Facebook is now partnering with HTC to build an Android-based phone, code-named of which is “Buffy”.
Facebook’s smartphone is being designed to take a bite out of the competition. The phone is planned to run on a modified version of Android that Facebook has tweaked heavily to deeply integrate its services, as well as to support HTML5 as a platform for applications, according to sources familiar with the project. Facebook only recently chose HTC, after also considering at least one other potential hardware partner — Korea’s Samsung. That means the products themselves are still a ways from hitting the market, potentially as long as 12 to 18 months. A spokesman for Facebook and HTC declined to comment on Buffy directly. The Buffy project represents a significant shift for Facebook, which has focused much of its mobile work on light collaborations with hardware makers looking to create more socially-oriented phones.
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