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Would you buy a Facebook phone?

By | November 28, 2011, 12:24pm PST

Summary: All this talk about a possible official Facebook phone makes me want to ask one simple question; if it ever sees the light of day, would consumers even be interested in buying one?

With the Facebook phone rumor coming back in full force last week, everyone wanted to know why Facebook might bother. So I’m asking you, my readers: would you buy a Facebook phone? Please vote in the poll below:

Poll

Would you buy a Facebook phone?

Palo Alto’s official stance on the growing number of unofficial Facebook phones is that they are a prime example of a manufacturer using the company’s public APIs to innovate in the mobile space. The social networking giant won’t let any mobile manufacturer market any of their devices as a “Facebook phone” but at the same time it quietly hopes more Facebook-integrated devices will be rolled out.

Nevertheless, the rumor of an official Facebook phone keeps coming back. Publicly, the company insists that its strategy does not have anything to do with building its own phone: instead, it is happy helping everyone else leverage the social network on their platforms. That could one day change, though it’s still unclear why Facebook would want to offer its own phone.

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Topics

Emil Protalinski has covered the tech industry for five years for multiple publications.

Disclosure

Emil Protalinski

Emil has nothing to disclose.

Biography

Emil Protalinski

Emil Protalinski has covered the tech industry for five years for multiple publications, including Neowin for two years and Ars Technica for three years. He has written 1,000s of articles for both, with a particular focus on scrutinizing Microsoft products and services. Recently, Emil has expanded his coverage to non-Microsoft technologies, including the social networking giant Facebook.

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No to Facebook phone.
rdrockett 19th Dec
bI have enough problem getting thruu email traffic now. Google is too intrusive as it is; why make matters worse?
instead I use the Facebook App, which I go in and out as needed

I'm not that hooked to facebook that I need it 24/7
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@William Farrell I am thinking anybody that is hoping for a "facebook" phone needs to get a life but hey, that's just my opinion happy
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Facebook phone = Kin 2.0
Snooki_smoosh_smoosh 28th Nov
Need I say more?
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
FuzzyBunnySlippers 28th Nov
@Snooki_smoosh_smoosh

My initial understanding and reaction, exactly. Anyone saying 'yes' had their chance about a year or so ago.
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WHY????
Bates_ 28th Nov
What is wrong with the FB app? Are people that addicted that they need a phone dedicated to this evil empire?
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
J Michael Ireland 28th Nov
@Bates_ first word that popped into my head!!!
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@Bates_ They're just protecting their core product from the evil claws of Google's trojan horse of free(?) Android.
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i have a samsung galaxy s and it integrates extremely well with facebook. a facebook-centric phone would have even less to offer than the current android phones. cant wait to switch to wp7.
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At this point, most smart phones integrate with Facebook pretty heavily, so I would say that most(if not all) smart phones are Facebook phones.
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
slambert1971 28th Nov
Absolutely not. In fact, I have basically dumped Facebook in favor or Google+

Now, before you ask, NO, I would also not buy a Google+ phone...
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@slambert1971 No need Google+ phone. You already bought a scheming Android phone.
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@Schmidt_ ...why are you assuming everyone is on Android?
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
FuzzyBunnySlippers Updated - 28th Nov
@slambert1971

No need Google+ phone. You already bought an amazing Windows Phone. (hehehe)
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With Facebook's privacy record?
welcomecreek 28th Nov
With Facebook's privacy record, why would you want a Facebook phone to make it worse? They would simply suck more of your private info.
@welcomecreek
+1 privacy
Also, expanded Facebook API support on the phone = possibility of Facebook exploits on the phone too?
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@welcomecreek
Exactly! No way would I want them harvesting my contact info, calling records, and any mobile browsing to do whatever they want with that info.
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@welcomecreek I laugh every time someone talks about "oh my privacy, dont invade my privacy." You do know that just being on the internet you are foregoing some privacy. You do know that there is already a data base with your information already on it. So if you are really THAT worried about your privacy you need to move out to the woods with the amish. They will still know where you are but it will be harder to track you. Also, what are you doing that you need all this privacy anyways? If anything these are the first people I would look at to find out why they need so much privacy. Face it people in the 21st century privacy is not real. If you can look out and see your neighbor, where is the privacy there? When you walk down a parking lot and look into a persons car, where is the privacy there? You people just need something to complain about that is all. So you have my permission to complain about your precious privacy if that helps you sleep at night.
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@xangpow There is a huge difference between basic privacy and having a company harvest information from your phone. Of course to use your examples, I have tinted windows on my vehicles which gives me a certain amount of privacy from somebody looking in the window as they walk by and if I want more I can put whatever items I don't want them to see in the glove box or trunk. It's not like I leave a list of all my contact plastered on my window for everyone to review as they walk by. As far as looking out and seeing my neighbor, I have curtains and blinds which prevent them from looking in, that creates privacy.
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
jplumbob@... 28th Nov
I know my wife would be first in line. Internet went down for about fifteen minutes one day and I thought she was going to go nuts.
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@jplumbob@... your wife doesn't have a life?
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Life?
DirtyDingus 28th Nov
@serenakwa She obviously doesn't have a life. He'd better check what she's doing.
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@jplumbob@... If she's that addicted, then she's already nuts.
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
cfithian@... 28th Nov
@jplumbob@... HAHAH.... when ever the internet goes down at work, people loose their fricken mind...!!!!! Sometimes I just turn off the T1 router just to see people freak out... hahahah -

Yours truley - the evil IT guy...

Just kidding - Id get fired if I did that ALL the time.
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
FuzzyBunnySlippers 28th Nov
@cfithian@...

Oh if I only I could... (living vicariously through your comment)
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@cfithian@... and dont forget the close circut camaras so you can be in the room with a bowl of popcorn. *off* *screams* *on* *sighs of relief* *off* *screams* *on* *sighs of relief* lmao
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
casse_couille 28th Nov
@jplumbob@...

One like that I'd have divorced in less than the next fifteen minutes..., and she could take all the FB accounts with her. happy
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Not me, but...
mmeade@... 28th Nov
Every 10 year old in the country would be screaming for one! Facebook wasn't too bad there for a while, but now it's just another channel for marketing. I don't even use an app to go on. If I have to, I just use a browser. I just don't want to be THAT connected.
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EXACTLY
Cayble 28th Nov
@mmeade@...

"Every 10 year old in the country would be screaming for one!"

Maybe not every 10 year old, but its true enough to speak volumes about the kind of mental state someone must have to even want such a thing.

Just the thought of it makes me want to blow chunks.

Its getting to the point of being sickening. With every new popular product it seems like everyone and his brother wants to climb on board. Where is Mattel's Barbie smartphone, or McDonald's Big Mac phone???

Sure, Facebook is an internet service, but does being an internet service speak to being a suitable service to create a smartphone around? Is the Wikipedia phone next? Or perhaps the ZDNet phone?

Just how ludicrous do things actually have too get before large numbers of people just break out in spontaneous spasms of laughter at the implausible way so many just want to jump on any bandwagon to wring the very last penny out of the public.
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@Cayble
ZDNet phone! Lol. you'd get more spam messages in between your text messages for free. You will be forced to throat SJVN style articles daily. And whenever you make calls, in between, you will listen to spam messages courtesy Siri like service. grin
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I agree with others who have posted opinions. Android smart phones already integrate fully with Facebook if the phone's owner wants to use the application.
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
Schmidt_ Updated - 28th Nov
@lewisedge You mean WP7 phones. Ads is what is integrated fully in Android smart phones (not to mention spams, malwares, etc.)
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My FB app is just fine. Don't need a FB specific device. Besides with all their privacy issues not sure I trust them.
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Would I buy a Facecrap phone?
Sceptical Observer 28th Nov
Don't want Mark in my pocket following me around everywhere I go. Bad enough I'm forced to hear about him all over the web (which I can ignore, mostly).
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No but my grandkids would love one.
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@JeReese are you sure about that? I bet my parents say the same thing about me....
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girls in high school or middle school might be the only ones to buy this phone (or should i say their parents will buy it for them) maybe if they would have created one years ago it might have worked (before iphone)
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
Graham Ellison 28th Nov
This is so obviously a crap idea. I've already characterized it as an attempt to resurrect the same mentality as project pink/kin from MS. It's just horrible.

But there are loads of kids [of all ages] out there for whom the number of 'friends' they have on farsebook is proof of social acceptance. It's all very sad, but true.

So, this could work. Buy shares in HTC. But my advice is still: don't fall for an idea that's actually equally as bad as project pink/kin, and worse than Amazon's attempt to do something similar with the Kindle Fire!

Let's not forget, Steve Jobs is dead. There are enough fevered egos out there convinced they are the ones people are going to turn up to see presenting new tech hardware in the future. It matters not to them that they are not even in that game right now...
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I do not use Facebook so why would I buy one? My Android phone has a pre installed Facebook App that you can not even uninstall from the phone without Rooting it.
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Europe (and France), where I'm from, is home of the largest FaceBook "community" and Europeans in general, and definitely myself, start to think that Facebook is on the way down. How many time have I heard comments like "I'm not talking about your 200-ish friends on FB, I'm asking if you have any in REAL life". So, no, a Facebook phone would be a non starter in Europe especially when an app already exists for every phone OS/platform. Had it been April the 1st, I might have had a good laugh though.
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Is there a reason for getting the fakebook at all ? ... except for being able to play Farmville and tend to the fishes in the fishbowl ?
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
dcdavy Updated - 28th Nov
... or better yet, to be spied upon by your spouse, mistress and employer ? Not to mention the 3 letter agencies, police and spammers all around the world.
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No.

Just ... No.

I go to Facebook, nothing works, I check how many scripts I'm NOT allowing to run (that I would have to turn on) ... I leave.

Hell no I wouldn't have one of their phones.
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Would you walk down the street wearing a blinking neon sign that says "sucker?"
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Facebook does not appear to be overly trustworthy. I would not buy a FB phone if my life depended on it.
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
Horus418 Updated - 28th Nov
No. Facebook is for the socially inept. Let them rot in Facebook, even if you only go to check updaes then you have cookies watching your every move on the internet from there on in (check thy cookies). Facebook is scum of the worst type. The addiction is somewhat akin to the dreaded ovoid fruit thing, they match each other quite well.

STAY AWAY FROM FACEBOOK and closed gardens, unless you are not proficient socially of technically suave. I really cannot understand why you need to text people when Skype/Google Talk/Hotmail all give you the chance to talk and see them (unless you have ugly friends/family then alls good for FB).

A Facebook phone! can you imagine the deaths, burglaries, stalking and violence that would be created for FB users. Wait a cotton picking moment, yes! come on we need a population down turn. Bring it on, it will only be the dumb and dumber that will fall to the wayside. LOL
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Buy a Facebook phone? Facebook is free for anyone with a computer and Internet access.
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
slingzenarrowzuvowtrayjissforchin 28th Nov
No. I wouldn't even use one if someone gave it to me for free.
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
Graham Ellison 28th Nov
And when you add the pathetic 3% Yes, definitely, to the 18% Maybe, depends etc., you get a whopping 21% approval for a sight unseen HTC - with Facebook written on it! And this on what pretends to be a grown up tech news site. Them's big numbers. Definitely buy HTC stock!
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Oh H*ll no....my first thought is they'd violate my privacy and sell my call history and conversations to all bidders.
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RE: Would you buy a Facebook phone?
Dondoo Updated - 28th Nov
Why can't I get one for free? After all, Facebook must make most of its money by spying on me.
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No to Facebook phone.
rdrockett 19th Dec
bI have enough problem getting thruu email traffic now. Google is too intrusive as it is; why make matters worse?

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