Facebook said Tuesday that features from its new Home software for
Android-powered smartphones will begin spreading this week to Apple's
popular iPhones.
"Home was about our ability to demonstrate what you
can do when you own the whole experience," Facebook's chief technology
officer, Mike Schroepfer, said during an on-stage chat at the All Things
D conference devoted to mobile technology.
"We are working
closely with Apple; with Microsoft, with everyone to try to get as good a
Facebook people-first experience you can across all devices." (Also see: Facebook reportedly in talks with Apple and Microsoft about bringing 'Home' to iOS, Windows Phone)
The
first Home feature to arrive on iPhones will be "chat heads" that let
message exchanges with friends follow people as they navigate the social
network.
Facebook last week staked out a "home" on Android
smartphones as it stepped up its challenge to Apple and Google in the
booming mobile market. (Also see: Facebook Home review)
The software weaves the social network into
the homescreen of HTC and Samsung phones powered by the latest versions
of Android to focus experiences on "people and not apps."
"We're
not building a phone and we're not building an operating system, but we
are building something that's a lot deeper than an app," Facebook chief
Mark Zuckerberg said at the company's Silicon Valley headquarters early
this month.
The Android software, which allows users to see
Facebook's "Cover Feed" when they turn on their phones, became available
for download last week from Google's online Play shop in the United
States.
A version should be available in Europe in the coming
months, according to Facebook, which said it was in the process of
tailoring Home for tablet computers.
Taiwan-based electronics firm
HTC launched a Facebook homescreen smartphone called HTC First,
released through US carrier AT&T at a price of $100.
Users can
start with Facebook on the homescreen and navigate and switch back and
forth between apps, as well as simultaneously send and receive messages
through "chat heads" overlaid on the screen.Read more.....
