Google Has Great Words for Facebook Home, at Least Officially

Unlike many of its other moves, Facebook Home is actually quite friendly to Google and Android. It's a complete reworking of the interface, the stuff that greets the user, but underneath it's still Android and more importantly, all of the Google apps are left intact.

Installing Facebook Home won't remove Gmail or Google Maps, though it will make Google search a bit harder to find.

Of course, being friendly to Google and Android was the best strategic move, Zuckerberg isn't suddenly becoming a Google fan.

And, while the move doesn't aim to repurpose Android the way Amazon did, for example, Facebook becomes a huge part of the experience, perhaps bigger than Google.

Still Google, at least officially, hasn't had any harsh words about the move, in fact, it's quite welcoming of it.

"The Android platform has spurred the development of hundreds of different types of devices. This latest collaboration demonstrates the openness and flexibility that has made Android so popular," Google said in a statement.

"And it’s a win for users who want a customized Facebook experience from Google Play — the heart of the Android ecosystem — along with their favorite Google services like Gmail, search, and Google Maps," it added.

Google is focusing on the fact Facebook that runs on top of Android and Google Play, meaning it's an app just like any other. Facebook may be reaching, but it's still playing by Google's rules so there's nothing for Google to complain about.

Considering how others have acted with Android, taken the code, contribute nothing back (not that Google would let them) and erase every trace of Google from their version, Google is probably happy Facebook didn't do the same.

But, again, this isn't Facebook playing nice, the company would have a hard time convincing a significant portion of its one billion users to switch to a Facebook-only version of Android or even a full blown Facebook mobile OS. Hundreds of millions of people already use Android so, for now, getting them to install Facebook is the best strategy.