chock-full of low-end — and high-end — Android phones that are plastic and hard to distinguish from one another. So, as an iPhone user primarily, I liked the One’s obvious iPhone 5-like accents—which is seemingly A-O.K. by Apple, at least as evidenced by the global settlement and 10-year licensing deal reached with HTC last year—and entirely aluminum construction.
HTC’s flagship phone in 2012, the One X, earned critical acclaim from reviewers across the blogosphere, but the Samsung Galaxy S III and iPhone 4S overshadowed its launch. Now, one year later, HTC is up to bat again with the HTC One, but this time around, it faces nearly the same challenges in the Galaxy S 4 and iPhone 5.
Check out the full review below to see how the HTC One measures up.
Facebook introduced the HTC First with Home for Android today, and now CEO Mark Zuckerberg is doing the press rounds and discussing everything from “Facebook phone,” building for Android, Google’s reaction to Home, and even why iOS was left in the dark.
During the unveiling event, Zuckerberg described building Home for Android as “smooth,” because the platform is open and does not require any Google intervention, where as Home for iOS would require a direct partnership with Apple.
In a wide-ranging interview at Wired.com this afternoon, Zuckerberg gave a more detailed explanation on why Facebook launched Home for Android phones instead of iOS, as well as why the company ditched the idea of building a phone directly:
Why not just build a phone? I’ve always been very clear that I don’t think that’s the right strategy. We’re a community of a billion-plus people, and the best-selling phones—apart from the iPhone—can sell 10, 20 million. If we did build a phone, we’d only reach 1 or 2 percent of our users. That doesn’t do anything awesome for us. We wanted to turn as many phones as possible into “Facebook phones.” That’s what Facebook Home is.
It’s only available on Android phones. Isn’t it ironic that your mobile strategy is now tied to Google’s operating system? “We have a pretty good partnership with Apple, but they want to own the whole experience themselves. There aren’t a lot of bridges between us and Google, but we are aligned with their open philosophy.”
So do you think in, say, two years you will have this on the iPhone? “That’s above my pay grade to be able to answer that.”
That’s a pretty high pay grade.
“Look, I would love for that answer to be yes. Facebook is in a very different place than Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung, and Microsoft. We are trying to build a community. We have a billion folks using our services now, and we want to get to 3 or 5 billion one day. We’re going to do that by building the best experience across all devices. Android is growing quickly, and we’re excited that the platform is open and that it allows us to build these great experiences. I think that this is really good for Google too. Something like this could encourage a lot of people to get Android phones, because I think people really care about Facebook. In a lot of ways, this is one of the best Facebook experiences that you can get. Of course, a lot of people also love iPhones—I love mine, and I would like to be able to deliver Facebook Home there as well.”
Zuckerberg also talked with Fortune.com today about Google’s reaction to Home and what it’s like working with Apple:
On what Google will think of Facebook’s use of the open Android platform:
“I’m not sure how they’re going to react.”
On working with Apple:
“They really control the operating system… Android is different because it’s a much more open platform.”
On Google vs. Apple in mobile:
“I think that Google has this opportunity in the next year or two to start doing the things that are way better than what can be done on iPhone through the openness of their platform. We’d love to offer this on iPhone and we just can’t today. And we will work with Apple to do the best experience that we can within what they want, but I think that a lot of people who really like Facebook–and just judging from the numbers, people are spending a fifth of their time in phones on Facebook, that’s a lot of people. This could really tip things in that direction. We’ll have to see how it plays out.”
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is live on stage in Menlo Park, Calif., and he just unveiled his company’s new home on Android: called “Home”.
Facebook clarified that it’s not building a phone directly, nor is it building an operating system, instead the company unveiled “Home”. Home is for Android devices, and it is literally the home screen and “soul of your phone,” as Zuckerberg explained. Home is also “family of apps.”
9to5Google posted the first look at “Home” yesterday, but Facebook just gave a quick run down as to what the interface can really do. For instance: Cover feed, a window that replaces the lock screen and home screen, allows users to navigate by flipping through, double tapping, etc.
Users can double-tap to “Like” a post and comment right from the home screen, and they can tap their own face and swipe to get to apps. Users can also swipe up to see their favorite apps in the launcher. There’s even a screen containing all apps, so they can drag their favorite apps to the launcher. Meanwhile, notifications come from people and not apps. Each notification has a person’s face, and users can collect all notifications in a stack and either swipe or save them.
Facebook also announced a new messaging service called “Chat heads” that works with both Facebook messages and SMS. A chat head appears with in the upper right, where users can tap on them, move them, or stack them. Tapping will bring up messages.
Facebook will launch Home via Google Play on April 12, with download availability coming for tablets in a few months. Facebook will maintain Home “just like the regular Facebook app,” and it promises to issue updates at least once a month with new features.
Only a few devices are ready for launch, including: the HTC One X, One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, and eventually the HTC One and the Galaxy S4. There’s even a “Facebook Home Program” for phone manufacturers, and HTC, AT&T, Samsung, Sony, etc., have all signed up.
Zuckerberg just handed the stage over to HTC executives to unveil the first device that will officially run the platform— the HTC First. More details on Home are in the press release and videos below.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will take the stage in Menlo Park, Calif., this morning to show off his company’s “new home on Android,” and you can watch a live stream of the event in the widget above.
It should come as little surprise to industry observers that Facebook plans to unveil both a rich, skinned version of its Android app at a press event tomorrow, along with the first hardware to run that experience out of the box. The phone, by HTC, is appropriately named “First”—appropriate because of its status as the première phone to undergo Facebookification and its similarity to the name of HTC’s newest flagship, the One. More screenshots follow: Expand Expanding Close
Vint Cerf, “father of the internet” and Google’s chief internet evangelist, is speaking out about Google’s decision to push users toward using their real names across services. In a recent interview with Reuters, the Google executive said the initiative to get users using their real names across profiles on various services such as Google+ and YouTube has “sparked intense debate” at the company:
Over the past year, the company has strongly encouraged users to merge their accounts on YouTube, Gmail and other Google properties into a single Google+ identity, the company’s social network offering that asks users to use the “common name” they are known by in the real world.
“Using real names is useful,” Cerf said. “But I don’t think it should be forced on people, and I don’t think we do.”
Vint said not using real names is “perfectly reasonable” in certain situations, especially in countries with governments seeking to ban anonymity: Expand Expanding Close
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