Codename 'Buffy' to run modified Android OS heavy on HTML5.
After many months of speculation and innuendo, here finally is, well, more speculation and innuendo.
This time is Allthingsdigital that has the scoop, but there's precious little detail and no actual comment from the two protagonists.
Still, the blog wouldn't have published if it didn't have some inside skinny. And what it says is that Facebook and HTC will build a smartphone 'that has the social network integrated at the core of its being' with HTML5 as a platform for applications.
It reckons the phone is 12 to 18 months away.
Allthingsdigital spoke to Facebook and got the following bland reply: “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.”
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If the rumours are true a Facebook phone would be a pretty radical departure for the social giant, and if the device does loads of interesting stuff via HTML it would pose an interesting challenge to the native dominated app ecosystem that prevails right now.
Don't forget that Facebook accounts for around 40 per cent of all mobile traffic in some regions, and has 350 million active mobile users.
But can that translate into consumer desire for a branded Facebook device?
Well such devices do already exist, kind of.
HTC has launched phones with a dedicated Facebook button, as have INQ Mobile and Motorola. They haven't exactly set the world alight.
And ultimately, any Facebook device would still be using someone else's OS and someone else's network. Maybe it should buy webOS.
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