Facebook phone

In the never-ending battle of Android versus iPhone, "the (Facebook) company is expected to announce a new HTC smartphone running a special Facebook-centric version of Android on Thursday, according to numerous rumors and leaks on tech sites and major publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and 9to5Google, according to CNN.

"Rumors of a Facebook phone have been swirling for years, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly denied the company was "building" a phone, saying Facebook was not interested in becoming a hardware company.

Those carefully worded denials should still stand. If rumors prove true, Facebook hasn't built a phone, it's just partnered with a phone manufacturer to place its service and apps more front and center on a typical Android smartphone. It is expected to be an HTC 4.3-inch smartphone called the HTC First that bears a passing resemblance to the iPhone, comes in multiple colors, and packs in the usual mid-range specs at moderate price. There doesn't seem to be much that's exceptional or new about the hardware itself beyond the Facebook makeover.

Screens shots that purportedly show the new Android homepage, possibly called Facebook Home, show buttons along the top for common Facebook actions, such as updating a status, posting a photo or checking into a location, and icons for the major Facebook apps including Instagram and Messenger in the center of the screen."

The plan of the phone is to appeal to the ever-growing throngs of Facebook lovers. With hints of a low priced phone, it could even be appealing in developing countries, where the network is popular and smartphone sales are still rising sharply. The partnership could also be a boost for Taiwanese phone manufacturer HTC, which has been struggling to keep up with smartphone leaders Samsung and Apple. And since Zuckerberg is obviously doing very well and faces a whopping $1 billion tax bill, it seems he knows what he is doing well.

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