Mark Zuckerberg’s statement about Facebook not requiring a handset of its own, and relying on better integrating its software with other manufacturers instead gave the impression that a Facebook handset was not coming into being. A report by Pocket-Lint now states that a very reliable source has informed it that a handset called the HTC Opera UL is in the works, which will be the first Facebook phone.
A NenaMark2 benchmark of the HTC Opera UL has been leaked and some of its specifications had been revealed. The report by Pocket-Lint claims that a reliable source has informed it that the handset will be an OEM product for Facebook. The source claims, “It is the Facebook phone, made for Facebook”.
The website notes that the source has informed it that the handset has been delayed. It appears that it is only a matter of time before the Facebook smartphone manufactured by HTC materialises.
If Facebook does launch an HTC-branded handset, it will be a big boost for HTC, as it has fallen behind other smartphone manufacturers in recent times.
From the NenaMark2 benchmark, we can see that the HTC Opera UL features a 1.4GHz processor, a Qualcomm Adreno 305 GPU, and a display that sports a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution. The report claims that as of testing, the handset is running on Android v4.1.1 Jelly Bean.
Earlier this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg started to discuss about mobile app products and he said, “We want to support an ecosystem where other apps can build on top of Facebook.” He also addressed the rumours surrounding the Facebook smartphone and said, “There are a lot of things you can build in other operating systems as well that aren’t really taking, that aren’t really like building out a whole phone, which wouldn’t make much sense for us to do.” Earlier reports claimed that Facebook had tied-up with HTC to build a phone that could be launched by the middle of the next year. "These plans haven’t been made public but the phone was intended to be released this year. It appears that HTC is now being given more time on product development; hence the date of launch has been pushed back," the report reads.
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