Facebook Home downloaded over 500,000 just over a week after launching
Facebook Home, the social networking giant’s biggest push yet into mobile software, is proving quite successful on Google’s Play Store for Android apps.
Though only available for download to five devices (the Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II, HTC One X and HTC One X+) and coming pre-installed on the HTC First, Facebook’s latest big launch has already been downloaded over 500,000 times, just over a week since launching.
Considering Facebook has over 1 billion active users, the numbers may seem small. But given the device restrictions in place and the intrusive nature of the app (which acts as a layer on top of Android, giving Facebook access to data from your apps and giving the user an experience completely centred around Facebook), it’s not a bad start.
What’s likely to be more troubling for Facebook in terms of attracting those that aren’t early adopters is Facebook Home’s current rating on the Google Play Store. With only two out of a possible 5-star rating, users are complaining over Home’s effect on battery levels, and the way it restricts access to a user’s system notifications.
Exact numbers of Facebook Home downloads have not yet been revealed, with Google’s Play store only revealing figures in fairly wide increments. The app currently sits somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million downloads.
Facebook Home will be expanding to new devices in the coming weeks, while the social network’s executives have also begun talks with Apple in the hopes of bringing a version of Home to iOS devices like the iPhone.
