News Byte

Nearing One Million Downloads, Facebook Sees Some Traction With Home App

Facebook announced Thursday that Home, its application made to create a full Facebook experience on Android smartphones, is close to hitting one million downloads in the first month since its release. Facebook also plans to update its app with improved features in the coming weeks, making it easier for new users to learn how to use Home and also introducing a chat buddy list and app tray.

News Byte

LinkedIn Beefs Up Sitewide Search

LinkedIn announced an update to its search function on Monday, tweaking some smaller qualities to the site’s people-browsing capabilities. Among the improvements are a “smart query intent algorithm” — which learns and gets better with each search you perform — as well as suggested searches and automated alerts.

News Byte

Inching Toward Better Discovery, Twitter Tweaks Tailored Trends

Twitter updated an algorithm on Tuesday to give its users better trending-topic recommendations based on whom they follow and where they are located. The move is one in a succession of recent site enhancements aimed at improving overall user engagement. The update will apply to Twitter.com users, as well as Twitter iPhone and Android users, and will slowly roll out starting Tuesday.

Timehop’s Next Stop Could Be Your Calendar

Timehop taps into your social networks to remind you what you did a year ago today. But the start-up is starting to look beyond social.

Apple Aims to Squash Pair of Bugs With Latest iOS Update

The iPhone maker offered an update on Thursday aimed to address two recent bugs causing problems for some using the latest versions of Apple’s latest phone and tablet software. It also released security updates for the Mac and for the Verizon iPhone.

Microsoft Offers Mea Culpa for Slow Windows Phone Updates, Promises Mango Update This Fall

Windows Phone VP Joe Belfiore offers apologies for the past updates, while outlining some of the new features coming this fall as part of a major update, code-named Mango. And for those wondering when they will be able to launch birds from a catapult, Angry Birds for Windows Phone is coming May 25.

Microsoft Offers Apology for Windows Phone Upgrade Slowness

Microsoft’s efforts to update Windows Phone 7 have proven a bit challenging on both the communications and technical fronts. In a posting on Microsoft’s developer site, vice president Joe Belfiore apologizes and pledges to both communicate and execute better in the future.

Microsoft’s First Windows Phone 7 Update Encounters Several Glitches

Redmond encounters several problems in its first attempt to update Windows Phone 7 devices. And these problems have come in an update that doesn’t even add features. This update is designed merely to get the phones ready for an update, expected later this month, that adds copy and paste, along with performance improvements and better search from within the Windows Marketplace.

HTC Shows Off First Tablet, Android Phone With Facebook Button and More

HTC became the latest company to “friend” Facebook, showing off a pair of Android phones that have a button for connecting directly to the social network. It also used Mobile World Congress to show off its first tablet and other Android devices.

Microsoft to Add Multitasking, Internet Explorer 9 to Windows Phone Later this Year

In an interview, Microsoft phone unit President Andy Lees walks through the changes that Redmond plans to make to bolster Windows Phone 7. Improvements coming later this year include Twitter integration, a better browser and the ability to do more things at once.

Hearsay Brings Compliance to Social Media

Oracle Beats Q2 Earnings Forecasts