Facebook Home hits 500,000 installs, but what about active users? ~ ANDROID IPHONE TRICKS

Facebook Home hits 500,000 installs, but what about active users?

Sometimes a big number is just... a big number

The new "love it or hate it" app out there, Facebook Home, has surpassed a pretty notable milestone in the Play Store today: 500,000 installs. That's half a million installs of an app that many said would appeal to a very small section of people -- those who are presumably "all in" with Facebook. But what does that 500,000 number even mean? Not that much, actually. Any time that someone clicks "install" on the Google Play store, it counts as an install. It doesn't matter if the user never actually launches the app, whether they set it as a default launcher or even whether it stays installed on their phone for more than 10 minutes.

It's kind of like a hamburger restaurant saying "10 million customers served". Well, sure they were served, but did they actually enjoy the food? Lots of users may be taking one bite out of Facebook Home and throwing it in the trash, and the Google Play numbers simply don't reflect that.
The real number we'd love to take a look at is active installs. How many people have installed Facebook Home, then continued to use it. Given the current ratings it is receiving in the play store -- an average of 2.2 out of 5 -- we have to guess that number is well below 500,000. And without that "active installs" number, we don't believe there's any comment to be made about the success of Home this early in the game.

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App Developer? Take the Vision Mobile Developer Economics Survey!

Developer? Take a 10-minute online survey and you could win great prizes! Results will be freely available in June via @visionmobile.

Our friends at Vision Mobile reached out to let us know they're once again running their Developer Economics survey.

The Developer Economics research series, now in its 5th year, examines top mobile platforms, app monetization & many more key issues for developers today. The results from the surveys are released as publicly available reports.
If you're an app developer, take the new Developer Economics 10-minute survey, have your say on the latest trends in mobile development and you can also win great prizes!
Prizes this year include a Samsung Galaxy SIII, a BlackBerry Z10, Lumia 920, AR Drone, Nest thermostat and Nike Fuel band up for grabs!
Take the Survey!

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These old AT&T commercials were a pretty good glimpse of today's tech

What was science fiction in 1993 has turned into just science in 2013

Long before you did all these things with that tiny device you're holding in your hands, AT&T commercials from the early 1990s told the future. Navigation, PayPass systems, video conferencing and more have all turned from twentieth-century fantasy into twenty-first century reality.

Or maybe Elias is right, and Tom Selleck is a Timelord. Either way they're worth a look.

Via: +Elias Lugo

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Flip Frenzy: A unique new puzzle game

A puzzle game with an original concept, but what about those in-app purchases?

We've seen plenty of games that just build off of other proven puzzle concepts, but they often end up being lackluster because you feel they could have been more original. Flip Frenzy is a breath of fresh air -- a nicely original game for Android devices that's challenging as well. On top of quality game mechanics, developer Funky Squid Games has put together fun and light hearted graphics and sounds to go along with it.
Like so many games today though, you don't get far in the game before the in-app purchases set in. Are the pay-to-play mechanics enough to turn you away from an otherwise enjoyable title? Read along with us after the break and see how it all breaks down.
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From the Editor's Desk: Big things ahead

Exciting things are afoot, folks. I'm mostly going off the grid this week, insofar as the usual work week is concerned, but that's not to say there's nothing going on.
So here's to a fun, fast and fruitful week in New York City, with some of the smartest people I know.
And now, a few thoughts on the week that was:
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Remove duplicate and empty Google+ photo albums in your Gallery

It's a work-around, but there is a way to delete those pesky empty Google+ albums from your Gallery

Has your Gallery gone haywire with blank and duplicate Google+ albums? Don't worry, you're not alone. Since the implementation of Google+ Instant Upload and its deep integration into the included Gallery app, more and more of the photos you see on your device aren't actually... on your device. This all works great until there's an issue -- and what many people have been experiencing is duplicate, blank, and mislabeled albums showing up in their Gallery.
The problem is there's no way from the Gallery to manage these photos, it has to be done on the web. If you've been having issues with weird albums showing up in your Gallery, hang tight after the break and see if we can do something about that.
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Mobile Nations podcast: State of the camera art

Alex Dobie of Android Central joins Rene to talk about mobile camera, from the dumb phone days to the latest iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry glass, plus a look at micro 4/3, high end DSLR, and a RED. Yeah, pretty much pure camera porn!

Subscribe via iTunes:Audio | Video
Subscribe via RSS: Audio | Video
Download directly: Audio | Video

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HTC One pictured in black on AT&T site

No details or announcement, but the black HTC One has appeared on AT&T's website

We know the black version of the HTC One was coming to AT&T eventually, but tonight we're seeing it on their website. There was no availability announcement, no details on the page and it's not available to buy just yet, but it is there. We're not sure if this means anything, but we thought a few of you might want a heads up that it's appeared. Click the link below to have a look.

Source: AT&T. Thanks, Patrick!