Facebook Phone: Social Networker Taps HTC to Manufacture Buffy

  • Facebook has selected Taiwanese phone manufacturer HTC to build a smartphone code-named “Buffy,” after the television vampire slayer.
  • Ironically, the device will run a customized OS from its main competitor, Google’s Android, and integrate a number of Facebook’s services, many of which will run as HTML5 apps.
  • “Facebook only recently chose HTC, after also considering at least one other potential hardware partner — Korea’s Samsung,” reports AllThingsD. “That means the products themselves are still a ways from hitting the market, potentially as long as 12 to 18 months.”
  • According to a Facebook spokesperson: “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.”
  • Although other companies have released phones with dedicated Facebook buttons, Buffy is expected to provide deeper integration, “bringing friends and social activities deep into the mobile interface.”

2 Comments

  1. Apparently, this is the second attempt by Facebook to build a smartphone. The first attempt was disbanded after becoming too big and political. So the current plan is likely more scaled back but probably more realistic.
    http://allthingsd.com/20111122/the-facebook-phone-the-slayer-wasnt/

  2. Apparently, this is the second attempt by Facebook to build a smartphone. The first attempt was disbanded after becoming too big and political. So the current plan is likely more scaled back but probably more realistic.
    http://allthingsd.com/20111122/the-facebook-phone-the-slayer-wasnt/

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