A recent media invite by the Facebook asking members of the media to “Come See Our New Home on Android” in the first week of April has sparked off rumours that the social network website might partner with HTC to design the hardware for a new Facebook smart phone.
Though the rumours of Facebook phone have been doing the rounds for years now, this time it looks like they finally might just launch it.
Hardware details for the device apparently include a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. Additionally, the handset could feature a 4.3-inch display, touchscreen, a 5-megapixel rear camera, and a 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera.
HTC unveiled two Facebook phones, HTC ChaCha and the HTC Salsa in 2011 that featured dedicated buttons for easy access to the social networking site. However, both phones weren’t a big hit.
According to 9to5Google, “Facebook has reportedly been working on an advertising campaign with HTC the past few weeks. People familiar with the matter also told them that the ads focus on the device’s potential users, rather than specific hardware or software. Apparently, a catch phrase for the possible smart phone is ‘more than just an app’.”
According to TechCrunch, “sources familiar with the matter have said that the social network plans to debut an HTC smart phone that runs a modified version of Android’s OS and uses built-in native Facebook functionality. A device like this would most likely rely on Facebook’s apps, such as Messenger, and let users easily share from other apps.