It had been exactly three months since reports of Facebook’s (FB) rumored smartphone resurfaced, so we were definitely due. The social networking giant is set to post its first ever earnings report on Thursday after the market closes but until then, investors get to wonder what might come of a new Bloomberg report issued on Wednesday evening. According to Bloomberg — and Digitimes, and The New York Times, and AllThingsD — Facebook is working with hardware partner HTC (2498) on an own-brand smartphone. A study conducted earlier this year found that people are far more interested in an Amazon (AMZN) smartphone than a Facebook phone, and people don’t really seem to trust the company with their personal data, but that apparently won’t stop Facebook from launching its own smartphone based on a custom Android build some time around mid-2013. The company has hired multiple Apple (AAPL) engineers over the past few months, so perhaps we can also look forward to a new round of patent battles starting some time around mid-2013 as well.
Facebook phone rumors resurface: HTC-built Facebook smartphone launching in 2013
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:30PM EST
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Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.
His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.
