Apparently, some new information is trickling down from the all familiar “sources” that Samsung wants nothing to do with a Facebook themed handset. The Korea Herald reports, that Mark Zuckerburg (hopefully you know he’s the Facebook CEO and founder by now) met with high-ranking Samsung officials to discuss a “Facebook-friendly” handset. Logically, it makes sense for Facebook to go after Samsung, since they are the top smartphone maker in the industry.
Lee Jay-yon and Sin Jong-kyun, declined the offer and said that no Facebook phone from Samsung would be hitting shelves any time soon. Aside from the fact that Facebook Home has pretty much been a flop out of the gate, market analysts think Samsung made the decision for other reasons. Mainly, there is no monetary value in using Facebook’s proprietary software, but Samsung also doesn’t want to help turn Facebook into the next Google.
Poor Zuckerberg, he can’t seem to catch a break. Well, besides the fact that Facebook has made him incredibly rich, of course.
Right now, reviews of Facebook Home in Google Play average out to about 2 and a half stars. That’s a big ouch. It’s still only available for five Android devices, including the HTC First- the flop of a phone that came pre-loaded with Facebook’s software. It’s not that Facebook Home is terrible, as most loyal Facebook enthusiasts seem to enjoy the platform. It appears that the company targeted the wrong audience, releasing a budget handset with pre-loaded software that took away from the core functionality of the Android platform.
So, to wrap everything up with a nice little bow, the real point here is that Samsung will not be releasing a Facebook themed phone. I won’t go so far as to say that it will never happen, because there’s really no way to know that for sure. I will say, however that if this rumor is true then the Samsung executives unanimously slapped down the idea before it even mustered some wind underneath its wings.
What do you think of the news? Are you happy that Samsung is sticking to their guns, even though they do go crazy with handset releases? Or, are you upset that Samsung won’t be delivering a Facebook themed handset?