

So it’s not looking good for Facebook’s big push to takeover Android. One month on from its grand launch of Facebook Home, less than 0.1% of its 1.1 billion or so active users have actually installed the app, and even worse, it’s popularity’s dropping like a lead balloon.
Facebook Home actually got off to a somewhat decent start. While there was a bit of disappointment that Facebook’s “grand strategy” didn’t go as far as creating a dedicated mobile operating system, half a million users chose to install the Android launcher within a week of its April 12 release. Since then though, interest has dropped sharply, with only another 500,000 or so users downloading the app.
No doubt some will point to the fact that Facebook Home is only compatible with a few Android phones anyway – it comes pre-installed on the HTC First, but aside from that only the Samsung Galaxy S III, Galay S IV, Galaxy Note II, HTC One and HTC One X phones are also compatible. Not that other Android users are missing much by all accounts – with Home’s user reviews averaging a miserable two stars, it can hardly be described as a roaring succss.
Analytics services like Distimo and App Annie illustrate how Facebook Home has struggled since its initial launch last month. Despite breaking into the top 100 most popular apps in the US, Canada, Germany, Brazil and other countries in its first week, it barely even figures in most country’s rankings now. In the US, it’s ranking already slipped to just 323, while in other countries it no longer even figures in the top 500.
Facebook won’t be giving up the ghost just yet, but it surely must be worried how things are going. Despite its previously mentioned plans to roll out the launcher onto other devices, it’s clear that Home hasn’t exactly set the world alight so far, a point underlined by HTC’s decision last Friday to slash the asking price of the First from $99 to just $0.99. Surely they’re not that desperate already?
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