Earlier in the year we had several rumors about different devices from several manufacturers that were going to come out as the new "branded" Facebook focused phone. Some of those rumors turned out to be false intel, some turned out to be only a minor collaboration with Facebook, and still others even got the manufacturer in hot water with Facebook for licensing issues. As it turns out, Facebook actually is working directly with someone to create a truly social network integrated smartphone that will carry the Facebook branding, and they have chosen HTC.
This phone is internally codenamed, "Buffy." Yes, that is the same name as the Film and TV show vampire slaying character from Joss Whedon. According to reports, Facebook CTO Bret Taylor, has been working on this for over a year, but they are still 12-18 months out from the phone actually coming into existence. The company wouldn't comment directly on the subject, but a spokesperson had this to say,
It's not surprising that they chose HTC, because they were the manufacturer that was actively courting Facebook and putting forth the most effort to create a Facebook phone. They even went to the trouble of putting a Facebook button on the Salsa and the ChaCha phones that released earlier this year. However, their plan with Buffy will integrate friends and social activities much deeper into the mobile interface. In fact, Taylor himself astutely pointed out at an industry conference earlier this year, “Mobile devices are inherently social.” It will be interesting to see what they finally come up with.
Source: AllThingsDigital
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