Editorial: The imperialism of Facebook Home

DNP Editorial The imperialism of Facebook Home

Business battles are often ecosystem battles, in which brands develop a matrix of conveniently connected products and services, in an attempt to lock customers into a dependency. Offline companies follow this tack (think razors and blades). But the internet, with its many connection nodes, crossovers to tangential realms and parallel on-ramps is where ecosystem wars are most elaborately waged.

Only rarely do market conditions cultivate a broader ambition in which a company has a chance to step beyond mere ecosystem competition to a higher level of sovereignty. Facebook's imminent release of Home represents a stab at that rare imperialism.

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HTC First announced, coming exclusively to AT&T on April 12th for $99.99

HTC First announced, coming exclusively to AT&T on April 12th for $99.99

Continuing its obsession with the number one, HTC has officially announced the First, an Android device with a bit more Facebook influence than most other smartphones we've used in the past -- including other handsets given preferential treatment from the social media network during the last four years. HTC's Peter Chou and AT&T's Ralph de la Vega took the stage at the event to announce the phone, which is the world's first Home-optimized device. What exactly that means remains to be seen, but HTC's Chou indicated it will be a "unique experience."

There were no specs announced for the device, other than it having LTE, of course. But, earlier leaks have indicated it will be 4.3-inch, 720p mid-range phone, not threatening the HTC One by any stretch of the imagination. It will be available on April 12th exclusively in the US on AT&T for just $99.99. And, it will be available in four colors: red, turquoise, white and, of course, black. You can pre-order yours today at the More Coverage link below, and there's a brief video after the break to explain how the new notifications work.

Gallery: HTC First

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We’re liveblogging Facebook’s Android event tomorrow at 1PM ET!

We're liveblogging Facebook's Android event tomorrow at 1PM ET!

The term "Facebook Phone" has been used in association with specific devices for over four years, and each time it's involved phones with tighter integration of the social media network rather than an Facebook-branded device. Tomorrow we'll be hearing about yet another one of these handsets, though rumor has it that the gadget in question -- which may or may not be called the HTC First -- will at least fit the description better than ever before, offering a home screen launcher and other Android services dedicated to the Facebook cause. We're just as curious as you as to what exactly will be shown off in Menlo Park 24 hours from now, and we'll be there to liveblog the event so you can discover the goods right along with us! Join us at 1PM ET.

April 4, 2013 1:00 PM EDT

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The Daily Roundup for 04.02.2013

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Facebook posts first earnings as a public company: $1.18 billion in revenue, 955 million users

Facebook revealed its Q1 earnings in an SEC filing leading up to its big IPO earlier this year, but it's now officially out with its first earnings report as a public company. For Q2 of 2012, it brought in $1.18 billion in revenue, up 32 percent year-over-year and slightly better than what analysts were expecting, while GAAP net income sat at a loss of $157 million (down from a profit of $240 million a year ago). Looking at things on a non-GAAP basis, though, net income is actually up from $285 million to $295 million.

What's more, the company also confirmed that it has 955 million monthly active users (or what it calls MAUs) as of the end of June, up 29 percent year-over-year. As you can see in the chart after the break, those users are distributed fairly evenly across the world, including 186 million in the US and Canada, 246 million in Europe, 255 million in Asia, and 268 million elsewhere. Daily active users totaled 552 million for the same time period, up 32 percent year-over-year, while mobile users now stand at 543 million, up 67 percent from last year. Not surprisingly, a huge chunk -- 84 percent -- of the company's revenue comes from advertising, which brought in $992 million for the quarter, an increase of 28 percent from last year. That apparently wasn't enough to please investors, though, who have sent the company's stock to a new low of less than $25 (down over ten percent) in after hours trading.

Update: Expectedly, the ever-recurring topic of a Facebook phone came up during the Q&A portion of the company's earnings call, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg didn't avoid the issue entirely. While not completely dismissing recent rumors of an HTC-built, Facebook-branded phone, Zuckerberg did say that building a whole phone "really wouldn't make much sense for us to do," which should put at least a bit of a damper on some of the hype.

Continue reading Facebook posts first earnings as a public company: $1.18 billion in revenue, 955 million users

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Facebook posts first earnings as a public company: $1.18 billion in revenue, 955 million users originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook reportedly back to building phones, recruiting former iPhone engineers

 Facebook reportedly back to building phones, recruiting former iPhone engineers

If the HTC Status' dedicated Facebook button fell shy of satisfying your obsessive social networking needs, sit tight: the house of Zuckerberg may be building a slab of tech just for you. According to the New York Times Bits blog, those old Facebook phone rumors are making a comeback. A handful of Facebook employees and engineers familiar with the matter reportedly say that the firm is collecting former Apple engineers, specifically, ones that worked on the iPhone and iPad. Like Zuckerberg said, mobile is the company's top focus, and one employee says the man at the top is afraid of getting overlooked in a sea of apps. "Mark is worried that if he doesn't create a mobile phone in the near future that Facebook will simply become an app on other mobile platforms." Facebook has focused on deep integration with other devices for some time, but a dedicated handset could take the freshly public company in new directions. Reports suggest that the rumored device is still in its infancy, and there's no word on form factor or OS, of course. Up for some speculation? Check out the source link below for Bits' full take.

Facebook reportedly back to building phones, recruiting former iPhone engineers originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 May 2012 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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