[xuki]

Facebook certainly did not have the resources and experiences to make a mobile OS at that point. Microsoft tried and failed, there was no space for a 3rd mobile OS.

> They also tried to make mobile web a thing for a few years past when it was obvious that native apps were the way forward.

This was one of the first friction Facebook encountered with Apple. They wanted to make their own store in the Facebook app on iOS, but obviously Apple said no. Maybe doing Facebook app in HTML5 was a way to protest against the way Apple was moving things forward, but again it didn't work, their app was crap and they rewrote everything in native.

[krige]

Microsoft tried and then pulled a google i.e. they randomly gave up on something people were actively using.

[AppleBananaPie]

I might not remember well but I thought the App Store on windows phone was super lacking and actively falling further behind despite a bunch of efforts to prop it up.

Not commenting on if the phones were good / used I never had one :) just trying to remember the state of things back then