Facebook is working with HTC to build a smartphone, which will be released mid next year. According to sources quoted by Bloomberg, initially, the two companies wanted to have the smartphone released until the end of 2012, but HTC asked for more time because it had to work on other products too.
Also, Facebook wants to create an improved operating system for its first smartphone, and Mark Zuckerberg has gathered many former Apple programmers to improve the Facebook application for iPhone.
More than a half of the 900 million users of the social network are using the service from a mobile device, but Facebook did not obtain any money from the 3.15 billion dollars from the advertising on the phone.
"Internet users are now going mobile and Facebook failed to cover this new market, but a smartphone with many applications and a lot of advetisement could be a great solution," said Victor Anthony, analyst at the Topeka Capitals Markets.
Facebook shares fell by 23% since the listing in May 17th, partly due to the investors' fears that the company does not obtain sufficient revenues from mobile advertising. Facebook securities ended on Wednesday up by 3.1%, at $ 29.34 per unit.
Facebook has also worked with HTC in two phones that have a button dedicated to the social network, HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa, but the new model seems to be more focused on the Facebook services.
Initial speculations were aiming at a launch in Q3 2012, but the Facebook smartphone will be launched only in the summer of 2013.
Some rumors also aims at the interest shown by Microsoft towards the Facebook phone, so the option that the new smartphone to run WP 8 is not ruled out.
Comments