Facebook Smartphone Release:
Similar to the way Amazon have approached the Android O/S, it looks like Facebook will be releasing a branded smartphone sometime in the next 12-18 months according to reporters at All Things D.
Buffy the Google slayer?
The codename I keep hearing mentioned is “Buffy” after the vampire slayer, (Facebook v’s Google irony I presume?) and as mentioned it will likely have a version of Android that has been tailored to Facebook’s own aesthetics and functionality requirements as Amazon have done with their new tablet the Kindle Fire.
So what will a Facebook phone offer, and are they really going to compete with Google on a social network playing field (Facebook V Google+) and then jump into bed with them on a technology basis?
Well in my mind I am unsure how they will make this device work, and what is more make it truly unique, though I expect they will take some cues from the way Windows have brought in social networking to a much more higher level than most smartphone operating systems currently offer.
Facebook’s mobile strategy in their own words:
Well it is a mixed bag of reports that have been released from the Facebook camp relating to their agenda on mobile devices.
Facebook have not come out and said that this news is true or false, but have released an interesting note related to their overall mobile strategy for the coming months and years:
“Our mobile strategy is simple: We think every mobile device is better if it is deeply 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.”
And going in the opposite way to the AllthingsD assumptions, Head of business development at Facebook, Dan Rose, has publicly stated:
“this is really just another example of a manufacturer who has taken our public APIs (application programming interface) and integrated them into their device in an interesting way.”
There is no doubt that the new smartphone (assuming it arrives) will be heavily HTML5 based, and I can see a chance that Facebook credits may become a little more “real” as more and more mobile transactions are introduced after certain security barriers have been overcome, the future is certainly mobile.
Anthony Munns