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Facebook Recruiting Former Apple iPhone Engineers for Facebook Phone

A lot of people here are really missing the point of this whole rumour.

Facebook isn't an app, it's a platform. You can buy apps and you can buy in-app purchases on Facebook. There are services that actually deal with their customers through a facebook page rather than via their own website. MZ wants to extend the Facebook platform to mobile devices and, currently, he can't do that very well.

Remember the whole scandle with the IPO when it was revealed that Facebook may have problems monetising mobile users due to how advertising seems to fail when viewed through mobile devices? Consider that the web is moving to mobile at a rapid rate, what do you think this is about?

It seems HIGHLY unlikely to me that Facebook will seek to build their own OS. If I had to guess I'd say they'll do what Amazon has done with the Kindle Fire and use a forked version of the Android OS that only accesses apps via Facebook's app store. This is entirely a smart thing to do from Facebook's end. Just like Amazon they need a bigger chunk of the mobile internet pie and this is how they're planning to get it.

HTC is a likely hardware partner. Not only have they worked together before but HTC is making no money with Android phones. Here they have a chance to sell a phone which comes with a USP - access to the Facebook app store. Now all the facebook app junkies (and there are a lot of them) will use facebook apps via their browser and then on their mobiles too. Expect a tablet in the near future.

Interesting future, eh? A mobile web landscape dominated by a handful of companies including Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. What makes it even more interesting is how they are all coming from such different directions. Google needs to own the search space on mobile. Apple makes money through hardware and has a massively powerful ecosystem behind its offerings. Amazon is all about content and products. Facebook owns the social graph and is looking to build a massive platform accross the web and accross mobile. MS is the old giant struggling to come to terms with this new world of IT and finding its old USPs aren't working anymore. RIM is going down so I no longer include its offering.
 
I don't really understand what Facebook has to gain by making a phone.

Android was at least a way for Google to fend off Microsoft. There is nothing like that standing in the way of Facebook.
 
You just talked to "_ DAVE (The Parole Officer)"

Here are some other people you might like to call:

Dave's Mum

Dave's hairdresser

Dave's favourite chinese takeaway

Dave's car dealer

Dave's boss

You received these recommendations because both you and DAVE have 'Share everything' enabled.
You can change this setting in Settings >Facebook >General >Privacy >Sharing >AreYouSure? >ButAreYouReallySure? >Confirm >ReallyProperlyConfirm >OK.
Settings restore to default every 24 hours in case you change your mind.
 
The smart thing would be for Facebook to buy RIM out. RIM has the manufacturing / distribution to get this device into the hands of many many people. RIM has been stuck in the mud for a long time but they do build hardware!

I see in the future a deal where Facebook buys RIM (Blackberry)
puts out a Facebook phone. Where the device is Facebook.

I also see in the near future Apple / Google to buy Sprint.
 
Perhaps Facebook is looking to fork Android (like Amazon) and make their own operating system fully integrated with Facebook services for this. If so they are going to have to figure out how to pull off all the other services Google provides to Android (like Maps, Music, Video). Then they are going to have to provide a compelling reason to give this yet-another-touch-based-smartphone traction in the market place (ask Microsoft and Nokia how hard that is).

I don't see any way in which this succeeds because its not like they have the option of making the Facebook app exclusive to their phone -- they are an ad company and they need as much market penetration as possible.

This seems like one more example of Steve Jobs seeing where the market was going and knowing that mobile devices and operating system would become to this next two decades what windows operating system was to the last two decades -- the central point around which everything else would revolve. Everybody wants to control that central point because without it you are at somebody's mercy. Even Google, who's mobile operating system is successful, is faced with the fact that they made more money on mobile when they were Apple's partner than going it alone on Android and they still have many years to go (assuming they maintain their current market share) to recover the money they have invested in Android.

Google made their money by becoming a central point of focus on the Web -- they became everybody's home page, which meant more ad traffic. Facebook made their money by becoming the central point of focus for social networking (and challenging Google for the #1 home page on browsers). These two companies both know that they make their money by being the gateway to everything else you do. Apple challenged that status with the introduction of the iPhone by relegating these Web focal points to "just another app". Google at least got to be the default search engine for mobile Safari. Apple has managed to cut a deal to fully integrate Twitter. It's Facebook's privacy policy that prevents them from coming to terms with Apple for full iOS integration. All these facts make me think AAPL stock is looking like a better investment every day -- everybody wants to be where Apple is. Apple need only keep executing well and innovating and do minor course corrections to fill in the gaps and they will be in good shape for years to come (i.e.: until the next big innovation that changes the entire landscape of things -- assuming that innovation does not come from Apple).
 
philryan said:
I just can't see why you would bother. Currently, FB is an App that your phone platform absolutely has to have, or else it is nothing.
Click to expand...

Really ? Or else it's nothing ?

I have an ipad and an iphone, some of my friends have iphones and yet we don't have facebook. We use skype to communicate and we can use also a ton of other electronic means available these days.

I also have a ton of apps installed in my ios devices, like games, production apps, music creation apps and so on, but I'm not sure how the FB app could help me.
Could it take perhaps higher quality pictures with my iphone 4s ? with some kind of fancy new enhancing algorithm ? and then upload to my account ?
Or uh I know, a better SIRI like feature incorporated in FB app. I would try something like that.

Or perhaps it has some kind of fancy group webcam feature ? (skype for pc has this I think).
Or what ?
My girlfriend use facebook for some games and school.
I'm really asking what exactly can I do so special with facebook that my iphone is (almost) useless without it ?
 
Shasterball said:
Facebook can be the new AOL!
Click to expand...

Aren't they kind of like that now? Facebook has 100 million users just on mobile devices.

OTOH, it could go out of vogue just as fast, too.

iisdan said:
WHYYYY it's already hard enough to develop for ios, android, windows phone, and blackberry... why do we need another
Click to expand...

Aren't most of their sub-apps and games done in HTML5?

BWhaler said:
You need:

- Apps and vibrant developer community
- Simple system to update OS and Apps
- Cloud storage for apps and media
- Content deals for books, music, and video
- Integration to Windows and Mac apps (outlook, etc.)
Click to expand...

They have apps and developers. A lot of people don't care about media or laptop integration.

I can see it appealing to a certain group. I know lots of people in their 20s and 30s who do almost nothing but Facebook all the time.

If they make it super easy for grandparents to keep up with their kids, then I can see it being a hit for that group as well.

Umm. It's going to have to be relatively inexpensive to appeal over current devices and/or have capabilities that current devices don't have with a Facebook app.
 
maviso5 said:
If they write software for it that's as good as the current Facebook iPhone app, then they're onto a winner....

As someone once said, it's all about the software.
Click to expand...
The Facebook iOS app is horrible. It always lags, and it crashes too much. If that's any indication what the phone will be like then you can count me out! :cool:
 
Ego tripper stumbles again

Apple announces iPhone in January 2007 - Story:
'30 Year Old Tech Company Finally Develops SmartPhone'

Facebook announces [sometime in 2012?] intention to release phone - Story:
'8 Year Old Social Network Enters Branding Exercise'.

This is like a search engine trying to sell a phone... or an online bookshop "developing" a book reader - as a shop window!! It's not as if we haven't been here before. Project Pink/Kin was a dedicated social networking phone from Micr$haft. Anyone remember it?

Facebook's business opportunities lie in leveraging [to advertisers] the intelligence they've gathered from us, and better software for existing devices, not adding to the existing massive Android handset confusion.

This is yet one more way the lack of a smart business model will drive the stock down. Really really dumb.
 
I'd really like to see a facebook phone with the same kinda seamless integration of iphone and icloud. If they could make tgat at a reasonable pricepoint they'd be onto a sure winner.
signature_wink.jpg
 
mister880 said:
The smart thing would be for Facebook to buy RIM out. RIM has the manufacturing / distribution to get this device into the hands of many many people. RIM has been stuck in the mud for a long time but they do build hardware!

I see in the future a deal where Facebook buys RIM (Blackberry)
puts out a Facebook phone. Where the device is Facebook.

I also see in the near future Apple / Google to buy Sprint.
Click to expand...

In the same way that Microsoft buying Yahoo was such a great idea? Hilarious notion.
 
article said:
Yes, but the legislature has delegated regulations to the Executive branch which they can write unilaterally and publish in the Federal Register. Once installed they can only be overcome with a standard of arbitrary and capricious. most rulings are presumption of correctness by the regulator in Administrative Law Court. That amounts to a unilateral law writing and enforcement power by the executive with limited to no judicial oversight.
Click to expand...
May become? Already is.
 
Just what you need

I bet it will make it 'seamless' to do instant updates... So that we all get to know all the irrelevant parts of other people's lives in even more details....

Who ate what this morning...
Who partied like an animal list night...
Who is laking inspiration....
Who is having BM issues...

Can't wait....
 
facebook hold your horses!!!

Somebody in the facebook camp has gone crazy...:eek:

Apple, Samsung, Nokia, HTC, LG, Motorola, RIM!!!! SO many competitors in the smartphone business and facebook wants to join them!!

Although facebook app is well acknowledged among all software platforms by the users, it cannot be the reason for starting a smartphone biz.

Anyways I'm way too excited to find out what cooks up...
 
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