Facebook Home Arrives On Google Play

Ready to turn your phone into the Facebook Phone? Now you can, without having to buy a new device — as long as you own one of a short list of selected phones and download the Facebook Home app from Google Play.

The app is listed here within Google Play and should work for at least these devices:

• HTC One X
• HTC One X+
• Samsung Galaxy S III
• Samsung Galaxy Note II

It may work for phones beyond these. During its press conference last week, Facebook said Facebook Home would work for devices running the “Ice Cream Sandwich” version of Android (4.0) and the latest version of the Facebook app.

Having said that, when I did the install, I only saw it listed as available for my Galaxy S3. It wasn’t available to install for me Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4.

If you can’t run Facebook Home, The Verge notes that Facebook Messenger for Android has been upgraded to use “Chat Heads,” a major feature of Facebook Home. That makes it an option for those who want a taste of the full-blown app.

Also out today is the HTC First, a Facebook Home phone sold exclusively by AT&T. The First has Facebook Home built-in to the device (and yes, you can turn it off if you want to have a pure Android experience).

By the way, there were issues with Facebook Home not appearing in Google Play earlier today. Those appear to be resolved, but if you have problems, try reloading the link.