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10 things you need to know about Facebook phone

Facebook is set to launch the long-awaited "Facebook phone" tonight, at a launch event in California. But the "phone" might not be what we all expect.

Facebook is set to launch the long-awaited "Facebook phone" tonight, at a launch event in California. But the "phone" might not be what we all expect.

Facebook is set to launch the long-awaited "Facebook phone" tonight, at a launch event in California.

But the "phone" might not be what we all expect.

The internet is awash with rumours of what the handset may look like, what it could feature and what it might do

Experts are divided on whether the move will provide a boost for Facebook's bosses and share price - or flop like many of the service-specific handsets before it such as the INQ Facebook phone.

So ahead of this evening's announcement in America, here are 10 things to know about the 'Facebook Phone'.

[Related: Apple 'to unveil new iPhone this summer']


1) The 'Facebook Phone' is not actually a phone. Well not one single one. Indeed Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg had previously ruled out the company "building" an actual phone. So it's actually likely to be a new style of operating system, based on Google's Android but with Facebook at its heart - and may well be downloadable as an app to Android phones.

Called Facebook Home, as the name suggests, it will take over from the handset's traditional home screen - showing all the latest social updates as soon as the device is switched on. It will then wrap other Facebook offerings such as contacts and messaging into the phone's contacts and messaging apps rather than them having to be clicked for.

2) There will be a phone though - or at least one will be shown off tonight by Zuckerberg. It's expected to be made by HTC and will be used to demonstrate the new software and all it can do. Just don't expect it to have the kind of specifications to challenge Apple's iPhone 5 or Samsung's S4. It's about the software remember, not the hardware.

3) Other Android manufacturers will be invited to the party. With Facebook having more than one billion users around the world, it would be a bit silly just to restrict the Facebook software to one single handset. It will run on Android, so the likes of Samsung and others can join in to offer it to their customers within their own devices.

4) Facebook's plan surely involves the emerging world. By creating an operating system with all its site's best features at the heart, it can spread into the third world and emerging markets where smartphones such as the iPhone 5 do not yet have the same reach as in the Western world. Markets such as China and India have tens of millions untapped potential smartphone customers.

5) Other expected features of the new software include direct uploading of pictures you've taken straight to Facebook to create instant live streams, potentially to rival the likes of Instagram.

6) A recent Facebook study suggested that seven in 10 smartphone owners use apps to access the site, meaning deeper handset integration with the social network seems like it will be an obvious success. A massive 40% said they used theirs to message via Facebook too. Pinning its hopes to Android is also a no-brainer, with the operating system having a much higher market share than its Apple rival.

7) The Facebook Home software could also include free calling via Wi-Fi and no-cost text messaging - so you can directly message other Facebook users in your contacts book without using up allowances or paying anything extra.

8) Facebook has its sights set firmly on mobile and making money from it. Many of its users now use their handsets to play games linked to the network and their friends within it. In its fourth quarter earnings report for 2012, Facebook revealed more people use it now from mobiles than they do from desktops, while 157 million people used it only from a handset during those three months.

9) Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, believes today's announcement is just the beginning of Facebook's mobile ambitions. He said: "The device is a concerted bid for Facebook to make a play for the eyeballs of millions of consumers, and become the hub from which they interact with all aspects of their smartphone.

"This forthcoming device will be the tip of the spear – a focused showcase of what is possible with deeper Facebook integration – and is certain to mark the start of future devices which embed the social network into the fabric of functionality, from a number of manufacturers."


10) When Facebook sent out invites to tonight's event, they promised: Come See Our New Home on Android. But by creating a 'new home' to keep mobile phone users within its own four walls for longer, it will ensure it continues to learn far more about you – a move privacy campaigners will no doubt be keeping a close eye on themselves. With the social network knowing your own mobile and on the move habits, it would give it the ability to target ads and offers more efficiently as well as the kind of content you're shown in particular locations and environments.