[sipefree]

> Graphene is fundamentally vanilla Windows Phone, except with all Windows/Microsoft branding removed in favour of Facebook

Not a chance. Microsoft would never compromise their branding. They're not THAT desperate yet, and their still in a stronger position than Facebook in terms of having money to throw around.

> phone functionality swapped with a custom Skype UI (integrated with Facebook contacts)

You'll never get the carriers to agree with that. Not yet. Even Apple couldn't do it.

> For data service, Facebook makes a deal with one carrier in every region on Earth to become a "dumb pipe" of unlimited 4G/3G, negotiates a reasonable globally consistent rate, and handles billing with users (acting as a middleman between users and carriers, effectively becoming its own carrier with borrowed infrastructure).

Again, for the same reason, it's extremely unlikely that carriers would agree to this on any level. Not yet. They've still got a few dying gasps yet.

> In the end, we get a Facebook-controlled and Facebook-powered "Facebook Phone" which shuns legacy telephony technology and seamlessly moves between regional 3G/4G and Wi-Fi networks (and makes Facebook, Microsoft, and Nokia a ton of money).

I still disagree that Facebook are in any position to heavy-hand away the branding of either Microsoft or Nokia. Especially Microsoft. They're not going to hand over the OS they spent a lot of effort developing for no recognition, even if it makes them tonnes of money in licensing.

It's a good idea, but I don't think it's likely at all in this climate.

[prostoalex]

> Microsoft would never compromise their branding.

Seems that Sidekick and Kin are counter-examples to that statement.

[nemeth]

> Seems that Sidekick and Kin are counter-examples to that statement.

Microsoft threw away the working Sidekick OS and re-built it from the ground up on Win CE so that they could brand KIN as a "Windows Phone". So isn't that really a perfect example?

[buu700]

In addition, with all the semi-frequent frenzied branding changes, Microsoft leadership seems to be acutely aware that they lack a well-regarded image with the consumer market. Perhaps they would decide against such a strategy, but "never" is a bit extreme.

As far as the carrier issue, let's just say XCom Global and the individual carriers all snub Facebook. Even without Microsoft, Facebook has more than enough cash on hand to directly buy out Sprint Nextel and/or its assets. A foothold in the US alone would be a strong enough starting position to make this feasible.