Kul Bhushan

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Posted on 22-11-2011

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Facebook is rumoured to be working on an Android-based “Facebook phone” under a code name of Buffy. The rumoured Facebook phone will be manufactured by HTC and is expected to be launched within 12 to 18 months.

According to the technology site All Things D, the Facebook phone will feature a 'modified' version of Android that Facebook has tweaked to deeply integrate its services. Moreover, the phone will support the latest HTML5 as a platform for running applications.

All Things D quotes a Facebook spokesperson who refused to comment on the rumoured phone, but said:

“Our mobile strategy is simple: We think every mobile device is better if it is deeply social. We’re working across the entire mobile industry; with operators, hardware manufacturers, OS providers, and application developers to bring powerful social experiences to more people around the world.”

Though the news site does not reveal from where it got the information, but highlights that this was All Things D's first in series of posts about the Facebook phone. The site may reveal more about the Facebook phone in coming posts. It's learnt that the rumoured “Facebook phone” has been keeping the Internet abuzz for more than two years. Of late, we have seen two Android-based Facebook-integrated phones from HTC namely HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa.

The Buffy phone is expected to take the Facebook-integration concept one step further, according to the All Things D report, enabling users to upload pictures directly from a dedicated picture-uploading app or adding the Facebook contacts directly into the phone's address book.

Now that we've seen Amazon taking on Apple with Kindle Fire, Google moving into Facebook's territory with Google+ and bringing a music service to rival Amazon's Cloud Player and Apple's iTunes, it seems Facebook is also joining rest of the three in the hardware game.

Also read,

• HTC ChaCha: Singing a soothing tune [Review]
• A look at Motorola's budget Facebook phone, the Motokey Social
• Hands-on with INQ's new Facebook phones
• Vodafone 555 Blue - Facebook will never be too far away [Review]

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