After spending years of being at the heart of your lives, Facebook is gearing up to be at the heart of a smartphone. And the project is code-named Buffy.
Yep, you heard it right. Buffy. And yes, its named after the vampire slayer.
AllthingsD reports that the Facebook phone will have a modded version of Android with social networking functionality as its central focus. Rumors also state that it will support HTML5 as an app platform, and will be manufactured by Taiwanese company HTC, since deals with Samsung didn’t push through.
The move to mobile is an intelligent yet long-awaited (perhaps too late?) shift on Facebook’s part, and it’s actually quite “baffling” as to why they haven’t traveled down this path sooner, especially since the company reports they have “350million active mobile users”.
Yes, Facebook has its apps, and has produced half-hearted attempts such as the HTC Cha-Cha, but these don’t really present a “tight” integration between social and smartphone. Granted, they have to compete with Google and Apple, which is by no means any easy feat.
But the question remains: will you really grab a Facebook phone? Even if it isn’t called Buffy?
I don’t know about you, but I think I’d rather have the real Buffy in my pocket.
