Early version of Facebook Home leaks out

Facebook Home is set to roll out this Friday, but an early version of the interface for Android devices has already surfaced on the Web -- and it appears to work with more smartphones than the ones included on the official list announced last week.

Menlo Park’s 1-billion-member social network last Thursday unveiled Facebook Home, which is an app users can download that will change the lock and home screens of their phones into one created by Facebook.

Instead of seeing their apps, users see the “Cover Feed,” which shows the latest status updates and photos uploaded by their friends onto Facebook.

Company Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook Home is designed to emphasize people’s friends more than their apps.

The Android skin is set to release this Friday pre-installed on the HTC First and will also be available for download from Google Play for the HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and the upcoming HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4.

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The leaked release lets users install a beta version of Facebook Home on most Android devices, as long as they don’t have a screen resolution higher than 1,280 by 768 pixels. It reportedly even works on Google’s small-sized Nexus 7 tablet.

But because the leaked version is not the final product Facebook will roll out, one major feature on Facebook Home does not work properly. That feature, called “Chat Heads,” lets users chat with their Facebook friends while running apps other than Facebook’s.

The Facebook Home leak was first reported by tech news blog MoDaCo Monday morning. Facebook could not be reached for comment.

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