Facebook reportedly building phone with ex-Apple engineers

CNET - Interesting how the very week that Google became a hardware maker with the closing of its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, there's talk of another Internet giant making a similar move.

The New York Times' Nick Bilton reports today, citing unnamed sources, that Facebook is hoping to release its own smartphone by next year.

Bilton's sources include Facebook employees and several engineers who have been sought out by recruiters there, as well as people briefed on Facebook's plans, he says. Those briefed on the plans told Bilton that the company has already hired more than six "former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone, and one who worked on the iPad."

Of course, this builds on earlier reported attempts at a Facebook phone. In November, AllThingsD reported that Facebook had tapped HTC to build a smartphone that integrates the social network at its core in an effort code-named "Buffy." DigiTimes later reiterated that report saying HTC was working in cooperation with Facebook on a phone that could be launched as early has the third quarter of 2012.

And TechCrunch first starting talking about efforts for a Facebook phone in fall 2010.
It should be noted as well that in February 2011 at Mobile World Congress, HTC unveiled two new smartphones that feature dedicated Facebook buttons: the HTC ChaCha, which eventually became the HTC Status (review here), and the HTC Salsa.
From Bilton's report   >>>>>