I've been playing around with Facebook Home as I found a work around to get it to work on any device (link to XDA below) and I can confirm it's working on my USCC variant of the Samsung Galaxy S2 (SCH-R760) running CyanogenMod 10.1 and while it's aesthetically pleasing and runs very well I don't see it being a permanent home replacement app. I've used many home replacement apps and ever since 4.0 I've been using Apex Launcher (recently purchased the pro version which is amazing and totally worth the price but that will come in another blog post). I really like the main page and swiping between posts. Double clicking to like a post or picture is really nice and very intuitive. However making Facebook a permanent home on my phone doesn't make sense to me as I use it mostly for groups I can see this being phenomenal for those whom Facebook takes up most of their time on their Android device. Everything is very smooth and viewing pictures is simple by just touching and holding to view the photo in it's entirety instead of it scrolling through. I really wish they would implement some of this amazing UI fluidity and beauty into their actual app for those of us who don't care to replace our current home apps (especially for those into using widgets and such to make their "home" not only theirs but beautiful and work for them). Overall I believe Facebook hit a home run with this for those who are social networking junkies (most specifically Facebook junkies) whom don't do much else on their phones...but for the average user this will not take off. Either way give it a go to at least check it out...that's how I roll at least.
Samsung has started with a slew of commercials for the S4 showing the various new goodies that TouchWiz and the new NatureUX. Not all the features will be used by all but they can certainly be fun. I have to say that I am pretty excited about getting this. I currently have an S2 which I had upgraded from the Galaxy S Mesmerize. A few of these features require that other users have the same device (for now) but I'm sure they will be added in updates in suite packages to older feature phones such as the S3 and the Note 2. I'm personally excited about the upgraded hardware as well as the software features. If you're coming from an S3 it may not seem like a big bump but honestly it will be a good choice in a phone regardless of what you're coming from. I will be enjoying the upgraded camera mostly as I take a lot of shots of the family and the kids more than anything with nature shots close behind. Though I am somewhat limited on choice as I'm with a regional carrier (U.S. Cellular or USCC) which has excellent service their relationship with Samsung is thankfully decent now so we get phones on par with the national carriers. I am truly looking forward to this upgrade even though my S2 is still a decent device I am, and always will be, a tech junkie but I think I will be happy with this for the full term of 22 months without feeling the need to use upgrade acceleration to get a phone earlier. I'll want to deep inside but I won't have to. I'll have 4G, NFC, a processor that will handle anything I can probably throw at it and a good sized battery and screen to boot. So without further ado here's the first of many commercials to come from Samsung:
I've long loved putting my thoughts out into the world. Whether it be on paper or via a blog or just social networking in general. I say it's about time I started a blog for something I've been a long time fan of...technology. It started a long time ago thanks to my father whom also loves geeky things. I remember the family's first computer...a GE HeadStart III. It was top notch for it's time and we loved it. Ever since I've had an affinity for technology and my how far it's come over the years. I've been through a LOT of computers since and a few of them were pieced together from multiple computers and over time I've given up on most of them. Gaming systems I haven't been through as many as I had the original NES and then didn't get anything until the original XBOX although I had friends with all the systems in between. Then came the smartphone era which I've thoroughly embraced. I think the only thing holding me back a lot is funding...as I'm a father a lot of my money goes to supporting the family so I really only get one (maybe two) big purchases a year and lately those have been dedicated to new smartphones or a laptop. I am hoping to finally get a tablet and a smart TV but first things first I have a certain Galaxy S4 that has caught my eye and my S2 is slightly jealous. So this blog is a first of many involving probably mostly things Android but will try to cover other things as well. I've tried so many apps (free and purchased) so I have a good starting place. Plenty of posts and hopefully some videos as well to come soon.
