Facebook has invited members of the press to an Android-related event on April 4th. It is believed that the event is for the debut of the long-rumored Facebook phone. Reports say that the device would be an HTC handset running a Facebook-modified version of Android.
If true, the move would turn Facebook into an Amazon-style competitor in the smartphone market for Apple, as Amazon has heavily modified Android for its own Kindle Fire tablet devices.
Rumors of a Facebook phone have flowed through the Intertubes since Bloomberg first reported in 2010 that the phone would run a “stripped-down” version of Android. Last year, it was reported that Facebook was hiring former Apple iPhone and iPad engineers to work on a “Facebook phone.”
Why would Facebook want to create a smartphone of its own? TechCrunch believes a key reason would be:
With deeper control of a modified operating system would come huge opportunities to collect data on its users. Facebook knows that who you SMS and call are important indicators of who your closest friends are. Its own version of Android could give it that info, which could be used to refine everything from what content you’re shown in the news feed to which friends faces are used in ads you see.
Facebook offers two very popular apps in the iOS App Store with Facebook and Facebook Messenger, and recently the social network updated its Facebook app to include free VoIP calling in a number of countries.
Do we need another branch running off of the Android tree? Will Android continue to be splintered by projects like this and those like Amazon’s Kindle flavor? What do you think reader? Does the world need a Facebook phone? Would you buy one? Please share your thoughts and opinions with us in the comments section below.
