service. But it could also backfire.
Colin Sebastian, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co., said the application should gain considerable traction among Facebook's most ardent fans, but is less certain if casual users will find the experience compelling—especially if Facebook pumps too many ads on main screen. "They'll have to do a lot more experimentation and tread carefully," Mr. Sebastian said.
Others also wondered if users will feel comfortable sharing so much of their data, more messages, more photos, and more location-based information, with the social networking juggernaut. "Users don't want more advertising or tracking, and Facebook wants to do more of both,"said Jan Dawson, an analyst at Ovum.
Throughout the presentation, Mr. Zuckerberg frequently described Home as one that was "designed around people first," instead of tasks or applications.
The 28-year-old executive, who noted that he grew up with the Internet, said Facebook's Home was an acknowledgment that people's relationship with computing devices was rapidly changing from one focused on productivity or business to one centered around human connections. Home, he said, puts "people first, and then apps."
—Drew FitzGerald and Matthew Lynley contributed to this article.
Write to Evelyn Rusli at evelyn.rusli@wsj.com
A version of this article appeared April 5, 2013, on page B1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Facebook Shows Off Its New 'Home'.