The world’s largest social network Facebook could be planning to launch a phone – apparently it’s already working with HTC to develop the phone which is 12 to 18 months away from hitting stores, according to All Things D.
The new phone will have much deeper intergration with the social network than with any other handset. Codenamed ‘Buffy’ the phone will run a modified version of Google Android, with Facebook tweaking the entire UI much like Amazon did with the Fire.
HTC are known for their modifications to Android with their Sense UI and, of course, the Kindle Fire has done just the same with its own version of Android to better suit the needs of Amazon’s users and customers.
Apparently Facebook would deliver apps via HTML5, allowing users to play Farmville and Poker directly from the handset, which currently is available through traditional Facebook apps, presumable ‘Buffy’ would bridge this gap.
The lack of deeper integration for Facebook in Apple’s iOS upgrade will be worrying for Zuckerberg & Co and this new strategy with HTC might well be a bit of retaliation after Apple chose Twitter over Facebook.
Facebook have said that they don’t want to comment on the rumour, but they did say that: “Our mobile strategy is simple: we think every mobile device is better if its is deeplu social. We’re working across the entire mobile industry; with operators, hardware manufacturers, OS providers, and application developers to bring powerful social experiences to more people around the world.”
Whatever happens the idea of a Facebook phone, is probably a good one, with a possible 800 million customers – it’s probably too good an idea to pass up. What we could be seeing is the first few steps of Facebook heading towards a hardware business. The most telling aspect of the rumored phone is the codename. With a name like Buffy (named after Buff The Vampire Slayer), the Facebook phone’s mission is clear: slay all comers.
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