Facebook reveals 'Home' for Android phones

Facebook debuted its new Facebook Home interface for the Android operating system in California Thursday, calling it a "deeper" experience than an ordinary app. Consisting of a set of the social network's apps that become the home screen of your Android phone, Home transforms it into "Cover Feed," a visually rich and swipe-able version of News Feed for a user's phone. It also includes a updated version of messaging, complete with a feature Facebook has dubbed "Chat Heads," with colorful notifications that include a user's Facebook friends' pictures, CNET reported. Facebook unveiled the software, which will be available for download to a limited number of Android phones starting April 12, at its Menlo Park headquarters. "We're not building a phone and we're not building an operating system," Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg said. "We're building something a whole lot deeper than an ordinary app." At the unveiling, Taiwanese phone maker HTC also announced plans for a model they've dubbed the HTC First, which will be the first smartphone to come with Facebook Home pre-installed. It will represent a "great opportunity to bring mobile and social together," HTC chief Peter Chou said.