Facebook Phone Event: Live Blog

Harriet Taylor | CNBC

Facebook launches new mobile phone platform.

Editor's Note: At a media event Thursday, Facebook unveiled new software called 'Home' that will be deeply integrated with Google's Android operating system.

The social giant also announced the HTC First, which is the first mobile device that will come pre-installed with Facebook's new Home software.

The new software will be available for download on April 12 in the Google Play Store and the HTC First phone will go on sale the same day at AT&T stores in the U.S. The phone will retail at $99.99.

CNBC covered the event live, scroll down to read more about Facebook's new 'Home' applications below.

Live Blog:

Harriet Taylor | CNBC

Mark Zuckerberg launches new Facebook phone.

1:45 P.M.: "We'll soon be living in a world where the majority of people with phones won't have ever seen a traditional computing device," Zuckerberg said.

1:44 P.M.: Zuckerberg said by putting people first and then apps, by flipping the order is one of many small but meaningful changes for technology over time.

1:42 P.M.: HTC First will be available April 12 exclusively at AT&T and you can pre-order it today. The phone will be priced at $99.99.

1:41 P.M.: AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega talking about partnership with HTC and Facebook. Talking about how the HTC First is LTE enabled.

1:38 P.M.: Peter Chou of HTC announces HTC First, a new phone that will integrate Home and will be available in a variety of colors.

It combines the new Facebook home and great HTC design, to give you the best facebook experience. It's the only phone to have Home pre-loaded and optimized, Chou said.

1:35 P.M.: AT&T and HTC have worked together to build the first set of phones with 'Home' built into devices.

1:34 P.M.: Zuckerberg says Home will be available April 12 in Google Play Store.

Source: Facebook

Facebook launches new mobile phone platform.

1:31 P.M.: Facebook will update Home every month, adding new devices and new updates every month.

1:30 P.M.: Cory Ondrejka, Director of Mobile Engineering, says that Android was the best way to integrate Facebook because it is completely open. He said that Facebook Home will only be available on phones for now, not on tablets yet.

1:29 P.M.: Here's how you can get Facebook Home— if you have the latest android app you can get it from the Google Play Store, it's going to ask you if you want to play with it or make home your home screen.

1:26 P.M.: Joe Flynn, Home's product designer talking about Chat Head feature now. Chat Head function allows users to send and receive messages without having to close out of other applications.

"You should be able to talk to your friends no matter where you're at in your phone," Flynn said.

1:19 P.M.: 'Cover Feed' allows users to swipe through Facebook content on their phone without opening any app to check what is happening on Facebook.

When you open up your phone, it goes directly to "Cover Feed," and a series of photos, links and other content from your News Feed, with text in the front. If you see a photo you like, you can click to like it or zoom out.

1:18 P.M.: Adam Mosseri, Facebook's director of product now elaborating on the new features. Describing a function called 'Cover Feed.'

Getty Images

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

1:17 P.M.: Zuckerberg talking about new chat features that will be included.

He announces 'Chat Head,' which allows you to instantly chat with your friends, no matter what app you're in. It allows you to click to message with friends from Instagram, games....This effectively allows Facebook integration with all social apps.

1:13 P.M.: 'Home' functions as system software that makes Facebook the homepage on their mobile device.

1:12 P.M.: Zuckerberg introduces 'Home,' a series of applications that integrates the Facebook platform into the Android operating system.

"It's about putting people first on your phone," Zuckerberg said. "We want to make it just as easy to get to your apps with Facebook as "Home."

Getty Images

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during an event at Facebook headquarters on April 4, 2013 in Menlo Park, California.

1:10 P.M.: Zuckerberg says we are not building a phone, we are not building an app. Facebook is focusing on Android.

"We're building something that's a whole lot deeper than an ordinary app," he said.

"The great thing about Android is that it's so open," he said.

1:09 P.M.: Zuckerberg said Facebook wants to bring the experience of knowing what is going on all around you all the time.

1:08 P.M.: Zuckerberg says today phones are designed around apps and not people and Facebook wants to change that.

1:07 P.M.: Zuckerberg says we spend 20 percent of time on phones on Facebook—closer to 25 percent if you include Instagram.

Zuckerberg says instead of making your phones about apps first, make them designed around people first.

1:05 P.M.: Zuckerberg takes the stage.

"We're going to tell you how you'll be able to turn your phone into a great social phone."

We talk a lot about "open" and "connected," he said.

12:55 P.M.: About 350 people are expected to be here for Facebook's Android announcement, more than were here for Facebook's launch of graph search or its new News Feed.

I spotted Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm's CEO, heading into the presentation. Qualcomm powers HTC phones, which will be used to showcase the new technology, so it makes sense that he's here. We asked if he could come on CNBC to discuss the new software, but unfortunately he said he'd be taking off right after the event.

Editor's Note: Facebook is about to make another big mobile push.

The social giant is hosting a media event Thursday at its company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. where it is expected to unveil a HTC mobile phone that integrates the Facebook platform into the Android OS.

Facebook is hoping its mobile move will help it cash in on more advertising dollars.

However, while the company's mobile efforts are commendable, it's still unclear if the Facebook phone announcement will live up to the hype, said Eric Jackson, Ironfire Capital founder and managing member.

( Read More: Will the Facebook Event Live Up to the Hype? )

The event begins at 1:00 P.M. ET. CNBC's Julia Boorstin is reporting live from the event and will be sending updates. Check back here for more.