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Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: HTC is working on a Facebook phone that runs Android at its core. In what seems like an annual occurrence, rumors have started up that suggest the social network behemoth is readying a smartphone centered around its services.
According to a source close to Pocket-lint, an “official” Facebook phone is on the horizon and is currently being tested with a code name of Opera UL. Details are said to include Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, and 1,280×720-pixel HD display. For what it’s worth, benchmarks for an HTC Operaul were found on NenaMark just one week ago and match up perfectly. Additionally, the phone was marked as having a Qualcomm Adreno 305 chip, which potentially means a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor.
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As to when we’ll actually see this so-called Facebook phone, Pocket-lint’s source thinks it could be a while. Advising that it has “apparently been delayed,” the mysterious individual doesn’t yet have a public release window. If you’ve been following the smartphone space over the last few years then you know the drill: don’t hold your breath. Facebook has yet to publicly confirm any plans to release its own device and has often downplayed those rumors.
On the other hand, the company has been making personnel moves that suggest something may actually happen this time. As Slashgear reminds us, Facebook has picked up no less than six former iPhone engineers and one former iPad engineer in the last few months. While it could be a way of bolstering its mobile site and various smartphone applications, the move also has the faint scent of fresh hardware being cooked up.
