Honza Dvorsky For several months now, reports of another "smart" phone have been circulating in the mobile industry. Rumors are that Facebook no longer believes in previous attempts to simply integrate into Android or iOS and wants to control the entire user experience.
Although a large number of sources are inclined to think that Facebook will create an offshoot of Android in a similar way to what Amazon did for their successful Kindle Fire tablet, I think a slightly different solution would make sense for Facebook. However, this article, like most others on this topic, is based on unsubstantiated information and guesswork, as Facebook has yet to officially announce anything.
Operating system
Many sources are leaning towards an Android offshoot version of Facebook phone, which of course makes sense. Facebook, like Google, is a business whose primary profits are from advertising - and products with advertising usually have to be cheap to give users a reason to buy them. By using Android, Facebook would save development or licensing costs, but it would be dependent on Google. Google's first successful entry into the field of social networks in the form of Google+ made Facebook and Google the main competitors snooping on information about users, which they then use to sell advertising. If Facebook chose the Android route, it would forever be dependent on Google's development and work. The latter could theoretically develop Android in a direction where there will be no room for deep integration other than Google+ (as they did in the case of internet search). Facebook would probably never rest if its future depended on an industry competitor. Rather, they appreciate a free hand and a field of action.
Microsoft
Another big company that is currently trying to re-enter the smartphone market in a big way is Microsoft. Although Windows Phone 7.5 appears to be a very usable system, its market share is still small. Nokia's sleek Lumia helped jump-start Windows Phone sales, but Microsoft would like a much larger share of the market. Facebook could help them with that. Since these two companies hardly compete, I could imagine them working closely together in these difficult times for newcomers to the smartphone market. Facebook could design its own hardware (perhaps in cooperation with Nokia), the operating system would be supplied by Microsoft, which would allow Facebook to integrate much deeper than it allows other developers. We have already seen this procedure at Microsoft in the case of Internet Explorer in Windows 8. So there should be no problem with it.
Hardware
As I've already outlined, Facebook will need to design a relatively cheap phone, in the price range of Android phones, to succeed with users. As it competes with Google, it will try to create a different design and its own visual "signature" that one would recognize from a distance, as in the case of Apple's iPhone. If Facebook isn't afraid to take risks and try something different, it could show that even cheap phones can be very aesthetically pleasing. Just imagine, a phone with a price tag of around 4 CZK, with Windows 000 Facebook edition and a beautiful design with simplicity and originality like the Nokia Lumia 8.
It's good idea?
However, many of us are sure to wonder if Facebook should be doing something like this at all. So far, it looks like Mark Zuckerberg is confident on this new floor. He started hiring former Apple employees who worked in the iPhone and iPad divisions. The number of Facebook employees focused on hardware is growing rapidly, but last year there was a large influx of industrial designers to this company. Everything points to the likely unveiling of their own product soon. Facebook shouldn't be in need of funding for development either, thanks to the recent issue of shares, this Californian company raised $16 billion overnight. We will see if they manage to translate this money into the quality of services and (soon hopefully) the hardware of the products.
When can we look forward?
If Facebook is really working with Microsoft, I think it will be more beneficial for both companies to wait until the official release of Windows 8 for smartphones with this step. That way, Microsoft would be guaranteed a quick launch of their next iteration of Windows, and Facebook wouldn't have to work on integrating into two different versions of Windows Phone (Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows 8 have relatively different developer environments). With Apple's new iPhone expected in the fall, I'd say Facebook and Microsoft will try to launch a new phone by the end of the summer.
Although I've read sources that favor a similar idea, many others mention completely different scenarios. Therefore, in this article I have described only one version of how Facebook could enter the smartphone market and be guaranteed at least partial success. However, whether their product will break through depends on the concrete realization of the dreams of Mark Zuckerberg and his team.
Probably not, Assbook is already available on hw phone. big-brother has done all the work. I'd rather be an apple sheep and pay exorbitant margins to Tim's top designers, than give everything away privately and let others get rich on it. It will be connected to IZIP and you will belong entirely to someone else :) I think that SMS etc. will be monitored and sold to corporations.
“an operating system would be delivered by Microsoft that would still allow Facebook to integrate much deeper than it allows other developers. We have already seen this procedure at Microsoft in the case of Internet Explorer in Windows 8. So there should not be a problem with it."
The problem is that Microsoft doesn't know how to make an OS for a mobile platform, what the hell is it going to do :)
Have you had a Lumia 800 in your hand? :-) Microsoft managed to make Win Phone 7.5 a more usable OS than Google. I would wait for Win 8 for phones and we'll see..
Yes, I had a Lumia 800 in my hand - it's crazy, I felt like I was in a prison with that phone..
I'm not an Apple-Nazi, but I don't understand what this whole article has to do with Jablickari :-) Windows8? wtf? have they released 8 yet? Somehow I'm already out of the mrkvorsofti world and I'm very happy about it :_)
It's related to Applejack because Facebook ropes in Apple engineers who worked on the iPhone.
Which is not mentioned in this particular article, and who has not read the previous articles on this topic, the connections may not be clear to them, right?
"However, many of us are certainly wondering whether Facebook should be doing something like this at all. So far, it looks like Mark Zuckerberg is confident on this new floor. He started hiring former Apple employees who worked in the iPhone and iPad divisions."
Did you really read the article or did you immediately go to the comments after reading the Facebook name?
HP has released Web-OS which is a very usable system with pretty strong facebook integration as open-source… they could choose that one.
An interesting possibility, although I think that the failure of WebOS is not something that Facebook would want to wear from the beginning.
It DOES matter anyway because FACEBOOK is a BUBBLE.
in the final, it will be put together with apple, because apple wants to have fb integrated in another ios, doesn't it? so we will connect FB to our system and in return I will provide you with an ios for your device, which we will approve beforehand so that it is not a complete burden... :-)