Software : Facebook Paper for Android release date may never arrive - here's why |
| Facebook Paper for Android release date may never arrive - here's why Posted:  The iPhone-exclusive, US-only Facebook Paper app may never come to other platforms, like Android and iPad - and if it does, it won't be any time soon, the social network has confirmed. "We're a small team and are excited to see how people use this and what their feedback is," a spokesperson told Pocket-lint. As the site points out, that makes it sound like a sort of testing ground for Facebook design, as in, if the feedback to Facebook Paper is positive, Facebook apps across all platforms could theoretically implement a similarly improved layout. Besides, the team working on Facebook Paper in Facebook's experimental Creative Labs only has 15 members, and that feedback really will be key before they "expand," the company said. The ironyFacebook Paper took everyone by surprise when it was announced at the end of January, mostly because it's so much better than the Facebook news feed we've come to know. But while fans have called for Facebook to port the app to Android and iPad - not to mention release it outside the US - those pleas are apparently falling on deaf ears. After how stale Facebook is beginning to look and how much ire the company drew in 2013 with moves like news feed ads and Facebook Home, you'd think they'd jump at the chance to provide users with something they actually want. It's a bit ironic, isn't it? Still, if Facebook Paper's try-outs on US iPhones result in positive changes across every platform and region, then the wait just may be worth it.
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| Armed with Foursquare data, Windows and Bing should get a whole lot smarter Posted:  Symbiotic relationships can mean life or death in the animal kingdom, but tech companies aren't immune to the primal draw of such set-ups. Case in point: Microsoft and Foursquare have announced a partnership that should help them both ride the rising tide of competition. But even more importantly for users of Windows, Windows Phone and Bing, it means richer location-based services are on the horizon. First reported by the Wall Street Journal and backed up by Foursquare itself, Microsoft plans to invest $15 million (about £9m/AU$16.7m) in the location-based social network so it can "continue to build out our product, and, even more excitingly, make sure more people get access to the power of Foursquare." That's well and good for Foursquare and its users, but Microsoft's end of the bargain is ripe with data. Mayor of MicrosoftMicrosoft, which appointed a new CEO earlier today, will license Foursquare's data for use in its operating systems and search engine. With info on more than 60 million restaurants, retailers and other points of interest culled from Foursquare's 45 million users, Microsoft's services should become smarter and savvier on the navigation front as they pull up user-gathered data from around the world. It also means Microsoft can gain ground against competing offerings from Google and Apple. Will the deal make Microsoft mayor of the mobile and search world? Not by itself, but it shouldn't hurt. |
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