Facebook to launch two branded smartphones at MWC, report claims

By on Jan 26, 2011 at 1:21 PM
mobile January 26, 2011

Facebook will announce two Facebook-branded smartphones at next month’s Mobile World Congress according to a new report from City A.M. The report contradicts Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s earlier claim that the company was not working on branded cell phones, but was instead working to create a better, more comprehensive Facebook experience across existing mobile platforms. HTC will build the new Facebook phones according to the report, and they will feature branding and coloring in line with Facebook’s website. City A.M. goes on to state that the devices will run a modified build of Google’s Android operating system that will display information from a user’s Facebook account on the home screen. Details pertaining to pricing and availability are not yet available.

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  • fz553

    I don’t get it..if its on android…can’t they just improve the current app and widget?

  • Batteman87

    FAIL…. Just make the App better. What kind of Apps do you think the FB phone is going to have besides ads and Farmville? Stick to you social site and a better App FB.

  • Shadrach

    In reference to the commenters above, maybe a derivative product of this will be an improved FB app for all Android phones….

  • Donny

    The iOS version of the Facebook app is great. The android version is awful and looks halfassed. But I guess with the FRAGMENTATION issues android is its hard to develop an app that is consistant on many different versions of an OS.

    • http://www.vgchartz.com SuperChunk

      I’ve used both and they work essentially the same. iOS version has an extra feature, but essentially identical in use.

    • Itay

      lol, that’s such an old and wrong argument…

      • Anonymous

        …………I agree, it isn’t a FRAGMENTATION issue. The issue is that there are so many different version of the Android OS……..oh, wait…….uh

      • Donny

        Apple’s iOS is the real fragmented OS. The first gen iphone released over 4 years ago can’t event run 4.x+ of iOS. That is true fragmentation. Yeah so new android phones come out each week with different versions of android and half of the phones released the last year can’t be upgraded, but that is nothing compared to the 2007 iphone not getting an upgrade. Apple needs to clean it up.

      • Booboolala2000

        The facebook app for Android is weak due to the coders. And now they will skin Android like HTC, Motorola have. Maybe this means their Android app is due for a huge change. Either way the devs will get it and all is done. And with i*hone 5 and the 4th inch screen and no home button, say hello to Fragmentation. You are the same guys that thought that the leaked photos of i*hone 4 were fakes.

    • Anonymous

      I remember MY first cell phone!

    • http://twitter.com/aergern aergern

      Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 … get my drift?

      It’s been well publicized that 60%+ are on Android 2.1 … which if the software is written for 2.1 then it will work up to 2.2.1/2.3 … so your argument is weak and irrelevant. *ding* Try again.

  • McGruber

    Shouldn’t these Facebook Phones be called the “You don’t really care about whatever small amount of privacy you have left phone.” I mean, every time Facebook updates their pages, you always have to check your privacy settings to make sure they didn’t change them so that all of your information is public once again, or worse yet, to make sure they don’t sell all of your information to well, anyone. F- Facebook!

  • Anonymous

    I just threw up a little.

  • serpentor

    I predict Great Success!

  • Apple Fanboy

    FAIL. Facebook should stick to Facebook and stay out of mobile technology. They’re bringing a knife to a gun fight.

  • http://twitter.com/netposer net poser

    I will call this the AOL Phone

  • http://twitter.com/D4mi4n1988 Damian Wozniak

    What market are they trying to target?

    • http://jamieei.org JamieEi

      The influential “walled garden” market.

  • http://twitter.com/freneticpsyche isaac leese

    So, it runs Android… with a Facebook homescreen widget?

    I’m not seeing the point.

    • Booboolala2000

      It’s a really big widget.

  • http://www.vgchartz.com SuperChunk

    Agree with most, bad overall idea. I’d rather see a focus on the FB app. Make a really good widget/app and you’re fine. No need to brand your own phone.

    • Anonymous

      It’s just going to be a damn UI Skin. As if the world needed more.

  • http://twitter.com/iMarky_Marc Marc Jarvis

    i see everyone under the age of 18 begging their parents for this

  • Anonymous

    Could you imagine the numbers of FaceBook users that would purchase such a phone though? Everyone one of your family members that have no clue would be the sort that FB would be targeting. 500 Million accounts right? That is a lot of potential users right there.

  • Itsjustmee

    god i wish facebook would just go away

    • Anonymous

      I agree…FB is old and boring. Pokes, and stupid ass posts with links to play games. I could give a flying F%CK that someone woke up, ate oatmeal, took a sh!t, then went to work, and felt the need to post it…

  • http://twitter.com/GG_show Atiba Allen

    @ fz553 Good point whats the reason of making a phone? Make the app better. Like adding chat to it or something. Companies are just making phones just to make a phone these days.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dion-Roberts/680955415 Dion Roberts

    This is just stupid. Who in their right mind wants a Blue phone with a Facebook logo on the outside of it? Like everyone else has stated…….just make the app and websites better!

  • http://twitter.com/j_nathaniel Jason

    Why?

  • Mswilkinson24

    This reminds me of that forgotten ESPN phone

  • http://twitter.com/Syk0Matik420 Beefy McBigDick

    i bet $50 one phone will be touchscreen one will be qwerty. very original.

  • Bigrichnz

    What if the phone has ONLY Facebook on it, and maybe a few other social apps. Plenty people out there now live on FB. Why do they need any other phone system than FB. It would tie in with Skype pretty well. Every FB member would instantly get a Skype a/c. No?

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