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Zuckerberg calls Facebook phone 'the wrong strategy'
Social network's co-founder says a company-branded smartphone wouldn't do much to attract usage of the site.
A Facebook-branded smartphone wouldn't make any sense for the company, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said once again on Tuesday.
Mark Zuckerberg said once again on Tuesday that Facebook will not build a branded smartphone.
(Credit: James Martin / CNET)In response to a question from moderator Michael Arrington at TechCrunch Disrupt, Zuckerberg said the long-rumored Facebook phone wasn't likely to spur significant new usage of the service.
A Facebook phone might draw 10 million buyers, he said -- a pittance compared with the 950 million users that the company is now approaching.
"It doesn't move the needle for us," he said.
In his comments, Zuckerberg echoed the thoughts of those who said Facebook's brand was unlikely to attract phone buyers in large numbers.
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Moreover, Zuckerberg said, a phone runs counter to the company's strategy of being available on every major device.
"We want to build a system which is as deeply as possible integrated into every major device people want to use," he said.
Zuckerberg has been brushing off phone rumors for months now. On the company's first earnings call in July, he said it "won't make much sense" for the company.
