Facebook Home moves in on Google?s turf

Published: Sat, April 6, 2013 @ 12:00 a.m.

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Facebook Home, the new software that takes over the front screen of a smartphone, is a bit of a corporate home invasion. Facebook essentially is moving into Google?s turf, taking advantage of software the search giant and competitor created.

Home will operate on phones running Google Inc.?s Android software and present Facebook status updates, messages and other content on the home screen, rather than making the user fire up Facebook?s app. The software will be available for users to download April 12 and will come preloaded on a new phone from HTC Corp., sold by AT&T Inc. in the U.S.

Google gives away Android, the most popular smartphone software in the world, in the hope that it will steer phone users toward Google services, such as Maps and Gmail, and the ads it sells. Compared with ads targeting PC surfers, mobile ads are a small market, but it?s growing quickly. Research firm eMarketer expects U.S. mobile ad spending to grow 77 percent this year to $7.29 billion.

With Home, Facebook Inc. is inserting itself between users and Google, diverting them to the social network?s own ads and services. It?s taking advantage of the fact that Google places few restrictions on how phone manufacturers and software developers modify Android. By contrast, Home would not work on the iPhone without approval from Apple Inc., and close collaboration with the company.

?Facebook Home can only reside on Android because only Google was daft enough to allow it,? independent phone analyst Horace Dediu said via Twitter.

At the launch event Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Google was aware of the project, but Facebook didn?t work with the company to create Home. Asked if he believed Google could change tactics and restrict apps such as Home, he said it was theoretically possible, but highly unlikely for Google to do a ?180-degree change? in its stance on Android?s openness.

Source: http://www.vindy.com/news/2013/apr/06/facebook-home-moves-in-on-googles-turf/

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