The tech world is abuzz with new rumors that Facebook will be launching a self-branded mobile phone next month, possibly at Mobile World Congress. It’s not the first time that we have heard this type of rumor from the social media powerhouse. However, last time such a rumor came up, Facebook’s own CEO, Mark Zuckerberg put them to rest.

However, the latest rumors claim that not only will the company be launching a self-branded phone; it will be manufactured by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC. HTC has been sitting on sizeable profits of recently, thanks to such devices as the HTC Touch Pro 2, HTC 7 Pro and most recently the Evo Shift.

According to the rumor, the phone will run a modified version of Google’s Android operating system and would use the several home screens of the device to display relevant information from the phone owner’s Facebook feed such as messages, news feeds, friend requests and latest pictures added etc.

There is said to be integration between the phones phone application and the users Facebook address book which would allow a user to easily call a number from the Facebook phone/address book.

With Facebook commanding more traffic at the moment than Google, the company has clearly defined itself as one of the hottest tech companies of the new decade. There is said to be Joe Hewitt from the Firefox web browser team and Matthew Papakipos who previously was a leading member of Google’s Chrome browser team. Both men are said to be slated to get behind the launch of the hardware next month.

So far there is no word on if the device will be tied to a specific carrier in the U.S or UK, but that information is expected to be shared when and if the phone is announced next month.

Via: City A.M.