The Facebook Phone has been rumored to exist for a long time and most of us gave up believing that such a device ever existed.
Surprisingly, Facebook may actually be launching its own Android-based smartphone very soon. The company has called for a press event that will show off the firm’s ‘new home on Android’, according to Daily Mail. People who are familiar with the project say that Facebook will showcase its own version of Android operating system and use HTC’s hardware to manufacture the cellphone. Moreover, it is being said that the new Facebook Phone will be sold as a lifestyle brand and not as a smartphone or a cellphone.
If being hooked to Facebook and letting the company know everything that you do, say or think is what you call your lifestyle is, then this lifestyle device might just be the gadget for you. HTC had earlier worked with Facebook to launch the HTC ChaCha, which was the closest the company ever got to releasing a Facebook Phone. The phone bombed in the market and we expect this device is not going to be anything different.
Recently, it was revealed that youngsters between the ages of 16 and 25 do not use Facebook much and have taken to using other social networking sites such as Tumblr, Pheed and SnapChat. Facebook’s popularity among older users is waning too as not many people are comfortable with its privacy settings and the way the information is sold to advertisers.
The new Facebook Phone running on Android, if it is ever released will collect ever more information from its users so that all that can be monetized through advertising. The company is under a lot of pressure from the Wall Street to prove a workable business model through which it can make money. So far, Facebook only relies on fickle advertisers who seem to prefer Google’s own advertising platform more. We had written about HTC Facebook Phone long time ago and you might want to read about that.
