Facebook Developing 'Buffy' Smartphone?

Just over a year after the first rumours of a Facebook smartphone hit the web, the hype machine is back in action. The latest rumours suggest that Facebook is looking to team up with HTC on a Facebook Phone codenamed 'Buffy', boasting deep integration of the social network's services.

Neither HTC nor Facebook have commented on this latest rumour, which seems to originate from AllThingsD, a Wall Street Journal blog. According to the blog, Facebook is still looking to develop its own smartphone, which would apparently run on a custom version of Android, heavily modified for optimal use with Facebook services, both in the OS and directly in apps.

With over 800 million members, more than half of whom are active and connect to the service every day from a mobile device, this is a logical step for Facebook. It would, for example, allow the network to regain control over in-app payments, as well as boost its information database—information that always comes in handy for targeted advertising. The handset could also seal-off users in an increasingly closed environment, as the modified Android phone may be stripped of Google's apps and Android Market.

According to AllThingsD, Samsung is no longer in the running to make the handset, as Facebook has instead turned to HTC, whose ChaCha and Salsa handsets already have a built-in Facebook button.

Facebook's project is certainly ambitious, but will the bizarrely codenamed 'Buffy' phone pack as much of a punch as its vampire-slaying namesake? Time will tell.

AllThingsD has promised more information on the handset soon, although the 'Buffy' isn't likely to come to market for 12 to 18 months. > Phone Reviews: Mobiles & Smartphones



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