The Facebook "phone" is a snooze fest -- at least, that's Wall Street premature take. Investors haven't batted an eye at various rumors and reports about the social network's new home on Android, which will arrive on April 4.
Facebook shares opened today at an unremarkable $25.60, and have since lost around half a percent in value.
The itty-bitty decline immediately follows Facebook's late Thursday announcement about an Android-related event, which led many to speculate about the potential unveiling of a long-rumored Facebook phone. The latest leak suggests Facebook will show a special social-networking home screen and mobile phone application running on an HTC handset. The software could be made available to other Android devices.
But investors could care less. They are, as is typical, embracing a show, don't tell attitude.
"I'm not sure that optimizing mobile for Android is all that earth shattering," Michael Pachter, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, told CNET. "I don't expect much of an epiphany when they host their event."
Investors' tepid reaction to Facebook's improved placement on Android shows a continued disquietude with the company's ability to profit as expenses increase, as well as an overall lack of confidence in CEO Mark Zuckerberg and crew's statements about mobile being a fruitful, revenue-generating medium for Facebook.
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In your face, Facebook style
Pachter expects this week's news to amount to a commitment from Facebook to make its mobile product work as well as its desktop product. Yet the social network's mobile offering should work well regardless of platform, he said. Basically, this