Where to buy a phone in sync with Facebook Home
by Phil Hornshaw
Rumors of a Facebook phone have been flying around for more than a year now, but at the company’s latest announcement event, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced an app, not a phone.
That app is Facebook Home, an Android app that brings Facebook to the Android home screen and could totally revamp your Android experience by making the social network accessible at all times. You’ll get full-screen photos, status updates and timeline feeds accessible from the home screen of your phone, without having to hunt down your Facebook apps from among all the other stuff you have installed on your device.
Lots of Android users will get access to Facebook Home when it launches on April 12, but the app comes pre-installed on the new HTC First phone from AT&T. The rest of the Android community will need devices with Android Jelly Bean or Android Ice Cream Sandwich – the two latest versions of the operating system. For some, that may mean a new device.
Luckily, there are lots of options for saving money on a new Android phone or tablet.
Get the HTC First…first
The HTC First comes pre-loaded with Facebook Home and will be available on April 12 to correspond with Home’s launch. Better still, it’s only $99 with a new two-year contract with AT&T – plus, AT&T offers as much as $50 cash back, as well. That means you may well be able to save on the First or the accessories you need to go with it to start using Home as soon as it’s available.
Time for an upgrade
If the First isn’t what you’re looking for, there are still a ton of Android phones available on all carriers that can handle Home (the app will be coming to tablets in a few months). You’ll want to be sure you get a fairly recent device, one that is already pre-loaded with Android 4.0 (code named Ice Cream Sandwich) or Android 4.2 (code named Jelly Bean). Older devices won’t cut it, unfortunately.
Your favorite cellular carriers are a good place to start: In addition to AT&T, you can get as much as $50 cash back from Sprint as well. You’ll also find Android devices from almost every major retailer, including Best Buy, Walmart, Target (all of which offer 2 percent cash back) and Amazon.
Grabbing Facebook Home isn’t the only concern when buying a new Android phone, so be sure to shop around for not only the best price and the right software, but a device that fits your needs.
Save even more with Free Shipping coupons from ShopAtHome.com
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