• Bloomberg et al, Thursday, September 23, 2010 12:08 PM

New details have emerged regarding a forthcoming "Facebook Phone," which could fundamentally shift the way mobile users consume content and advertising.  

"The devices, which will feature Facebook social-networking services, are due to be introduced in Europe in the first half of 2011 and the U.S. in the second half," reports Bloomberg, citing three people familiar with the matter.

In an interview with TechCrunch -- which first broke news of the phone -- Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said of the company's mobile strategy: "Our goal is to make it so there's as little friction as possible to having a social experience."

Ideally, "Your phone already knows who you are, and personalizes everything, including your installed apps, based on your interests and your social graph," TechCrunch writes of Facebook's mobile plans.

"Facebook has already tried to do this to some extent on the web with its Instant Personalization feature, but Zuckerberg says that it really isn't possible ... to personalize the entire web experience without building a browser," TechCrunch explains. "He hints that this isn't the case with mobile -- and that Facebook may be able to eventually offer a way to turn your entire phone social."

Meanwhile, word that the phones will run Google's Android operating system suggests that Facebook and the search giant are closely aligning their mobile strategies for the future -- or, at least, the immediate future.

"I mean, who knows, 10 years down the road, maybe we'll build our own operating system or something, but who knows," Zuckerberg tells TechCrunch. "But for now, I think, everything is going to be shades of integration, rather than starting from the ground up and building a whole system."

Regarding Facebook's rationale, Bloomberg explains that the top social network is "redoubling efforts to reach mobile users, many of whom access the site on smartphones ... About a fourth of the company's more than 500 million users log on to Facebook from wireless devices."

"Making access to Facebook easier on hand-held devices will be crucial for adding users in emerging markets, where the mobile internet is 'leapfrogging' web access on desktop PCs," notes the Financial Times.

A Facebook phone, or at least Facebook mobile software, would save the company the trouble of tailoring its mobile apps and services to every operating system under the sun. As ZDNet notes, "People have been pointing out for years that the smartphone operating system space has too many competitors, and that it has yet to enjoy the sort of slimming down that has taken place in the mainframe, minicomputer and PC markets."

Mobile-handset manufacturer INQ Mobile -- which has previously sold phones with Facebook features -- is expected to produce the phones, which will be carried by AT&T, sources tell Bloomberg.

Read the whole story at Bloomberg et al »