Despite all the complaints and criticisms users have made since the Facebook Home app was released, it has continued to grow in the number of users. In just under a month it has reached the 1 million downloads mark, which is significant for a number of reasons. First, it shows that Facebook users are willing to give this new way of accessing their content a try. It also indicates that while they were not happy with the initial release, people trust Facebook to make the necessary changes to correct the problems.
Within the first month Facebook has released one significant update which fixed a number of performance problems and bug fixes. They also announced a second, larger, update which will add new features including an improvement to the ‘dock’ feature so people can access their android apps more quickly and easily.
Facebook also reports that they are seeing the desired benefits of people using Facebook Home. Those who use this app are more engaged with Facebook in general. People who user Home are spending up to 25% more time on Facebook as well as leaving more comments and likes. As more and more people begin using this app it is hoped by Facebook that the Social Network will become more ingrained in people’s day to day lives.
What makes hitting the one million downloads mark even more impressive is that it was only released for the Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy Note 2, HTC One X and the HTC One X+ initially. It has since been made available for the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 as well. As it continues to be released for more devices the rate of downloads is only likely to increase.
While the app is doing quite well, the actual Facebook phone which came out around the same time is not showing the same promise. The price on it has already been dropped from $99 with a new contract to just $.99 with a new contract on the AT&T network indicating it was not selling well at all. It is, of course, still too early to count out the Facebook Phone as it has only been on the market for a month.
Have you tried the Facebook Home app yet? What do you think? Will the added engagement of users with this app increase the effectiveness of advertising on Facebook? I’d love to hear what you have to say!
