“Come see our new home on Android”. With this invitation in full Apple style (in spite of Google's operating system), somewhat dry if not sibylline, Facebook has summoned the international press for next Thursday, April 4th. Come and see our new home on Android: could it mean that finally, after 3 years of rumors and denials, Mark Zuckerberg will present the long-awaited and mysterious Facebook-phone, the 100% Menlo Park branded smartphone?
It is not known for now, but there seems to be some clues. In fact, the US press excludes journalists from all over the world from being bothered by a new app or by integrating the Android operating system with the Facebook platform, which, however important, could easily be communicated via the web.
The specialized site TechCrunch even takes for granted the hypothesis of the Facebook-phone, manufactured in partnership with HTC and running precisely with an updated version of Android. Even the New York Times has repeatedly evoked this possibility, revealing that there would be a dozen engineers involved in the project, all with experience in Apple, on iPhone and iPad. Bloomberg also believes it, but speaks of an exit not before mid-2013.
If the rumors were confirmed, this would be the umpteenth great challenge launched by Zuckerberg to the technology market: after the creation of the most used social network in the world (1 billion users), its launch on the Stock Exchange and even a commitment to politics, the former Harvard genius is preparing to look the greats of hi-tech straight in the eye. The various Apple, Google, Samsung and Nokia are warned.
