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Facebook Recruiting Former Apple iPhone Engineers for Facebook Phone
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Simple
There is a simpler solution. Twitter integration into the iOS and now Mac OS X makes it easier to post things to Twitter. If Mark would just allow similar integration of Facebook, it would no longer be only an app. What Facebook will wind up building is a phone using a version of Android with Facebook integration. Why? To further splinter the platform? Allow Facebook integration into a variety of mobile and desktop OS's and that would be step in the right direction. By creating their own phone, Facebook will still only be an app on most phones anyway.
There is a simpler solution. Twitter integration into the iOS and now Mac OS X makes it easier to post things to Twitter. If Mark would just allow similar integration of Facebook, it would no longer be only an app. What Facebook will wind up building is a phone using a version of Android with Facebook integration. Why? To further splinter the platform? Allow Facebook integration into a variety of mobile and desktop OS's and that would be step in the right direction. By creating their own phone, Facebook will still only be an app on most phones anyway.
It's posted on Page 3 of this thread, it was released last summer (announced in May '11, released around June/July).
It's basically an ordinary smartphone with a "Facebook" button enabling quick sharing of things.
Yes, Apple found that out the hard way too.Too bad Zuckerberg had to re-learn this little bit of history himself instead of just looking at past mistakes by others.
I'm not saying he'll fail. It'll be interesting to watch, no doubt. But it sounds like your comments are suggesting they have already done it once and this would simply be v2. That's not going to be how it works. Certainly the iPhone wasn't ROKR v2.
I will say I'm not in the market. Mainly because I have no FB account, and no plans on it. Although, if the kids get into it, I might have to, just to keep awareness on what it is and what they do. sigh
Cue massive fail in 3..2..1..
FB currently has massive security and privacy problems. There's no way this is going to fly without solving those issues first. Ain't gonna happen. Every government agency is going to stomp on them.
Beyond that, why would anyone buy a FB phone? What would it have to offer that's better than iPhone or Android? Zynga apps? Are they going to pull instagram and FB from the app store? Not bloody likely.
The bottom line is that FB screwed up by not injecting advertising into the iOS app which is the only place they make money. And even then, how long is that going to last before the advertisers realize that they're not getting their money's worth.
FB currently has massive security and privacy problems. There's no way this is going to fly without solving those issues first. Ain't gonna happen. Every government agency is going to stomp on them.
Beyond that, why would anyone buy a FB phone? What would it have to offer that's better than iPhone or Android? Zynga apps? Are they going to pull instagram and FB from the app store? Not bloody likely.
The bottom line is that FB screwed up by not injecting advertising into the iOS app which is the only place they make money. And even then, how long is that going to last before the advertisers realize that they're not getting their money's worth.
A FB Phone has zero appeal to me and I fail to see what it would have to offer to entice potential buyers. The last thing I want is more devices or accounts linked or further integrated to a Facebook account. Knowing their privacy standards they will start selling the entire audio of of your conversations along with your GPS coordinates, who you were talking with, and anything else. Also, if the phone runs as poorly as the App on iOS then it will be a piss poor, sorry excuse of a phone in deed.
It seems to me Facebook is forgetting that at the end of the day they are simply an accessory to our computing experience, not the center of it. Bring on the myspace phone...sounds silly right? So does a Facebook phone, and I'd venture to guess other folks think it sounds silly, too.
The real issue is likely that Zuckerberg and team are seeing an ultra fast shift to mobile from it's users. Increasing, let alone just sustaining it's existing advertising revenue while maintaining minimal ad interference is going to be a major challenge with the smaller screen. Building a phone would allow them to monetize outside the Facebook applications. Unless it's something truly revolutionary, I would imagine a Facebook phone would be met with poor sales and flop. This just looks like a strategic move fueled out of fear of becoming irrelevant.
Sorry but the software is buggy not just for the iphone but on the computer as well. While it's about quality software, I would be willing to bet FB has hired many C-D grade students along the way and it shows (and I'm not talking about the ones who party and thus have low grades yet are brilliant).
I tried FB for my iPhone, removed it and the iPad version sucks even more. If I need to use it on either I go through Safari, much easier with all the functions with less digging
Makes sense. Who'd buy a phone from a company that is known to take your info and sell it to others?
I'd much rather buy a Google/Android phone instead.
Marks career is in the beginning stages. Steve's is over. Time will tell what he will accomplish in life. He's done pretty good so far.
Next up? The AOL phone.
I do think a Facebook phone could have some cool features. I am sure, they will do research to find peoples favorite features of the UI, then kill them off as soon as they can or make them harder to use. I can't wait to get 50 million text messages telling me, "Your mom just called the bakery, you should too!!!" or "Your ex girlfriend you have not seen in 195 years is playing SpamVilll. She needs more pork shoulders and ham. Send her one and you will get one too!!!!!!"
I do think a Facebook phone could have some cool features. I am sure, they will do research to find peoples favorite features of the UI, then kill them off as soon as they can or make them harder to use. I can't wait to get 50 million text messages telling me, "Your mom just called the bakery, you should too!!!" or "Your ex girlfriend you have not seen in 195 years is playing SpamVilll. She needs more pork shoulders and ham. Send her one and you will get one too!!!!!!"
interesting enough, no one mentioned the idea of facebook launching a phone, then doing one of two things: either pulling their apps from other phones altogether and making people use the mobile web version or dumbing down their other platform apps. or a combo of both. if tbey can complete tech wise, that wkuld ensure their phone had the best on the go experience.
One of the great things about the iPhone was having an integrated iPod which synced with my iTunes library. But a telephone being integrated with a shady information-sharing concept like Facebook seems just creepy. On the current smartphones (iOS, Android, etc) you can at least uninstall Facebook if you want to.
I think Mark is looking long term - way beyond the immediate future that exists today. Microsoft is working on their own social networking ( link ) which links into Facebook, Google has its own, and I wouldn't be surprised if in the future we end up seeing Apple expand it's clouding offering to have its own social networking frontispiece that is either a ground up bringing together of various technologies or a hybrid of something native and something that pulls in other social networking websites.
Long term the big aim is to integrate ones mobile phone with ones social networking to then leverage those contacts and networking to create an advertisement platform where advertisers can have pin-point accuracy when it comes to targeting potential customers. Facebook already provides an email service itself, you have video sharing, photo sharing etc.
The big question is what will happen to twitter long term - will see it bought out by a major player - Apple? Google? Facebook? the potential is definitely there as well as the already established brand recognition so it will be an interesting few years in regards to the direction of cloud computing and social networking.
Long term the big aim is to integrate ones mobile phone with ones social networking to then leverage those contacts and networking to create an advertisement platform where advertisers can have pin-point accuracy when it comes to targeting potential customers. Facebook already provides an email service itself, you have video sharing, photo sharing etc.
The big question is what will happen to twitter long term - will see it bought out by a major player - Apple? Google? Facebook? the potential is definitely there as well as the already established brand recognition so it will be an interesting few years in regards to the direction of cloud computing and social networking.
That would be the dumbest move, ever; Force people to buy a FacePalm(tm) by dumbing down (even more) the apps that are available on other plaforms, or removing them altogether?
The backlash would be enormous and would make no business sense at all.
RTP.
I hope that was sarcasm because the current iPhone and iPad app SUCKS.
The phone will tank just like the Motorola phone with a Facebook button. I'm not gonna worry about it. It'll fail without us worrying about it.