Facebook Status Update App for Android Due Next Week
The app will initially run on HTC phones and allow the Facebook status to be displayed on the home screen; the current Facebook Android app must be run in order to the user to check their status. While the technology Facebook will release on the HTC phone is new to Android phones, it has been available to Blackberry users for years. The move is designed to increase advertising revenue.
Currently, Facebook estimates that it has as many as 650 million mobile application users. Android-based smartphones collectively are the best-selling smartphones. HTC said the new Facebook application will not violate the Google’s strict licensing agreement that requires the home interface be germane.
Thus far, most Facebook employees use the iPhone which is a much more restrictive development environment.
In order to foster a more Android friendly environment, Facebook has encouraged its employees to adopt the phone.
For its part, HTC may be able to increase its market share by its increasingly tight relationship with the social networking giant. HTC has lost market share in recent years to Samsung with their successful line of Galaxy tablets and smartphones.
Source material:
Facebook Preparing More Visible Embrace of Android
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/03/29/facebook-preparing-more-visible-embrace-of-android/
WSJ: New Facebook software will put status updates on your Android homescreen
http://www.intomobile.com/2013/03/29/wsj-new-facebook-software-put-status-updates-your-android-homescreen/
Facebook reportedly building phone with ex-Apple engineers
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57442320-94/facebook-reportedly-building-phone-with-ex-apple-engineers/#!
