Photo of purported 'Facebook phone' leaked ahead of event

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
With a planned Facebook special event two days away, a photo of an HTC-built handset dubbed the "HTC First" has hit the Web, stoking flames that a true Facebook phone may soon see release.

HTC First
Alleged HTC First. | Source: evleaks via Twitter


The social networking giant is widely expected to show off a new operating system built on Google's Android platform at an event scheduled for Thursday, and some rumors say the company will introduce its own smartphone based on HTC hardware. In a tweet on Tuesday "evleaks," who has in the past outed a number of handsets before their official unveiling, revealed the HTC First, which could be the handset in question.

While the alleged picture does exhibit some aliasing around the "HTC First" lettering, the text overlay may simply be a label "evleaks" put on a legitimate photo of the phone.

Speculation of a Facebook-developed phone has been making the rounds for some time.

According to a recent rumor, the firm is looking to launch an iPhone competitor that deeply integrates its social networking platform into hardware built by a dedicated handset maker, with HTC being at the top of the list. The device could feature direct Facebook profile updating and a homescreen news feed, as well as quick access to the service's integrated apps. Sources say the mobile OS will be a "flavor" of Android with a user interface reminiscent of Facebook's iOS app.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    adrayvenadrayven Posts: 460member
    Yawn....
  • Reply 2 of 23
    teaearlegreyhotteaearlegreyhot Posts: 1,013member
    FB is already so saturated on websites (like this one) that it's hard to avoid. The FBP will be superfluous. And the very last thing I want is to have them controlling my communication. I suppose there are numerous Droid drones who'll flock to it, and maybe even like the virtual reality of a FB world, but I still gotta wonder how the company is going to monetize the situation.
  • Reply 3 of 23
    rothgarrrothgarr Posts: 58member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TeaEarleGreyHot View Post



    FB is already so saturated on websites (like this one) that it's hard to avoid. The FBP will be superfluous. And the very last thing I want is to have them controlling my communication. I suppose there are numerous Droid drones who'll flock to it, and maybe even like the virtual reality of a FB world, but I still gotta wonder how the company is going to monetize the situation.


    Advertising.


     


    Either by putting ads in front of you or learning as much about you as they can to target you or sell to other companies.

  • Reply 4 of 23
    chriscaskeychriscaskey Posts: 24member
    That phone is an iPhone replica. Cue the lawsuits.
  • Reply 5 of 23
    carthusiacarthusia Posts: 585member


    The facefone will be revolutionary. It will use advanced face recognition to unlock and log you directly into your facebook account image

  • Reply 6 of 23
    rkevwillrkevwill Posts: 224member
    Can you imagine all the info FB is gonna mine from this device? How scary is that.
  • Reply 7 of 23
    bregaladbregalad Posts: 816member
    Can't imagine anything more scary than a device that tracks you 24/7/365 and sends all that data to Facebook. A device that tracks you 24/7/365 and sends all that data to Google is only slightly less scary yet millions of people have flocked to that platform so maybe this rumour has a chance of being a successful product after all.
  • Reply 8 of 23
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member


    People can't even imagine what they're mining now, so . . .   (not mining me!)


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by rkevwill View Post



    Can you imagine all the info FB is gonna mine from this device? How scary is that.

  • Reply 9 of 23
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member


    Hey! Rounded rectangle . . . iPhone . . . data mining . . . patent   copy!    Lawsuit, better,  way better    sucks    fan-bouy!  I'm a    (navigation expert,)   my friend,  a-holes, . . .   . . . etc.  /s


     


    I'm sure it will be popular with folks for whom FB is the center of their lives no matter the fate of their souls.

  • Reply 10 of 23
    chandra69chandra69 Posts: 638member


    Bound to get flopped. 

  • Reply 11 of 23
    snovasnova Posts: 1,281member


    Its not a phone, its a liability.  What's next inserting a tracking device in your backside? 

  • Reply 12 of 23
    gadgetmangadgetman Posts: 18member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by chriscaskey View Post



    That phone is an iPhone replica. Cue the lawsuits.




    HTC signed an agreement with Apple... no lawsuits. 

  • Reply 13 of 23
    irelandireland Posts: 17,800member


    Circular app icons. Check out the invite for proof.


     


    Another point about privacy. I care about my privacy, but I don't care what company has my location. What I don't want companies like Google, Facebook and Zynga to have is either my e-mail address or my preferences for things, i.e. my browsing history. But especially my e-mail address. I'd frankly rather they knew my blood type over my e-mail address. And as I said I couldn't give two shits if they knew my current location. When it comes to privacy I think people obsess over location too much.

  • Reply 14 of 23
    irelandireland Posts: 17,800member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Chandra69 View Post


    Bound to get flopped. 



     


    Would you bet money on that?

  • Reply 15 of 23
    thinkman@chartermi.netthinkman@chartermi.net Posts: 174member
    As for the artifacts around the lettering that is supposedly superimposed, if you look carefully at the phone itself, you will see these same artifacts, it's just more apparent around the lettering due to the contrast. It's simply a low-rez JPEG. Not that any of this actually matters as regards the point of the story. Just an observation. You may now return to your life, scouring the web for "who gives a sh*t" articles like this.
  • Reply 16 of 23
    yojimbo007yojimbo007 Posts: 1,165member
    Who wants a Facebook phone?... Why?
    Dont see it going anywhere
  • Reply 17 of 23
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rkevwill View Post

    Can you imagine all the info FB is gonna mine from this device? How scary is that.

     

    Yes, like Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Sony, Samsung, HTC, Apple, etc.
  • Reply 18 of 23
    amar99amar99 Posts: 181member
    ...why do people complain that Apple's OS looks the same as it has for years, while at the same time people keep coming out with these 99% copies of Apple's hardware design, year after year????
  • Reply 19 of 23
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,744member
    Maybe they target the device at younger generations, you know those to whom email is so old school. And following the old marketing line "get them while they're young" they might just stick with it.
  • Reply 20 of 23
    bregaladbregalad Posts: 816member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Circular app icons. Check out the invite for proof.


     


    Another point about privacy. I care about my privacy, but I don't care what company has my location. What I don't want companies like Google, Facebook and Zynga to have is either my e-mail address or my preferences for things, i.e. my browsing history. But especially my e-mail address. I'd frankly rather they knew my blood type over my e-mail address. And as I said I couldn't give two shits if they knew my current location. When it comes to privacy I think people obsess over location too much.



     


    There's a huge difference between having your current location and knowing where you've been every minute of every day since you activated the phone. Do you really want someone following you everywhere you go, recording how long you stay, where you go afterward, what routes you take?


     


    Browser history, likes, dislikes, yeah those are super valuable to marketing people. Unfortunately for the advertisers of the world I see well targeted advertising as a form of digital stalking and refuse to purchase goods or services from anyone who seems to know too much about me.


     


    I'm really interested in why you think it's dangerous for companies to know your email address. Maybe I'm being naïve, but I just don't see a big privacy or security issue there.

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