Articles about Facebook

BetaNews has learned that Facebook's "new home on Android" is not a phone, as widely rumored, but -- get this -- a smartwatch. A source with knowledge of the social network's April 4 event contacted me after reading colleague Mihaita Bamburic's Saturday post: "I'm a gadget lover who doesn't love smartwatches".

I simply couldn't believe that, so I contacted a truly trusted source, who acknowledged -- after lots of coaxing -- that the watch tip is genuine. I still didn't believe and contacted another source, who wasn't immediately available because of Easter celebrations. Like Mihaita, I think smartwatches are a dumb idea. About an hour ago, he (or it she) confirmed the Android timepiece will be Facebook's show-stopping announcement.

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BlackBerry Z10 social butterflies rejoice! Updated Facebook and Twitter apps are now available for BB10 sporting new features and enhancements over previous iterations. Users should find it easier to "stay connected and do more with social media", according to the Canadian smartphone maker which detailed the changes.

Twitter was previously updated three weeks ago alongside LinkedIn, and the latest iteration only contains more modest improvements by comparison. Twitter 10.0.2 features a Connect tab where users can view all interactions, similar to the Android, iOS or Windows Phone counterparts, a counter which displays the number of favorites for a tweet and the ability to display photos, summaries and other items straight within tweets.

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They say April showers bring May flowers. What will Facebook's April 4 event bring? Late today the social network reportedly invited blogs and the news media to "come see our new home on Android". I'm not on the social network's guest list and can only report that based on those who got the invite, everything looks legit and tantalizing.

That's because no one can resist speculating or claiming that some unnamed source -- sorry, your buddy in the next bathroom shouldn't count -- promises debut of the long-rumored, oft-denied, ever-elusive and Google-gauging Facebook phone. Running Android! My God, the irony, the rumor wide-eyed profess. Hey, dudes, what if the new home is a tablet? Like Amazon does with Kindle. Or there's no phone at all?

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Today, comScore started a new service that ranks the top U.S. websites by desktop and mobile views -- the latter is a new measurement. Some of them really pop off the chart, with Apple glaring among traditional companies. More than one-third of unique visitors in February accessed the site via mobile device-only. That compares to 5 percent for Microsoft properties. Analysts, bloggers and journalists often portray the fruit-logo company as best representative of the so-called Post-PC era, and Windows' maker the epoch in decline.

The numbers aren't shocking, if you think about them. Windows has little presence on smartphones or tablets. Microsoft mobile OS smartphones share was just 3 percent during fourth quarter, according to Gartner. IDC forecasts Windows tablet market share, based on unit shipments, will be less than 5 percent this year. By comparison, iOS has greater reach, with, according to the company, cumulative shipments exceeding 500 million. Hell, Apple sold 43.5 million iPhones just in Q4, according to Gartner.

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I've been on Twitter so long, I forgot just how short a time that really is -- or how much has changed since March 21, 2006. The service claims 200 million active users tweeting 400 million times a day. But the real measure is much larger -- how Twitter, and other innovations arriving around the same time, fundamentally changed billions of lives five to seven years later.

The service's editorial director, Karen Wickre, calls Twitter a "global town square", which is appropriate description. People gather to look, listen, gossip, grab news or listen to the town crier. I've often grumbled about the 140-character limitation, but brevity has benefits. Statements are succinct. No one talks on and on and on without interruption. If anything, butting in defines Twitter interaction. You will be heard whether or not anyone wants you to be.

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Netflix, the popular DVD-by-mail and internet streaming service, today announced that it is bringing social sharing to your video experience with new Facebook integration -- a feature previously available elsewhere, but prevented here by U.S. law. Now you can no longer pretend to your friends that you really didn't watch that sappy love story last night.

Netflix's Cameron Johnson, director of product innovation, states that "Netflix members in the U.S. can share their favorite shows and movies on Netflix with friends by connecting to Facebook and agreeing to share".

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Three days ago, I told you "Suddenly, Facebook looks more like Google+, only better", based on the product launch demos. But seeing is really believing. Photographer Thomas Hawk, whom I've followed online for a long time, has the new FB News Feed. His side-by-side shot of the two social networks is a real shocker. You're not seeing double.

I suppose there are few obvious ways to present big, bold images in the feed and supporting links around them. But this copycatting is something. "Content in the new news feed feels a lot like Google+", Hawk explains. "I’m not saying Facebook copied Google+ here, and imitation is, of course, the sincerest form of flattery and all that, but check out the two content envelopes side by side in the photo...They are pretty darn close".

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Microsoft rolled out its Windows 8 version of Bing Desktop in late 2012 and brought with it the cool wallpapers that are a part of the search engine's home page. Now, the company has quietly updated the app with another major feature -- Facebook integration. Without any announcement, version 1.2.113.0 launched, but has yet to find its way to all users.

The app is not all about the wallpaper, though that was my main reason for installing it upon original release. Bing Desktop also lets you conduct searches right from the desktop without opening any browser, as well allowing access to the top news stories, images, video and other popular content.

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Today, the world's largest social network announced a sweeping overhaul to major UI motif News Feed. Photos are bolder -- as are advertisements -- and white space more generous. But the big change is uniformity, as Facebook offers a fairly consistent visual experience across devices. That's a claim Google can't make.

Still, Facebook looks lots more like Google+ -- or will once changes roll out to everyone. That's a good thing. Clutter creep long defines the Facebook user experience, something its rival avoids. Well, so far. But the larger social network isn't copying Google+ so much as acting out of necessity. All that clutter in the browser overwhelms smaller device screens, particularly smartphones. To get similar UI across devices, something had to go -- and come, too.

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Windows Phone users have many of the apps they need -- though not always the official ones. However, one noticeable service is lacking -- Instagram has yet to release a client for Microsoft's mobile platform. Given that the software giant spent $240 million to purchase a stake in the social network back in 2007, and that Facebook now owns Instagram, that has to sting a bit. Then again, Microsoft writes the Facebook for Windows Phone app, but let's not chuck salt on wounds by going there.

Nokia, the flagship handset maker for Windows Phone, is apparently so desperate to right this perceived wrong that it wrote an app to fill the gap. "Many of you have asked when Instagram will be coming to Windows Phone, and the #2InstaWithLove app was created as a way for you to have your voice heard. The app allows you to take a photo using the classic polaroid filter and automatically adds the hashtag #2InstaWithLove".

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Editor's Note: Muted in the noise from Mobile World Congress is an interesting drama between developer Presselite Studio and Facebook. Apparently, the social network, which bought Instagram in April 2012, is blocking Vintage Camera. The scuffle raises questions about Facebook clamping down on competing products, which, if true, should chill every developer. Apple favoring its stuff over partners' products is old news. Is this really where Mark Zuckerberg and company want to go? Perhaps it's all a misunderstanding. We asked Antoine Morcos, Presselite cofounder, to make his case. If screenshots can tell a story...

Facebook has decided to disable and block "Photo Sharing on Facebook" feature in Vintage Camera application available for iPhone and iPad. The reason for the app being denied of uploading photos, according to Facebook, is that it was receiving a "high amount of negative user feedback", which is not true...

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Single sign-on. Universal log-in. It is the Holy Grail of Internet services. Coming into the new century, Microsoft planned to use Passport as a universal, single sign-on authentication system aligned with Windows. Following privacy group complaints, a Federal Trade Commission investigation and subsequent settlement, Microsoft backed off the authentication strategy. A decade later, Facebook emerged as contender; many sites or services request, and some even require, signing in with Facebook credentials. Twitter is another option, and there are other choices, such as OpenID.

Now Google comes calling, today adding Google+ Sign-In as an option developers can include with their apps. I cannot overstate just how bold and disruptive the authentication system could be, or how much Google could -- scratch that, most likely will -- benefit. If widely adopted, the service could, if nothing else, give Google+ huge lift against Facebook. Welcome to the social network wars, and my money is on the the big G winning because Android, search and other assets offer so much leverage.

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Bing's "Friends Photos" is not new, but today Microsoft's search engine rolled out a major update to the service that MK Li, program manager of Bing Social, termed as an "experience which makes it easier to scan, discover and explore your friends’ photos".

So what has Microsoft added? For one, a new look and interface. The service now displays in the "Modern UI" type of format, much the same way as Windows 8 and Windows Phone. The search results in a tiled interface that, according to Li, "marries design and performance, making it faster and more seamless to browse your friends’ photos".

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That's not on the social network but away from it. Bad for Facebook: The youngest, and presumably most active users, are the most likely to step away this year for prolonged breaks, according to Pew Internet.

"Sixty-one percent of current Facebook users say that at one time or another in the past they have voluntarily taken a break from using Facebook for a period of several weeks or more", according to report "Coming and Going on Facebook", which published this week.

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Coming from Android or iOS, Windows Phone 8 is an eye-opening smartphone operating system. It sets the bar pretty high when it comes to looks and performance -- the design is simply beautiful and refreshing, and the software responsive and fluid -- but it never really manages to outshine its main rivals. After living with the HTC Windows Phone 8X for a while, I can't help but notice glaring oversights in an otherwise solid proposition. The package is not complete.

You see, being pretty and going fast does not cut it among the fierce world of Android and iOS. Microsoft needs to take a good look around and take charge by solving the shortcomings of Windows Phone 8. Fact is, it's easy to pick faults with the immature app selection, like many journalists do, but that's more of a chicken and egg problem. What the software giant has to do is build on the current platform by offering better basic functionality, functionality that's necessary for a greater user experience.

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