Facebook is everywhere and it seems almost everyone you know is on it. It’s also in the news, on television, on the Web, and even in the movies. And now, Facebook wants to have a permanent spot on Android phones with its new app, Facebook Home .
But if the user reactions are any reflection of how it’s doing, most of them won’t want to “go home” because the app rating on Google Play today shows that it only has an overall 2.2- star rating out of a possible 5.
What is it?
Facebook Home, in a nutshell, is the company’s foray into developing an app that will basically turn selected Android model phones into a Facebook phone. The app currently works (or doesn’t work according to some users) on Samsung’s Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, and on HTC’s One X and One X+.
The company that Zuckerberg built says the app will put “your friends at the heart of your phone” and “replace your standard home screen with a steady stream of friends' posts and photos.”
Facebook Home shows you tag stories, status updates, friends’ photos, and shares. This service is called " coverfeed ." In addition, there’s also a feature named “chat heads” that allows you to put a small icon of your friends or acquaintances on the screen. Tap on the photo icon and you can send them a chat message or move them to a map to coordinate a meeting place.
In short, Facebook Home is a central clearing house that will allow Facebook fans the convenience of managing and seeing all of their Facebook content up close and personal whenever they view their mobile phone home screen.
Loud and negative
The idea of an all encompassing app or launcher, that helps Facebook users get their FB content organized on their mobile phones is a good one, but according to reviews on Google Play, users seem to hate it with a vengeance.
But why?
The most colorful comments can’t be repeated here because they would offend children and small animals, but one particular review summed up all the negativity about Facebook Home without defaulting to an "R" rating:
“Not intuitive and it makes my phone butt ugly. Major fail. And Facebook is starting to grow pretty tiresome; I don't really want to have to look at it every time I pick up my phone. Uninstall.” – R. Brown, Google Play Reviews
The current review count, as of today on Google Play for Facebook Home, is 1,531 five-star reviews to 4,871 one-star reviews. In the words of Sherlock Holmes, “The game’s afoot!”
BFF
The mobile phone has become a very intimate electronic pal for many of us. We carry them everywhere, eagerly present our latest apps or photos on them, and look like proud parents as we show off our brand new phones to family, friends, and even strangers.
Mobile phones are very personal to us. Just like fingerprints, no two phones are configured exactly alike. Users spend hours in setting everything just right from the wallpaper to the kinds of apps that are on them. We do everything from rooting them, buying new clothes for them (otherwise known as cases), adorn them with protective face shields, and track them down with GPS locators if they are ever stolen or misplaced.
With the introduction of Facebook Home, this totally changes everything for people who value the uniqueness of their precious devices.
You can’t touch this
While Facebook Home offers a convenient way of tying into the Facebook community, it also seems to take over the whole phone as well. Users have complained about the absurd amount of battery power it uses, and perhaps the most damning comment of all, it totally changes the look and feel of their phones.
But for the hardened Facebook fan, it is a gift sent from heaven and although not perfect, Facebook Home ties into their social network lifeblood by instantly updating them on what their friends, family, and the Facebook world is doing.
Does Facebook Home have a chance in taking over the mobile phone industry as one of its top apps? Right now the answer is no. At the moment, it is too intrusive and too much like Big Brother .
Facebook Home isn’t an industry changing event, but it does show that a lot of people don’t want Facebook to be constantly in their faces. Maybe It’s like eating chocolate cake. It's great when you can have it, but if you eat it everyday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the novelty wears off and you will eventually get sick of it.
Via Google Play
via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://www.examiner.com/article/facebook-home-for-android-do-facebook-fans-really-want-to-go-home?cid=roadrunner