Official denials does nothing to end Facebook cell phone rumors

You may have surfed the Web Sunday. If you did, then you also probably heard about the rumors of a Facebook phone. Denials is what we hear from Facebook. The 500,000 Facebook people that could assist a Facebook cell phone would make it seem possible that Facebook may be interested in a Smartphone to rival Apple’s iPhone and Android Phones. The Nexus One was only here for a short time frame. Google’s domination did not come into play here. The Microsoft Kin did not do this hot either. Facebook has looked into getting a Facebook phone although it denies creating the phone. Some analysts say a Facebook phone is destined to flop because it’s not necessary. Many think Facebook needs to work on its Facebook apps to make them better before looking to get its own development platform.

Facebook phone forecast

There was one place the Facebook phone story started. That place was TechCrunch. Michael Arrington wrote that Facebook is doing what Apple does with the iPhone. It is working secretly with a third party manufacturer to develop software for a phone. A developer in June left the Google Chrome project, and nobody knew why. Arrington thinks he was more interested in the Facebook cell phone project. He thinks numerous might be interested in an affordable cell phone for Facebook. The phone would allow users to call their friends’ names instead of their cell phone numbers.

Facebook’s false starts

Facebook getting a cell phone is just one rumor. There have been many more hitting the business lately. Facebook said to CNET that it is more interested in integrating with Smartphone’s rather than making their own. CNN reports that Facebook is well-known for leaking ideas, but the business either scraps them outright or pursues a totally different tangent. In 2008 rumors arose about a Facebook music service to compete with MySpace Music, however no such service has yet emerged. One more competitor idea that never took place was “Facebook Wallet.” Facebook was expected to compete against PayPal. Instead, Facebook announced earlier this year that it would partner with eBay’s PayPal to offer a transaction service called Facebook Credits.

Facebook cannot compete

John C. Abell at Wired thinks there would be no purpose for a Facebook cell phone. The idea of a Facebook cell phone is ridiculous. Abell claims it is “the tail wagging the dog”. He writes that Smartphone users won’t pass on the power and versatility of an iPhone or Android handset for the purpose of Facebook immersion with a branded handset. Robert Scobe at Business Insider writes that Facebook’s priority should be to develop what is missing from its Facebook apps. He mentions deficiencies for instance better support for contacts, photos and video. He also talked about Facebook’s platform. He talked about how the platform needs fixing first. The only thing that Facebook has that other businesses don’t have are 500,000 users that check in daily.

Further reading

Tech Crunch

techcrunch.com/2010/09/19/facebook-is-secretly-building-a-phone/

CNN

cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/09/20/facebook.phone/

Wired

wired.com/epicenter/2010/09/is-facebook-planning-a-phone-who-knows-should-they-no/