Facebook ties up with HTC to launch phone in 2013: Bloomberg

The world’s largest online social network with close to a billion users is planning to make its own smartphone. Facebook is understood to have tied up with HTC to launch a ’Facebook phone’ by early 2013, Bloomberg reports.
This is not the first time we are hearing about this phone. AllThingsD had first reported about ’Project Buffy’ and had indicated about the late-2012 or early-2013 time frame for the launch of the HTC made smartphone. NYT then followed it up with a report claiming Facebook had hired engineers from Apple specifically for the UI. Facebook is expected to customize Android for the smartphone.
This is not the first time that the social network is flirting with the idea of a custom phone. It had earlier worked with INQ Mobile and even HTC for the ChaCha Android smartphone that had a dedicated Facebook button. It also tied up with MediaTek to have Facebook integration in feature phones apart from having apps across all platforms.
The Facebook phone will be crucial for the future of both companies. More than half of Facebook users access the social network from their phones that bring no advertising revenues. HTC, on the other hand, has seen declining profits for three consecutive quarters and desperately needs a hit. HTC has lost 43 percent of its market value this year. Facebook will be announcing its first ever quarterly results after its IPO later today.