Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer of Facebook Inc., unveiled his mobile computing software on Thursday in an attempt to encourage marketers to use small screens for their advertising and prod users to spend more time on their phones.
Facebook’s new software app, called Home, allows users to modify Android, the popular mobile operating system developed by Google, to prominently display their Facebook newsfeed and messages on the home screens of a wide range of devices.
The new software makes it easier to access Facebook features -- such as friends’ photos, messages and status updates -- on a mobile device’s home screen. With a majority of users accessing Facebook via their mobile devices, CEO Zuckerberg has been working on ways to keep his members engaged longer. He can do this by encouraging advertisers to pay to have their products promoted on Home.
Since messaging and communications remain the most fundamental use for smartphones, a messaging interface called Chat Heads which combines SMS text messages and Facebook chat messages under one tool will be part of the Home software package. In addition, Home will provide monthly updates.
According to Facebook, the application will be available for download for free from Google Play on April 12 and will initially run on Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) and HTC Corp. (2498) phones that run Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system. AT&T Inc. has exclusive rights to sell the first handsets made by Taiwan's HTC Corp that come pre-installed with the software for $100. France Telecom's Orange will be offering the phone in Europe.
Home can be installed from Google Play, Google’s online app store, and will be available on tablets in the coming months. The program will not initially have advertising but promotions will be included in future updates.
Facebook's new mobile strategy could intensify its contest with Google, the leading Internet search engine and the developer of Android with whom it already competes for advertising dollars and Internet users' time online. If Home proves to be popular among Android users, it could also place the two companies in something of an uneasy partnership.
More than 750 million mobile devices featuring Android have been activated to date, according to Google, more than gadgets based on Apple Inc.’s iOS, the runner-up.
Facebook advanced 3.1 percent to $27.07 at yesterday’s close in New York, leaving the stock up 1.7 percent so far this year, compared with a 6.8 percent gain in the Nasdaq Composite Index.