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Facebook in talks to buy Waze for up to $1 billion

WAZE

Facebook Inc is in advanced talks to acquire Israeli mobile satellite navigation start-up Waze for $800 million to $1 billion, business daily Calcalist reported on Thursday.

Due diligence is underway after a term sheet was signed, Calcalist said, adding that talks began six months ago.

Waze uses satellite signals from members’ smartphones to generate maps and traffic data, which it then shares with other users, offering real-time traffic info.

Officials at Waze declined to comment on the report.

Waze and Facebook partnered in October 2012 when Waze released its updated version that allows users to share their drive with their Facebook friends.

This would be Facebook’s third acquisition in Israel. It bought Snaptu in 2011 for $70 million and Face.com in 2012 for $60 million.

In the last year, Waze tripled its user base to 45 million and in March alone, 1.5 million users downloaded the free mobile navigation app, Calcalist said.

Article Source: Reuters

Facebook Home announced. New home on Android

Facebook has today taken wraps of it’s new service ‘Facebook Home’. It’s not an app but more a suite of apps and home screen replacement, a little like what you would expect from a third party launcher.

Interestingly, Facebook Home will only be available on Android Smartphones initially. When asked if it would be available on iOS devices, Mark Zuckerberg  didn’t count it out, but noted that such a feature would require cooperation.

Facebook Home will be available from April 12th to download on Google Play and will initially support the following phones: Galaxy S III, S 4, the HTC One, One X+ and the Note II. More devices will follow including support for Android Tablets.

The app/suite looks amazing and by the looks of it will make the Facebook on Android experience one of the best. The Facebook for Android app has always had bad press for being cumbersome and not very useful but this looks to change.

Have a look at the videos below for an exciting look at how Facebook Home will integrate with your existing Android Smartphone.