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Is Or Isn't Facebook Building A Phone?
Reports over the weekend suggested that Facebook was working on its own, branded mobile phone. Facebook later said the story wasn't true. So, which is it?
3 Min Read
On September 19, TechCrunch's Michael Arrington posted a story claiming that Facebook is secretly working on developing its own mobile phone. More specifically, it is working to develop its own mobile operating system, and Facebook will rely on an unknown third-party hardware maker to actually build a device.
Arrington wrote, "It was a little less than a year ago ... that Facebook first became concerned about the increasing power of the iPhone and Android platforms. And that awesome Facebook apps for those phones may not be enough to counter a long term competitive threat. Specifically, Facebook wants to integrate deeply into the contacts list and other core functions of the phone. It can only do that if it controls the operating system."
On some levels this makes sense. Facebook has over 500 million users. There is a huge opportunity for it to expand if it has its own mobile-based operating system and dedicated hardware. Given the already deep penetration of Android, iOS and BlackBerry handsets with Facebook installed in the U.S. and other western countries, I'd bet that Facebook sees emerging markets as prime targets for growth. But that's not what Facebook says.
It issued a lengthy statement to counter TechCrunch's story. Here's the entire text from Facebook:
The story, which originated in Techcrunch, is not accurate. Facebook is not building a phone. Our approach has always been to make phones and apps more social. Current projects include include everything from an HTML5 version of the site to apps on major platforms to full Connect support with SDKs to deeper integrations with some manufacturers. Our view is that almost all experiences would be better if they were social, so integrating deeply into existing platforms and operating systems is a good way to enable this. For an example, check out Connect for iPhone and the integration we have with contact syncing through our iPhone app. Another example is the INQ1 phone with Facebook integration (the first so-called ‘Facebook Phone’). The people mentioned in the story are working on these projects. The bottom line is that whenever we work on a deep integration, people want to call it a “Facebook Phone” because that’s such an attractive soundbite, but building phones is just not what we do.
Notice anything interesting about that statement? The one line that's noteworthy: " Facebook is not building a phone. " Right, OK, it's not building a phone. Facebook didn't say it wasn't building its own mobile operating system, however.
So what's really going on here? It is entirely possible that Arrington's original report -- that Facebook is working on a mobile operating system that integrates Facebook into the core of the platform -- is accurate. Facebook's denial is a non-denial if I ever saw one.
The more interesting angle here is that there already is a Facebook phone out there. A U.K.-based company called INQ has been marketing and selling "Facebook phones" for several years now. Where does INQ tie in to this new information about Facebook's plans?
Beyond all that, would anyone even want a Facebook phone?
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