If it turns out to be true, it will be pretty big news: HTC is reportedly getting ready to announce two Facebook-branded phones next month at MWC 2011, in Barcelona.

According to the tipster, HTC-Facebook collaboration will be launching two handsets, running a modified version of Android. The features are not known yet, but it’s said that users will see “Facebook messages and news feed on the home screen.” Also, users should be “able to call or email friends from information stored on their Facebook page.”

We are headed to Barcelona for this live coverage next month, more inputs will follow there after. 

Did you hear rumours about Facebook building an Android enabled phone? If not, then you may be in luck, as mobile manufacturer INQ Mobile has been working in secrecy to launch the rumoured facbook smartpoine, officially.  According to Bluetooth SIG, the INQ Cloud Touch could be exactly what Facebook was rumored to be developing.

Surprised? Don’t be, if you look at the INQ’s website, you would know that the company has a long history of making “social” phones. As stated, Facebook doesn’t appear to be planning to launch its own Android phone, so in the most probable scenario, Cloud Touch will likely not receive any official support from Facebook. Still, it will be interesting to see what functionality and features this smartphone will bring to the table, as compared to the current Facebook Android app.

In its bid to make Facebook’s Android app catch up with the  iPhone version, Facebook announced that Facebook for Android has being updated to include Place and Group. Both Place and Group are has just being added to Facebook within the past few months.

“We’re back on track, we think we have general parity between iPhone”. Today, Facebook is launching Places and Groups on Android

[via TC]

In an interview today at TechCrunch Disrupt, Bill Gurley (partner at Benchmark Capital ) and Michael Grimes (MD Global Technology Investment Banking , Morgan Stanley) sat down to discuss the current IPO market trend. They emphasized Facebook, LinkedIn, Jive and Millennial Media are considering to making their companies public over the next few years, while GreenDot a fresh startup is filing for a $2 billion IPO today.

When asked if any one IPO will change the current market, Gurley believes in a joint effort rather than pinning hopes on any single IPO. Grimes added to the statement that more isn’t necessarily better when it comes to revenue. A $50 million run rate could work better than a $100 million run rate depending on the business model. Both the experts highlighted the fact that companies based outside Silicon Valley, like Greendot, are less hyped when going public in contrast to its competitors in the Valley.  

Gurley also believes that there isn’t a need for a super high-quality company to go public to open up the IPO floodgate. For example, LinkedIn brought on public company veteran Skip Battle as a board member, signalling that the company is prepping for an IPO in the next year.

What’s the reasoning behind taking a company public? According to Grimes, it is the liquidity for founders and employees, increased capital for M&A and additional exposure to a brand are all positive results of an IPO.

Both Grimes and Gurley expect 40-50 companies to participate in IPO in the tech space over the next year, including Skype and LinkedIn.

[via Techcrunch]

Facebook for Android got the first update since it was lunched last fall. The added features include in-app picture browsing and quick access to picture comment. “Also, ‘likes,’ Facebook search and mobile photo uploads are now as easy as a single touchscreen-tap in most cases, and the overall navigation and interface have gained a few new touches that are subtle but elegant and welcome.”

Other important features like chat is still missing, but this is a big progress for Facebook, and you can expect more updates in the near future.

Today Google lunched Google Buzz, and some of the internet power houses are not happy. Google Buzz is simply Facebook and Twitter in your Gmail. With Google buzz you do your microblogging (tweeting) and picture sharing (Facebook) right from inside your Gmail. According to TechCrunch these are the words from Microsoft

“Busy people don’t want another social network, what they want is the convenience of aggregation. We’ve done that. Hotmail customers have benefitted from Microsoft working with Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and 75 other partners since 2008.”

Yahoo also answered with a “humorous email” depicting Google as a copycat and a late comer.

We all know by now that Google has shown over time that they can do anything that Yahoo does better. Search, email, to mention a few. Google has not being very successful with social networking in the past, so we should consider this another shot.
Both Facebook and Twitter are yet to make any comments about this move by Google, in my little opinion they are the most concern here.