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Facebook Home is what the world’s largest social network believes will become the go-to platform for Android users who want to get more from the operating system they’re currently running on their handset.
In fact, Facebook is so excited about Home that the company has made it a central component in its mobile plans for the next few years. Facebook is counting on the platform to grow by leaps and bounds as more people try it out and see how useful it is at accessing and using Facebook.
It might be difficult to argue with Facebook. According to one report, Home was downloaded more than 500,000 times in its first few days of availability in the Google Play marketplace.
As of this writing, it’s one of the most popular downloads in that store. Furthermore, the reviews from users are quite good, indicating that during the next several months, as Facebook improves its service, the Home platform will continue to grow rapidly on the Android platform.
Simply put, Facebook Home, the social network’s Android experience, might just thrive on the mobile operating system. Read on to find out why.
1. It’s already popular
According to some reports, Facebook Home has already reached 500,000 downloads. What’s more, the platform has quickly become one of the most popular downloads in the Google Play marketplace. If Facebook Home can generate that kind of interest when it’s first launching and only supports a few devices, what can happen over time when more handsets can accept its feature set?
Want perhaps the best reason Facebook Home will thrive on Android? It won’t take a large percentage of Facebook’s users to actually use the platform for it to be a big success. Facebook claims that it has more than 1 billion users globally. If the company gets just 10 percent of its users to sign up for Home, that’ll mean 100 million people are using the platform.
3. People love interaction
Facebook Home will be successful on Android because mobile users have proven that they love interaction. Facebook Home is designed to deliver interaction in several ways, including through chatting and messaging. Mobile users are addicted to interacting with others through mobile apps. To have that enabled across the entire operating system is something that should attract quite a few people.
4. It changes the Android experience for the better
Android is a fine operating system with a lot of great features. However, it’s not as easily integrated with social networks as some users would like. With Facebook Home, that’s no longer a problem. Facebook Home makes access to social networking much easier than on any other platform. And that matters quite a bit.
Facebook Home Could Thrive on Android
5. The same look and feel
Facebook Home also brings a more homogeneous experience to Android—something that’s sorely lacking in that marketplace. Fragmentation and Android users employing many different versions of the operating system hurt Android because users have varied experiences on so many products. With Facebook Home, the same look and feel gets into the mix, giving Android users the sense they are working with a single synchronized platform across different products.
6. It Costs Users Nothing to Acquire Facebook Home
If Facebook Home cost users even $5 to acquire and use, the chances of the platform taking off would be slim. But Facebook Home is built into the HTC First, and those who want to download it from the Google Play store can do so for free. In the mobile world, free is good. And it’s something that’s too often overlooked.
7. Vendors will be happy to include it
Although the HTC First is the first smartphone to carry Facebook Home, there’s a good chance that in the coming months, several other devices will be running the software. As more mobile products reach the market preloaded with Facebook Home, the service’s star will rise. This will help Facebook establish itself as a true leader in mobile.
8. It’s something fresh
One of the nice things about Facebook Home is that it’s actually a fresh take on what mobile devices do. These days, the mobile space is dominated by products or services that reek of last year’s news. And companies, including Apple and Google, are content to deliver only subpar upgrades, realizing that customers aren’t looking for anything revolutionary. But Facebook Home might throw that idea on its head. And the social network could benefit by doing that.
9. Android’s popularity is soaring
It makes perfect sense that Facebook would want to bring Home to Android, doesn’t it? At last count, hundreds of millions of Android devices are expected to launch over the next few years, and with the right strategy and a worthwhile service, it’s possible that Facebook Home could ride the Android wave. That’s good news for Facebook and even better news for Facebook Home lovers.
10. Google can’t stop it
Right now, the only “credible” threat to Facebook is Google. The search giant’s Google+ is growing fairly rapidly and could eventually be a threat to Facebook. That, of course, means that Google could respond to Facebook Home with an alternative built around Google+. But here’s Google’s problem: It doesn’t have the user base or the features online to actually take down Facebook. Until Google+ can prove that it can actually challenge Facebook over the long term, there’s nothing Google can do to stop the social network from thriving on its very own mobile operating system.