Facebook Home gets new dock for your favorite apps

Facebook Home gets new dock for your favorite apps

The social network's first new feature for Home is a favorites tray for quick access to other apps.

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(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Facebook hopes to quell some of the concerns around its Home software suite for Android with its first new feature, a dock designed to make it easier for users to access their favorite non-Facebook applications.

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The new dock is meant to provide Home users with faster access to their favorite apps.
(Credit: Facebook)

The social network released an update Thursday to Facebook for Android that simultaneously adds an application dock to Home. Now, Home users can customize the app launcher by dragging the apps they use the most to a favorites tray.
The tweak is an expected addition that is meant to fix one of the most obvious flaws of Facebook Home: the software package makes it too cumbersome to reach other applications.
Released on April 12, Home is a beautiful but broken space that brings innovative features such as Cover Feed, a fresh twist on News Feed, and Chat Heads to people on select Android devices. But the software suite, which has been installed more than 1 million times, has been stigmatized by poor adoption and bad reviews. The HTC First, the first smartphone to ship with Home as a native feature, is a dud of a device and may be on the brink of extension.
Facebook, however, isn't ready for a short sale and will continue to pay the mortgage on Home. The social network has committed to embracing the negative feedback and making regular updates to improve its smartphone space.
Thursday's Facebook for Android release comes with a few features that users of the standard social-networking app may appreciate. The app now lets people post multiple photos in a single message and includes the ability to adjust who can see a status update after its been published. Facebook also said the Android app is more stable.
 
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