Facebook’s long-rumored Smartphone is supposedly due in 12-18 months with HTC as the maker of said model (code-named, Buffy). Simply put: while the opportunity for the firm is certainly there (considering that Facebook is accessed regularly by roughly 350 million active mobile users) the challenge that they face (aside from HTC designing a distinct / unique handset is the OS). In other words, do they continue to be captive to either Apple or Google (the two dominant players therein) or do they design an alternative OS from scratch? (Never an easy proposition i.e., look at Redmond’s on-going failure within this area and how many years they’ve experienced such as the most significant example of how expertise in one area doesn’t equate to being able to transfer it / success in another!)
(Source) All Things D: http://goo.gl/utrkH