Last week, Facebook announced that it will hold a large press event on April 4th (Thursday). The social network company only revealed that at the event it will show off its “new home on Android.” However, the scarce information on Facebook’s mysterious plans did not stop the world from making various predictions about what may happen this Thursday.
The most popular rumour is that the company will introduce a Facebook phone. This rumour continues to spread as new details emerge online.
A website called Android Police claims to have seen the Facebook Phone. Moreover, the site reveals information about the devices name, software and hardware specifications.
As it was rumoured earlier, Facebook’s phone will be made by HTC and it will run on an Android operating system that has some extra FB modifications and features. Now it is reported that the smartphone bears the codename “Myst” and that it will be a low-cost device. We tend to expect a rather middle priced smartphone – not too cheap or too expensive either.
Software
The phone will have special Android software called Facebook Home. According to Android Police’s report, the device will rock a number of simple features, including system settings, application monitoring, lock screen turnoff, as well as Wi-Fi connection. In addition, Facebook Home will start as soon as the phone gets switched on. Also, the device will have a Chat Heads feature. It will allow a chat head to pop out on the phone’s display and stay active while the user is working on other apps. Another thing that Facebook’s moderated Android operating system is said to offer is direct viewing of Facebook feed stories and news, Google Search, application shortcuts and a simple clock display. In other words, the OS of the smartphone will lay more emphasis on Facebook tools and features.
Hardware
The images of the Facebook phone that leaked online show some of its key hardware specifications. According to the pictures, the FB phone will come with a dual-core processor and a modified edition of Android 4.1.2. Another thing seen in the pictures is that device will have two cameras. Its rear camera will support 5MP, while its front one – 1.6MP. Facebook’s smartphone will also have a 4.3-inched display a resolution of 720p and a RAM of 1GB. There is no information about the phone’s internal memory capacity. However, the pictures show that it will not support memory cards. Among the gadget’s other hardware features are also Wi-Fi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0.
Used by Other Android Devices
The images also hint that the Facebook Home may be installed on other Android devices. That means that any Android user may be able to upgrade his or her Android OS if the Facebook Home is uploaded on Google Play. As you can probably imagine, that may give Google an upper hand in its battle with Apple.
A Facebook phone is actually a really logical move of the company. It was estimated that more than 680 million FB users access the site through their mobile devices. In addition, the company is still struggling to find a way to use this trend to its advantage.
What can be concluded from this information is that the Facebook phone probably won’t stand out with impressive features. Instead, it will focus more on a better Facebook experience. However, it should be noted that the device shown on the leaked images may only be a prototype. Moreover, the social network company still has not announced that it will unveil a smartphone on April 4th.
