HTC and Facebook set to make another Android phone

Remember the ChaCha and the Salsa? Me neither. But HTC does, and according to DigiTimes, they’re eager to make another phone partnered with Facebook for features and branding. Their supply chain sources say that HTC and Facebook are partnering for another phone with exclusive features that tie into the social network, now an unbelievable 900 million users strong.

There’s little detail about the latest partnership available at the moment, other than the fact that it’ll feature “a platform exclusive to Facebook”. That could simply mean a customized and expanded Facebook app with better integration (and making a Facebook app that’s better than the current one wouldn’t be hard) or something a little more involved. Perhaps an Android fork, a la Barnes & Noble’s Nook devices? We can only speculate.

Another rumor mentioned in the DigiTimes article is that Facebook wants to brand the phones itself, instead of letting HTC handle the marketing and branding duties. That seems unlikely given the company’s previous stance on such a device, but if they were to create a completely customized version of Android, it would make sense. And it isn’t like Facebook is strapped for cash at the moment – even if a Facebook phone were a flop (which the previous HTC phones weren’t) it would only be a minor setback, and probably worth the risk. We’ll just have to wait and see.

[via The Verge]