Analysts Think Facebook Should Make A Soft Phone

Industry experts are torn on the idea that Facebook is building a social networking phone to compete with Google and Apple in the mobile Web.

TechCrunch ignited the blogosphere when it reported the company was building a mobile operating system and other software to host on a handset made by hardware makers such as HTC or Motorola.

This approach would be the same as Google’s Android pitch with HTC. While Google’s Android OS is very successful, the search giant hit a stumbling block when it made software and applications for the Nexus One smartphone, and failed trying to sell the device solely online.

Facebook denies building a phone

Facebook denied that it is building a phone, providing a detailed explanation of how it provides applications and services that mesh well with devices, platforms and carriers.

Analysts polled by eWEEK offered different takes on the notion. Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said he couldn’t see any reason why a Facebook phone makes sense, noting that INQ and 3 failed to gain traction with their attempts at a Facebook phone two years ago.

“Facebook is already one of the most popular and highly used applications across all smartphone platforms,” Golvin told eWEEK.

“Those applications focus tens of millions of Facebook users at Facebook multiple times a day; why would a consumer want a Facebook-branded phone when their existing phone already connects them seamlessly to their social network?”

Ditto for Golvin’s colleague at Forrester, Augie Ray, who said:

“Since the world is not asking for a Facebook phone and there is no compelling technical reason for Facebook to have its own phone, the question becomes whether or not the Facebook name on a phone would help sell phones and generate revenue.”

“At this point, I see more compelling business opportunities for Facebook than launching their own mobile hardware.”