DailyTech - Facebook Smartphone to be Released in Mid 2013

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Gadgets Facebook Smartphone to be Released in Mid 2013
Tiffany Kaiser - July 26, 2012 5:40 PM

42 comment(s) - last by bupkus.. on Aug 1 at 9:34 PM

Facebook concept design (Source: cdn.pocket-lint.com)

Facebook will build it with HTC and use its own operating system

Facebook is set to team up with HTC and join the smartphone arena with its own device as soon as mid 2013.

The new smartphone will be made in joint with HTC and will offer Facebook's own version of a mobile operating system. Some have speculated that Facebook may use a version of the Android mobile operating system, since it can be modified, but that part is unclear for now.

To help with the mobile venture, Facebook has hired former Apple employees Greg Novick, who developed the touchscreen user interface; Scott Goodson, who helped create the stock market application; Tim Omernick, who worked on the device's software, and Chris Tremblay, who also worked on the software.

The Facebook smartphone is likely the answer to one of the social giant's major issues: mobile advertising. Last year, Facebook had $3.15 billion in total advertising sales, but none of this came from ads on mobile devices.

Also, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said that shifting to mobile was Facebook's greatest challenge because the way people use it is much different than on a desktop computer.

By releasing a smartphone, Facebook would be able to monetize mobile in a much larger way. Also, by designing its own operating system for the mobile device, the shift to a mobile Facebook experience should closely mirror the desktop version.

The Facebook smartphone is due out in mid 2013.

In addition to creating its own smartphone, Facebook also said it plans on improving the existing Facebook iOS app. Many users have complained about it being slow or not working properly, but Facebook is on the case.

Source: Bloomberg