6 Things That Must Happen with the Facebook Phone
Although the idea of a Facebook phone has been around for quite some time, it seems that a true Facebook phone may never arrive. The people at Facebook have been quoted as saying that it would not make sense to create an entire Facebook phone, but that has not stopped them from creating the Facebook Home launcher for Android. This is basically Facebook’s version of HTC’s Sense or Samsung’s TouchWiz, and it will be interesting to see how the market reacts to this new feature. At the end of the day, this Facebook phone is really nothing more than an Android phone with a Facebook skin on it. If this new Facebook version of Android is going to be successful, there are a few things that must happen. Here are some of the main things that need to be looked at when it comes to Facebook’s partnership with HTC.
1. The Facebook Home Launcher Must Be Stable
The one thing that people seem to hate about smartphones is that they are sometimes unstable. This was a problem with most Android phones for quite some time, but it seems like Google has finally caught up to iOS when it comes to stability. If people are met with force close errors and frozen screens while using the Facebook phone, they are more likely to switch back to their old devices.
2. All of the Apps Need to Work in the Facebook Ecosystem
If there is going to be heavy integration with Facebook throughout the Facebook phone, then certain apps may end up breaking at a certain point. If the Facebook Home system breaks an app that someone likes to use on a regular basis, then they will probably go back to whatever they were using before they had the full Facebook integration.
3. Facebook Cannot Destroy the Battery Life of the Phone
One of the problems with a lot of the new Android features when they are first created is that they often use a ton of battery life. There is no point in using the Facebook Home launcher if it is going to kill the phone’s battery by noon.
4. The Facebook Phone Needs to Be Used by the Average Person
This is actually one spot where the Facebook phone could shine. Mark Zuckerberg has stated that he wants to have Facebook integration on as many Facebook phones as possible, so they are definitely trying to capture the average smartphone user market. The best way that Facebook can attract the average person is to actually keep things as simple as possible. Instead of trying to takeover the entire phone, Facebook may want to focus on simply adding a few cute features that actually make Facebook integration useful.
5. Let People Know About Their Privacy
One thing that probably prevents a lot of people from switching to the Facebook Phone is that they don’t want Facebook to know everything they do. Facebook has run into a lot of trouble in the past when it comes to privacy concerns, so they should at least think about taking things slow at first when it comes to gathering information about Facebook Phone users.
6. Get Some Apps to Take Facebook Home to the Next Level
If Facebook Home is going to be a success, then they need to get some major app developers on board. Having some killer apps that actually provide value to the Facebook Phone will be a great way to convert new users to the phone.