Zuckerberg says no Facebook phone anytime soon

It has been rumoured that Facebook is planning to create a Facebook phone in partnership with HTC, since the Taiwanese firm has created the Salsa and Chacha (Android handsets with dedicated Facebook buttons). In a recent earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO and co-founder, said this would be happening anytime soon.

Instead of making a Facebook phone, Zuckerberg said that Facebook is ‘working closely’ with manufacturers, which ensures users the best Facebook experience on smartphones. This makes sense, since it’s cheaper to work side by side with manufacturers rather than investing on developing your own hardware. Not to mention the possibility of competing with hardware giants such as Samsung and Apple.

Were you looking forward to the Facebook phone? Let us know through a comment.

Tags: Facebook, Facebook handset, facebook phone, Facebook smartphone, HTC, Mark Zuckerberg
Category Phone News |

Motorola possibly releasing a Facebook phone the EX225

It looks like Motorola will be getting into Facebook phones just like HTC’s ChaCha and Salsa. This is a surprise since Google has just purchased Motorola Mobility, and the search is competing with Facebook with Google+. It is possible that the rumored FB-integrated handset was under development even before the Google acquired Motorola.

Moto’s FB handset is rumored to be the EX225. It sports a QWERTY keyboard that has a dedicated FB button. This will give you instant access to the most popular social media network.

Boy Genius made this discovery. It spotted the phone being tested by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. This is the group that tests phone specifications for Bluetooth. Although the group tests specs, little is known about the handset aside from its QWERTY keyboard, 3 MP camera, 3G capabilities, a 2.4 inch display, and dual-SIM slots.

Despite a vague-looking dedicated Facebook button found on the bottom of the keyboard, there is no mention of the said feature. The only clue to be found about this button can be found in a short description saying, “a product for trendy generation [sic] who enjoy connecting to the world anytime, anywhere, and multimedia services on the go.”

Will it run on Android? We’re not sure. The only mention of an OS says, “easy as via a fully personalized UI.” The bad English hints that it was translated. This might mean that the handset might not make it to the UK.

Does the UK need another Facebook smartphone, or should Motorola leave this to HTC? Let us know what you think.

Tags: Bluetooth Special Interest Group, EX225, facebook phone, Motorola EX225, Motorola EX225 Facebook phone, Motorola EX225 FB phone
Category Phone News |

INQ Cloud Touch Challenges HTC Salsa & ChaCha

We learnt from this years Mobile World Congress that HTC were to release two new handsets aimed squarely at social media, in particular Facebook users as both of the new phones announced have a Facebook button that glows when the phone determines that what you are doing at that time might be worth sharing with friends.

INQ Cloud Touch Red, Black & Silver

Well, another company has today announced that they too are heading in this same direction although the mobile phone manufacturer INQ is looking to give the HTC Salsa and ChaCha handsets a run for their money with the new INQ Cloud Touch.

The Cloud Touch actually shows all of your social network interaction directly on the homescreen so you can see Messages, Wall, Notifications, Chat and Friends all in one place thanks to INQ’s new Visual Media Feed and the use of the Facebook social graph API.

The new INQ Cloud Touch offers a 3.5 inch touch screen, 600 MHz processor, runs the Android 2.2 operating system and has a 5.0 mega pixel camera, other features include Wi-Fi, GPS, radio, Spotify Music Player and 3G connectivity.

Launching as a Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy exclusive handset on April 6th the new INQ Cloud Touch will be free on a £20 per month contract deal and £199.95 as a Pay As You Go phone.

There’s also a second INQ phone on its way called the INQ Cloud Q which like the HTC ChaCha packs in a full, front facing Qwerty keypad for easy text input.

Tags: facebook phone, htc chacha, htc salsa, inq cloud touch, inq cloud touch red, inq cloud touch silver
Category Phone News |