Facebook Home Not Launching With Ads, Will Eventually Come To Cover Feed

by Mike Stenger on Apr 5th 2013, 12:24pm
tagged Facebook, Facebook home

Facebook Home was announced yesterday and will be launching on select Android devices April 12. With the social network heavily monetizing its mobile app, many are wondering if Home will also feature ads. According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Home will not launch with ads, but they will eventually make their way to Cover Feed. Cover Feed is basically the home screen and you’re able to swipe left-to-right through updates from your friends. Ads are a necessary evil in order for Facebook to keep the social network alive and continue to grow. Amazon for example offers cheaper Kindle tablets that are ad-supported and feature home screen ads. For Facebook, Home isn’t just a new mobile experience, but also a new data resource that can be tapped into to help them better target ads to users.

Source: The Next Web

First look at Facebook Home UI

by Jared Peters on Apr 3rd 2013, 2:09pm
tagged Facebook home, Facebook phone, first, HTC

Just yesterday we saw pictures of the Facebook Phone’s hardware, but the software is what’s really exciting, right? Thanks to @evleaks and courtesy of 9to5 Google, we’ve got our first glimpse at what the custom Android skin is going to look like.

In the first picture you can see what’s likely to be an app drawer, complete with standard Google apps. There was some speculation that Facebook might pull an Amazon and cut ties with Google completely in the software, but that’s obviously not the case. Aside from the Google apps, we have the expected Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram apps. On the top of the app drawer, there are shortcuts for posting status updates, photos, and check ins on Facebook. » Read the rest

Updated Nexus 7 with Qualcomm Snapdragon and better display coming in July

by Robert Nazarian on Apr 3rd 2013, 8:40am
tagged Google, Nexus 7

We already reported that the next Nexus 7 will sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU instead of the current NVIDIA Tegra 3, and Reuters is now confirming it. Also unsurprisingly, they are reporting that it will have a better display. We expect the next generation Nexus 7 to be unveiled at Google I/O in May, but Reuters is saying that it won’t be available till July.

Pricing is going to be key now that Amazon has lowered their pricing. Google may choose to stick with the $199/$249 plan, but there is a rumor that they will drop to $149/$199. I believe they will opt for the latter, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they drop the price of the Nexus 10 around the same time.

source: Reuters

$79.99 7-inch tablet from Ematic hits the market, powered by Android 4.1

by Jared Peters on Apr 2nd 2013, 10:53pm
tagged Ematic, Jelly Bean, tablet

If you’ve been itching to pick up an Android tablet without breaking the bank, a new player in the Android tablet game has something that may pique your interest. Ematic has announced today that they’re releasing a 7 inch tablet running Jelly Bean, and it’ll only set you back $79.99. The specs are pretty on par for a tablet under $100, but it’s a great bang for your buck.

It packs a 1 GHz A4 processor and 512 MB of RAM under the hood, as well as 4 GB of internal memory. It also comes in six different colors, which is something pretty unique, and it features all of the core Google apps you’re used to, which is something usually missing from these cheap tablets. It weighs about 2 ounces less than the Nexus 7 as well, so if you’re looking for something light, this may be an option.

You can check out the full press release after the break. Anybody planning on picking one of these up? » Read the rest

TalkAndroid Daily Dose for April 1, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on Apr 2nd 2013, 12:27am
tagged Daily Doses

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Reviews

DivX Stash [Media & Video]

April Fools

The complete listing of Google’s April Fools Jokes for 2013

SwiftKey launches SwiftKey Tilt keyboard, just in time for April Fools

» Read the rest

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD 8.9 coming to AT&T’s 4G network on April 5th

by Nathan Alvarez on Apr 1st 2013, 7:25pm
tagged AT&T, Kindle Fire HD 8.9

AT&T has announced that the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 will be available on their 4G LTE network beginning on April 5th, 2013. Customers can choose plans for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 starting as low as $10 per month on AT&T’s Mobile Share plan. According to AT&T, “with Mobile Share, new and existing customers can share a single bucket of data across smartphones, tablets, and other compatible devices.”

» Read the rest

Facebook’s new “home on Android” will actually be a forked OS called Facebook Home

by Jared Peters on Apr 1st 2013, 11:40am
tagged Facebook, Facebook phone

Facebook recently sent out an invitation to an event on April 4th where they’ll be showing off their “new home on Android.” Well, we’ve got some new rumors about what that’s going to be a few days ahead of the event.

That home on Android is actually going to be called Facebook Home, and it’s going to be a forked version of Android specific to the Facebook phone(s). There’s no word on whether this will still feature traditional Google apps and be more of a heavy overlay like HTC’s Sense, or if Facebook is going all the way and completely cutting ties with Google like with the versions of Android that ship on Amazon’s Kindle devices. Considering how well the HTC ChaCha didn’t sell, though, I think Facebook is likely going to want to take the Amazon approach here and tweak the entire experience around Facebook, not just adding a handful of extra apps.

Aside from that, they’re still in discussion with carriers about the device, so hopefully we’ll learn more in a few days when it becomes official.

source: 9to5 Google

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for March 25 – March 31, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on Mar 30th 2013, 10:18pm
tagged Weekly Recaps

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. The HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S 4 continue to dominate the news, but things are starting to heat up regarding the Motorola X phone as well. Google made a few updates to their apps, and word is that they are working on an all-in-one messaging system too. It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Reviews

Aces Gin Rummy [Cards & Casino]

Jokes HD [Entertainment]

Guides

How to automatically receive MMS picture messages

How to send SMS or MMS text messages from your PC or tablet using your Android phone number

Accessories

When To Expect Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 Accessories And For How Much

Image of Samsung Galaxy S 4 wireless charging accessory

» Read the rest

Facebook to unveil “new home on Android” April 4th

by Jared Peters on Mar 29th 2013, 12:02am
tagged Facebook, Facebook phone, HTC

Facebook is planning something pretty big for a large unveiling on April 4th, according to their latest press invitation. What big thing, you may ask? Their “new home on Android.” What exactly does that mean? We don’t know, but we can make some pretty good guesses.

Facebook has recently been testing the waters with updates through their app outside of Google Play, so it makes sense that they may be launching something, like a phone that’s been in the rumor mill for ages. We’ve heard all kinds of rumors leak about the “Facebook phone,” and with Amazon’s success with their Kindle lineup, it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine Facebook taking another stab at the phone market, despite their first attempt not doing so well.

While all the signs point towards a Facebook phone announcement on April 4th, it’s important to remember they are still rumors. Facebook could just announce more changes to their Android application, or anything else. When the 4th rolls around, though, we’ll be sure to let you know.

source: The Verge