Facebook is said to be developing mobile phones and its own operating system_Technology _ Tencent

Beijing time on September 19 news, according to the famous American blog site TechCrunch reported that Facebook is likely to be developing a mobile phone and running its own mobile operating system.

Sources say this is another major project after Facebook launched a mobile app, giving the company full control over the syncing of website updates with mobile phones. The news may seem a bit sudden, as it did last year when Google was rumored to be developing a phone, but Google did release its own smartphone, the Nexus One. The person said that Facebook is aware of the enormous pressure that the iPhone and Android platforms are putting on it.

On the other hand, Facebook is likely to develop its own operating system and then let a third-party phone manufacturer build it. This is nothing new, as Apple and Google have done it for a long time. The Facebook mobile project is being led by Joe Hewitt and Matthew Papakipos, the person said. At present, the project is under wraps, and most of the company's employees are not even aware of it.

Hewitt previously worked on the Firefox browser and worked at Parakey, which was acquired by Facebook in 2007. All of Facebook's Web applications for the iPhone were developed by Hewitt, so he is familiar with both the operating system and the phone. Papachipous also has a deep background in the mobile industry, having worked on Google's Chrome operating system before leaving to join Facebook in June. Papachipus had a lot of potential at Google, but he moved to Facebook, which is likely to let him work on projects he is really interested in, such as mobile phones.

No word yet on what the phone will look like or when it will go on sale. But it is likely to be a lower-end phone that will be affordable to most users and will feature a high degree of integration with Facebook. It is estimated that the price of the phone will most likely be less than $50, and users will be able to buy it through Facebook Credits virtual currency.

Although the annual Christmas shopping season is a good time for new product launches, Facebook may be running out of time. Of course, the project could eventually be cancelled. The only thing we know for sure is that Hewitt and Papachipus are working on a secret project: a Facebook phone.