The rumor mill is turning fast on an upcoming Facebook phone after a report revealed the recruitment of former Apple engineers to revitalize the project.

Facebook-friendly handsets – most of which are phones with dedicated buttons to the world’s largest social networking site – exist, but the company, which recently had its IPO, plans to release a mobile app that is operational on as many smartphones or tablets as possible.

However, Facebook could be looking into a mobile device that revolves around Facebook as its selling point or main feature, or many users could have requested to make one that is urging Mark Zuckerberg to consider building one.

It will be a fact that some Facebook users will look forward to such a device, so they may have to wait for further announcements before pondering on their next phone upgrade.

The HTC ChaCha is the Taiwanese smartphone maker's take on a Facebook phone. (Image: Takeshi Honma, via Flickr / CC)

According to a report from The New York Times, sources close to Facebook say that the company has hired a handful of engineers, which include about half a dozen experts from Apple, to freshen up work on the hardware.

The sources also claim that the alleged former Apple employees worked on the Cupertino-based tech giant’s iPhone handsets and iPad tablets, which adds relative importance to the rumors on hardware engineering under these circumstances.

Taking services of former staffers from a company with a lucrative background of releasing highly anticipated electronic devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod), Facebook may be in serious business to launch a new piece of hardware, and the NYT adds that one of the sources said this will be Facebook’s third attempt on building a Facebook phone.

While Facebook currently sits atop on its perch with a wide margin in the social networking industry, the initiative to expand into mobile hardware development could be productive for any thriving company.

Established phone makers such as Finnish tech giant Nokia is experiencing the worst part of stiff competition from the likes of Samsung and Apple, so it will be fascinating to watch if, and how, Facebook will sell the device into the rapidly evolving mobile device market.

“Our mobile strategy is simple: we think every mobile device is better if it is deeply social,” said a spokesperson. “We’re working across the entire mobile industry; with operators, hardware manufacturers, OS providers, and application developers to bring powerful social experiences to more people around the world.”

Although it admitted on having a mobile strategy, Facebook has yet to comment with regards to the recent NYT report.

About Francis Rey Balolong

A coffee junkie who spends most of his time writing about the latest news on social media and mobile technology. I would definitely consider myself a nerd (in the coolest most hipster way possible). That being said, I love technology, music, writing, and all things mobile. Follow me: Google+ Twitter

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