Motorola maybe working on Android phone for social networking

Venture Beat — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:58:07 -0700

Mobile handset maker Motorola is working on a phone intended specifically for social networking, based in Google’s Android operating system, the AndroidGuys blog is reporting.

All we know about the social networking angle is a Motorola job posting looking for a user interface team leader who can work on, among other things, a “new Android Social Networking SmartPhone.” Motorola has already joined the industry consortium behind Android, called the Open Handset Alliance.

One friend in the mobile industry says to not buy into the “social network positioning,” and points out that Android devices are going to have a lot of other features that will matter to users, like the interface for integrated Gmail. Once the rumored Motorola phone comes out, will it really be branded as a social network phone as opposed one that focuses on, say, email and actual phone calls?

Who knows, but if said phone is actually designed for social networking, what exactly does that mean? Over at Silicon Alley Insider, Joe Weisenthal wonders:

[W]e worry that the company is cooking up some specialized “social networking phone”, that tries to add special (but needless) “social” features beyond the capabilities of the operating system (think: a dedicated MySpace button). AndroidGuys notes Motorola is fond of these themed phones, such as the music-based ROKR. Still, the idea of a “social” device, rather than just a useful one that can be used for social networking, brings us nightmares of the early Zune positioning.