Mark Zuckerberg Denies Facebook Phone…Sorta

By: Kuljit Grewal  |   July 29th, 2012   |   Android, Business, News, Smartphones, Social Media

At another recent Facebook milestone, its first earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg was asked about the rumours surrounding his company and the potential for them to be creating a phone for release in 2013, as reported by TQ.

 

Zuckerberg replied “There are lots of things that you can build in other operating systems, as well, that aren’t really taking — that aren’t really like building out a whole phone which I think wouldn’t really make much sense for us to do.”

 

The aforementioned response however came in a sort of roundabout way. It was implied that Facebook had no intention of building their very own device from scratch, however in this day and age even the most famed Smartphone manufacturers no longer do that as well. Apple has all of their manufacturing done by Asian firms such as Foxconn, while Amazon for example has their tablets built by a Chinese manufacturer of their own.

 

Partnering with HTC, which has been the name most closely associated with Facebook would appear to be a similar arrangement. Facebook could realistically modify the Android platform, with which HTC has long been using to create a device that maximizes the social networking platform. Deep integration into device operating systems has long been a company goal, and it has never been more important than now.

 

With Facebook going public, they have a whole new type of pressure to continue to grow revenues and profits. This fact combined with Facebook users migrating to mobile and the company’s inability to monetize this platform have led to other possible strategies – such as an operating system and Smartphone.

 

A lot remains to be seen in the coming months; however it is clear that in an opportunity to totally quell the Facebook phone rumours, Zuckerberg did not do so.