Not surprisingly, Facebook has flatly denied yesterdaya4ぎa4г rumor about a potential phone unveiling next month, Reuters reports.
Instead, it looks as if the rumor was really about new Facebook integration in upcoming phones built by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC. a4ぎAThis is really just another example of a manufacturer who has taken our public APIs (application programming interfaces) and integrated them into their device in an interesting way,&'' said Facebooka4ぎa4г head of business development Dan Rose at a London press event.
a4ぎAThe rumors around there being something more to this HTC device are overblown,&'' he continued. When asked if the HTC device would have any Facebook branding, he simply said, a4ぎANo.a4ぎ
We didna4ぎa4д really put much credence on the original rumor, so wea4ぎa4вe not exactly heartbroken over Facebooka4ぎa4г denial. The news also basically confirms that wea4ぎa4ll be seeing the next version HTCa4ぎa4г Sense user interface on new Android phones next month at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. The company announced its latest Sense revision last year at the event, so ita4ぎa4г certainly due for an upgrade.
Ita4ぎa4ll be interesting to see how HTC will compete with Androida4ぎa4г increasingly polished native interface, which is looking better with every major update. With Android 3.0, Google has managed to deliver an interface that looks even better than Applea4ぎa4г iOS. That means HTCa4ぎa4г new Sense UI will have to be particularly compelling to convince users they need it.
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Companies: Facebook, HTC
People: Dan Rose
Companies: Facebook, HTC
People: Dan Rose
Devindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.
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