Facebook Invites Press to “Come See What We’re Building”–Facebook Phone?

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Hot on the heels of the WSJ publishing a story about Apple releasing a cheaper iPhone, now it appears it’s Facebook’s turn to troll CES 2013 and try to steal some headlines as well.

The company has issued an event next week on Tuesday, January 15th at their Menlo Park campus, notes Digits. The mystery invite to press only reads “come see what we’re building”, which could hint at something physical being announced–maybe the rumoured Facebook phone? The Menlo Park campus opened back in December of 2011 and consists of 1 million square feet.

Even though CEO Mark Zuckerberg has dismissed rumours of a Facebook phone, calling it a “wrong strategy”, rather their plans are to “build a system that is as deeply as possible integrated into every major device that people want to use” instead.

Even with this dismissal, the WSJ noted back in December sources say the company has been in talks with Android OEMs such as HTC to create a smartphone:

Rivals and tech executives also want to know if—or when—Facebook will push into hardware. Mr. Zuckerberg has publicly quashed rumors that the company is building a Facebook phone, calling such a move “wrong strategy.” However, people close to the company said Facebook has worked closely with handset manufacturers, such as HTC to design phones.

A Facebook-backed device, which will likely run a modified version of Google’s Android mobile operating system, would help the social network promote the usage of its applications and gather more data from users.

If such a device was to be launched, it would have to be more compelling than the current leading Android offerings and the iPhone. I mean, a dedicated phone for Facebook is a little excessive isn’t it? But the offering could offer another potential revenue stream for the company whose stock has dipped roughly 35% since its IPO back in May of last year.

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