Facebook Paper for iOS out in US: But will it make an impact?

Facebook’s new app for stories and news called Paper, is now out in the US for iOS users. The app is available on Apple’s App Store. India users will probably have to wait for some time before it becomes available here to download. So what is Paper all about? It will let users get access to news stories and themed sections,and thus follow their interests.   The first section in Paper is your Facebook News Feed and Facebook has gone for a new design so as to showcase photos, videos, and longer posts. Users can customise Paper with a choice of more than a dozen other sections from varied themes and topics including photography and sports to food, science and design. Each section includes a rich mix of content from emerging voices and well-known publications.   Some other features in Paper include, ability for users to tilt their phones to explore high-resolution panoramic photos from corner to corner, and see faces and other important details up close. And there’s fullscreen auto play for videos.   Facebook has also gone for cover pictures to make it easy to spot articles from trusted publishers and decide what to read or watch. Articles unfold in the app and appear fullscreen for a focused reading experience.   So what is Paper expected to compete with ? Most people would think Flipboard or Pulse, or even Yahoo’s News Digest app. However, it might just end up competing with Facebook itself. According to a report on TechCrunch , the team behind Paper is now hardly using the old Facebook mobile app.   TechCrunch’s Josh Constine reports that when he asked the team leaders behind “Paper if they still used the old one, product manager Michael Reckhow diplomatically responded “mmhmm, yeah”, but designer Mike Matas admitted “Once in a while”. “ Read the full piece at TechCrunch here.   For now, however Paper is still far from being a Facebook app killer. It doesn’t have some features like events, lists or even apps. Of these people might miss events the most on Paper. Paper however does have the notifications, Messages, and Friend requests tab from Facebook. And yes, there’s no denying that it does give Facebook a Flipboard like feel, which is probably the biggest competitor that Facebook is hoping to take on right now.   And gone is the familiar blue of Facebook. It’s a completely new user experience and one that Facebook is hoping will work with the users.   With Paper, Facebook is finally showing to investors and users that it is taking mobile and news very seriously. Rival Twitter for instance is a key source of news for many thanks to all the bit links. Facebook is hoping to replace that with links from your friends and links by publications.   For many Facebook users, the mobile app has become a new way to read and share links without actually leaving the app. With Paper, the company is now hoping that users will do a bit more of the same, except in a better design.   Strangely Facebook has not confirmed when the Android version of the app (if any) will be launched nor is it clear when the iOS version will roll out globally. Perhaps the company is testing the early response in the US, which may not be a bad idea, given the way other Facebook apps have gone down in the past.   Facebook’s attempt to take on already existing ideas haven’t done very well. Examples include Poke which was an attempt to take on Snapchat and the Facebook Camera app. Perhaps the biggest disaster of all was Facebook Home, where Facebook imagined that people would be okay with letting the social network overtake their Android phones.   In short, Paper has very high expectations to live up to or else it could join the long list of failed Facebook mobile apps.