Late September last year (2010) there were rumours flying around from legit sources like Bloomberg and International Business Times that Facebook is working on a phone but these rumours were greeted with much skepticism. No one thought that a Facebook centric phone would make much sense considering that the Facebook app is doing a strapping job (on the iPhone and iPod at least) keeping users connected to their favorite social network.
Turns out, there is a whole lot of truth in that rumour and Facebook is indeed working on a phone that has the functionality of the social network built into its core. A handset known as the INQ Cloud Touch has just received Bluetooth certification, and based on the design description, it appears that Facebook phone development is in full swing.
There will be two versions of the Facebook phone, one featuring a QWERTY keyboard and the other a full touch screen device both will most probably run on Android rather than a bespoke OS developed by Facebook. In applying for the Bluetooth specification INQ submitted the following description about the phone:
An Android smartphone built to make messaging faster and smarter. It’s designed around the way people naturally communicate and has Facebook built into its core. The homescreen features multiple entry points to different Facebook functions, while a dynamic widget displays a feed of status updates, albums, videos and photos.
The INQ Cloud Touch is slated for and early 2011 release Europe but this has not yet been confirmed but considering the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is just around the corner, expect to see more information about this Facebook phone to come trickling in.
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