三星拿什么拯救 Facebook手机

    还记得首款Facebook手机，就是宏达电出的那款吗？恐怕没几个人记得。

    还记得首款Facebook手机，就是宏达电（HTC）出的那款吗？恐怕没几个人记得，虽然这款手机今年4月份才刚刚推出。

    这款名为First的手机，是Facebook首款搭载了定制软件Facebook Home的手机，对谷歌（Google）大受欢迎的Android操作系统某些方面做了些改动，使用户能轻松查看Facebook状态更新并给好友发信息。这款手机也是迄今为止Facebook进军移动领域的一次重大尝试。但据报道，First手机在美国本土的销量极差，以至于HTC取消了这款手机在英国的发行。随后，First独家运营商美国电话电报公司（AT&T）把它的定价急剧下调到0.99美元。据最新报道，AT&T已决定停售该手机。

    现在有人猜测，Facebook首席执行官马克•扎克伯格最近访韩时，曾主动与三星（Samsung）移动部门总裁申宗均联系，商谈生产下一款Facebook Home 智能手机事宜。一位消息人士向《韩国先驱报》（The Korea Herald）表示：“Facebook热切希望成为下一个谷歌。因此，据称扎克伯格已邀请三星与它共同推出一款采取Facebook界面的手机，以增进双方的合作。”

    对于这样的消息我们应该采取保留态度。但三星推出搭载Facebook Home界面的智能手机可能对双方来说都是个好主意。三星最畅销的拳头产品GalaxyS4智能手机的销量已明显放缓，引起了部分分析人士的担忧。评级机构惠誉（Fitch Ratings）最近向路透社（Reuters）透露：“三星还需证明自己的‘创造性’创新，即在超凡的制造工艺之外，创造出一款全新的产品或者说一个新的细分市场。”Facebook Home也许是三星产品阵容多元化的一条出路。（三星已经开始着手扩展S4产品线。）反过来，Facebook也可受益于三星广阔的市场覆盖范围——据市场调研机构高德纳（Gartner）称，2013年第一季度，三星在全球智能手机市场占据了近31％的份额。

    三星可在以下三个方面比HTC做得更好：

    更尖端出色的手机。即便放到去年，HTC First也绝对算不上尖端产品，更不要说今年了。Facebook在四月的发布会上甚至羞于披露First的硬件配置。现在我们知道原因了。1.4GHz双核处理器、1GB内存、4.3英寸显示屏，跟三星S4简直是云泥之别。后者配备有5英寸全高清显示屏和1.9GHz四核处理器。（更不要提国际版更高端的1.6GHz八核处理器了。）如今Android智能手机市场新品层出不穷，虽然时尚的外形和尖端的配置并不能保证一定成功，但它们也许能够帮助Facebook Home手机赢得更多的关注。

    更多运营商。HTC First的最大失误是只选择了一家运营商AT&T。虽然AT&T目前仍然是美国最大的两家运营商之一，但更多运营商的支持无疑是提高用户数量的关键所在。至少目前来看，极少有Facebook用户会为了手机而更换运营商。所以，为什么不主动送上Facebook手机呢？选择威瑞森（Verizon）甚至T-Mobile作为合作伙伴对于起步阶段的Facebook Home绝对大有帮助。

    开发多款Facebook手机。除非是新款iPhone，否则单凭一款手机就想大获成功无异于天方夜谭。精通机海战术的三星凭借着众多款采用塑料外壳的超薄智能手机一飞冲天，这家公司要想发布不同价位、不同屏幕尺寸和硬件配置的Facebook Home手机简直小菜一碟。尽管一般而言智能手机用户如今越来越倾向大屏幕，但毕竟用户对屏幕大小的偏好不一样。三星可以先发布一款“旗舰”手机和一款配备5英寸以上屏幕的“平板手机”切入市场。我认为，三星造Facebook Home手机越多越好。（财富中文网）

    译者：项航

    Remember the first Facebook phone, the HTC First? Not many do -- despite its recent April launch.

    The First was Facebook's (FB) first phone with Facebook Home, customized software that modifies areas of Google's (GOOG) popular Android operating system so users can readily check status updates and text friends. The phone is also one of Facebook's biggest stabs at mobile yet. But stateside First sales were reportedly "a disaster," prompting HTC to ax the smartphone's U.K. release. Then AT&T (T), the phone's exclusive carrier, slashed pricing to $0.99 and has reportedly decided to discontinue sales.

    Now comes speculation that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg approached Samsung Mobile co-CEO Shin Jong-kyun about making the next Facebook Home smartphone during a recent trip to Korea. "Facebook has every intention of becoming the second Google, and with that intent in mind, Zuckerberg is said to have asked Samsung to step up cooperation by launching a phone with a Facebook interface," a source told The Korea Herald.

    Such stories should be taken with a grain of salt. But a Samsung smartphone with Facebook Home might not be a bad idea for either party. Sales of Samsung's bestselling flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone have apparently slowed, causing some analysts to worry. "Samsung has yet to prove its 'creative' innovation, that is, launching a product or a market segment that has not existed before in addition to prowess in manufacturing technology," the ratings agency Fitch Ratings recently told Reuters. Facebook Home may be one way for Samsung to diversify its lineup. (Extensions of the S4 line are already in the works.) In turn, Facebook could benefit from Samsung's vast market reach -- it accounted for nearly 31% of global smartphone sales during the first quarter of 2013, according to Gartner Research.

    Here are three ways Samsung could trump HTC's effort:

    Make a worthy device. The HTC First wouldn't have been a cutting-edge phone late last year, let alone this year. Case in point: Facebook didn't even bother with hardware specifications during the April announcement, and now we know why. That 1.4 GHz dual-core processor, 1-gigabyte of RAM, and 4.3-inch display are ho-hum next to the Samsung S4, with its bright 5-inch full high-definition display and 1.9 GHz quad-core processor. (And let's not even touch the more gnarly 1.6 GHz eight-core international edition.) Obviously, stylish looks and advanced parts don't guarantee success in a market already inundated with Android smartphones, but they could help a Facebook Home phone stand out more.

    Make it multi-carrier. The HTC First's other achilles heel was its AT&T exclusivity. AT&T remains one of the top two U.S. mobile networks, but carrier availability is obviously key to growing a healthy user base. For now at least, it's clear very few Facebook users are willing to switch phones and carriers. So why not bring the phone to them? Having the device offered by Verizon (VZ) and even T-Mobile (TMUS) would go a long way toward upping Facebook Home's chances at taking off.

    Make more than one. Unless it's a new iPhone, one device does not guarantee success. Samsung, which soared on the sheer, plastic backs of many, many different smartphone models, could release multiple Facebook Home devices at different price points, with different screen sizes and hardware specifications, no sweat. After all, different folks prefer different screen sizes, though smartphone customers are generally trending larger now. There could be a go-to "flagship" device and a "phablet" version with a 5-plus inch screen, to start. Our point being, the more Samsung-made devices pre-loaded Facebook Home, the better.