A report in the Wall Street Journal this morning claims that the Facebook Android announcement next week is not a Facebook phone, but Facebook software that’ll run on Android devices.
The social network has been developing new software for mobile devices powered by Google’s Android operating system that displays content from users’ Facebook accounts on a smartphone’s home screen–the first screen visible when they turn on the device.
This custom software will supposedly debut first on phones by HTC and may explain recent rumors that tie Facebook and HTC together. HTC was also the manufacturer behind the ChaCha and the Salsa, two Android phones that had a dedicated Facebook button. If this rumor pans out, then Facebook may be working on a launcher-type app or a homescreen widget that’ll get people to use Facebook more on their phones.
[Via WSJ]