10 February 2011 | Author: J. Morton News Editor
Back in September 2010, Facebook countered claims from TechCrunch bloggers that the social network was at work on a mobile phone by outright denying them.
"Facebook is not building a phone," spokesman Jaime Schopflin said in response to the rumours.
However, that hasn't kept London-based mobile manufacturer from targeting 18 to 28 year old users of the omnipresent online offering from Palo Alto for its new line of smart phones, set for release next week.
According to the Guardian Technology Blog, the INQ Cloud Touch and INQ Cloud Q - both Android-based phones - will cater directly to the needs and wants of Facebook users, a conscious play by the developers.
INQ's smart phone range - known to hover in the middle of the traditional spending range for the devices - has long been praised for its deep integration of social networking features, including by Mark Zuckerberg himself, who appeared at the launch of the INQ1.
Further, the firm integrated features such as instant messenger services - most notably Windows Live Messenger and Skype - into many of its handsets.
Ken Johnstone, co-founder of INQ, told the Guardian Zuckerberg's brainchild is "everywhere" on the firm's new smart phones.
"It was never intended to be a Facebook phone," he said. "But Facebook has been very heavily involved with it and it's been a collaborative process."
Facebook will reportedly serve as a homepage for the handsets, with all the social sites plug-ins, such as Places, status updates and wall posts, all taking up the space usually held down by apps on other mobile devices.
Johnstone said the firm took the Android platform in a different direction with its new offerings as well.
"We think this is the opposite to what everyone else is doing," he said. "A lot of Android phones I love but they're all quite complicated, all noise, and very much alike. We wanted to deliver the authentic Facebook experience."
The closest thing yet to a 'Facebook Phone' launches next week
Back in September 2010, Facebook countered claims from TechCrunch bloggers that the social network was at work on a mobile phone by outright denying them."Facebook is not building a phone," spokesman Jaime Schopflin said in response to the rumours.
However, that hasn't kept London-based mobile manufacturer from targeting 18 to 28 year old users of the omnipresent online offering from Palo Alto for its new line of smart phones, set for release next week.
According to the Guardian Technology Blog, the INQ Cloud Touch and INQ Cloud Q - both Android-based phones - will cater directly to the needs and wants of Facebook users, a conscious play by the developers.
INQ's smart phone range - known to hover in the middle of the traditional spending range for the devices - has long been praised for its deep integration of social networking features, including by Mark Zuckerberg himself, who appeared at the launch of the INQ1.
Further, the firm integrated features such as instant messenger services - most notably Windows Live Messenger and Skype - into many of its handsets.
Ken Johnstone, co-founder of INQ, told the Guardian Zuckerberg's brainchild is "everywhere" on the firm's new smart phones.
"It was never intended to be a Facebook phone," he said. "But Facebook has been very heavily involved with it and it's been a collaborative process."
Facebook will reportedly serve as a homepage for the handsets, with all the social sites plug-ins, such as Places, status updates and wall posts, all taking up the space usually held down by apps on other mobile devices.
Johnstone said the firm took the Android platform in a different direction with its new offerings as well.
"We think this is the opposite to what everyone else is doing," he said. "A lot of Android phones I love but they're all quite complicated, all noise, and very much alike. We wanted to deliver the authentic Facebook experience."
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