Typically, companies listen to market reports. If a report shows that there’s absolutely no demand for a product, companies tend to avoid creating said product like the plague. But, Facebook isn’t most companies.

Even though studies have shown time and again that there’s absolutely no consumer demand for a Facebook smartphone, this hasn’t deterred the social network giant from hooking up with HTC to create just that – a Facebook smartphone. While Facebook has not made any official announcements yet, very reliable sources have started the rumour that Facebook will, indeed, be creating an Android smartphone very soon.

In fact, this smartphone may already be in the works. What will it look like? When will it be available? There are questions left unknown at the time being. What is certain is that Facebook will not be just another app when this smartphone arrives.

A Complete Facebook Submersion

There’s no doubt that the new Facebook smartphone will be a social networking phone that’s all about Facebook. It is said that the phone will be called the HTC Buffy, and it is expected to slay the competition as far as social networking goes.

Since Facebook is creating this phone, the whole core of the phone will be centered around Facebook. Forget integration – this will be the Facebook phone to purchase if you are serious about the social network.
Of course, this begs the question: who is serious enough about Facebook to want a Facebook phone?

Sure, the social network is fun and can be used for business purposes, but it’s not certain whether or not Facebook is here to stay. At last count, people were shying away from Facebook due to sheer boredom, and Facebook keeps changing its interface, which is entirely confusing and frustrating for users. So, who needs a Facebook phone? Well, nobody according to market research.

A Must for Facebook

In order for Facebook to survive in the mobile world, the company must provide more than just an app for mobile users. Some HTC phones in the past (including the ChaCha) had dedicated Facebook buttons, but Facebook is really still an app in the minds of most smartphone users. Apple has teamed up with Twitter a long time ago, and Google currently has very little to do with Facebook.

Unless Facebook can tap into the mobile market with a dedicated Facebook phone, it’s unlikely that smartphone users will ever think of the network as more than a simple app. Facebook has not yet commented directly on the Buffy phone, but the company has told press that it is working on bringing Facebook to the next level. To Facebook execs, smartphones and social networking go hand-in-hand.

Will Facebook succeed in selling the Buffy to consumers or will consumers shy away from a phone that is all about the social network? There’s no doubt that this phone will be met with a lot of scepticism. Marketing studies have shown that consumers may not want a Facebook phone (previous phones that integrated Facebook buttons failed miserably), but this won’t stop the ever-growing social network.