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November 26, 2012

Facebook Encourages Employees to Use Android Devices

In the past, Facebook has been known for handing iPhones to its employees. This, related to the fact that the iPhone Facebook app works better than what Android users experience, might give room for some biased conclusions. So what if Facebook employees used Android devices to balance all this out?

Conspiracy or no conspiracy, Facebook is trying to convince its own employees and developers to try out Android devices through the “droidfood” initiative that has seen several posters placed in and around its offices and internal help desks, a move aimed at encouraging employees to try their hands on Android devices.

The move can be seen as a technical one. Plastered on one of its walls is a poster with a graph of Android and iOS operated device shipment. Soon, the market is expected to be flooded with Android devices and the only smart move Facebook can make is securing the field before it is too late.

With a good number of its own employees on Android, the company will be in a better position to debug its lagging Android app by collecting information on problematic issues easily, rapidly and cheaply. Actually, leaks from insiders say that Facebook workers on Android have to use the latest beta build of Facebook for Android and Facebook Messenger to contribute to the developer bug database.

This entire scuffle is to collect as much bug reports as possible through the Range Shake bug-reporting tool that is only available to internal beta builds given to Facebook employees. Having all the members of a specific company work toward a common goal is quite impressive. However, Facebook is not dictating to employees to switch to Android-powered devices, but rather, to have a healthy mix of both the iPhone and Android phones in the workplace.

In addition to this, it would have been easier to generate a more comprehensive bug database if the Range Shake bug collection tool was opened up to the entire public. Whichever way it decides to approach the matter, it is up to Facebook to look for a fast and realistic way to patch up its Android app, which is likely going to be used by a large number of people in the not-so-distant future.




Edited by Rachel Ramsey


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