Facebook is building buzz about a mysterious new feature they will be launching next week. What could it be?
According to an article published by Reuters, the CEO and founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg himself told reporters that the company has “something awesome” prepared to debut next week. Zuckerberg let this tidbit slip while at the 40-person Seattle Facebook office, and it has tech writers all over the web speculating on the new feature.
Recent whispering has the majority of the speculation centered around a Facebook iPad app. Early this month, rumor had it that the iPad app would be coming in a few weeks so the timing seems only slightly premature. Those that have seen the app say that the photo and video would be “amazing, offering full resolution and full-screen images”. The wording seems right, and since Zuckerberg is supposed to have invested time in the iPad project his enthusiasm shown in Seattle would be appropriate.
The Seattle office is also home to a team that played a big part in Facebook’s mobile side so the app would make sense, though Zuckerberg has insisted that the iPad isn’t a mobile device. If that’s the case, the feature might instead be the recently leaked photo sharing app for the iPhone.
TechCrunch is saying that it most likely isn’t the HTML-5 based app platform Project Spartan. Spartan would be premature if released next week and the project isn’t based in Seattle. Also, TechCrunch seems to be against the iPad app possibility since one of their sources is saying the app is highly unlikely for next week.
Another few possibilities could be Skype integration and even a social TV feature that Facebook has been developing. AdWeek reported that the social TV idea would be a program guide that figured out what was trending among Facebook friends. The company is refusing to provide further details so we’ll just have to use our imaginations for now.
