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Mark Zuckerberg dismisses Facebook mobile rumours

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

February 16, 2011 | 2 min read

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has dismissed strong rumours about the launch of a Facebook-branded handset.

It had been speculated that the company was working with a major manufacturer, as Google did on its Nexus phones. Zuckerberg did reveal that Facebook will continue to extend its presence within the mobile world.

Zuckerberg said he expected to see multiple devices built around the social network and predicted Facebook would share more API's to phone manufacturers to build social networking into their operating systems.

Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Zuckerberg said: “Phones are inherently social devices and the industry is just beginning to discover what's possible”.

According to new figures from comScore, 30.8% of users accessing social networking did so from smartphones in January 2011. The figures were lower from non-smartphones at just 6.8%, but that could change as moves are made to bring the social networking experience to more basic handsets.

Dutch security firm Gemalto launched a Facebook Sim card at the conference, designed to work in any GSM phone. It works by translating social networking updates into 160-character text messages. The system does not require a mobile internet connection and could help extend access across the developing world.

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