Facebook Phone Rumored to be Announced at Press Event
Facebook issued an invitation to the press for an event on Jan. 15, at its headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.
Members of the press were given a simple message on Tuesday that read "Come and see what we're building," according to The Los Angeles Times, The invitation sparked curiosity as to what exactly Facebook has up its sleeve and rumors buzzed that Facebook plans on unveiling a new smartphone.
The potential Facebook-backed device would likely run a modified version of Google's Android mobile operating system, but the reports have not been substantiated.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly squashed rumors at a September news conference that the company is building a Facebook phone, calling such a move the "wrong strategy" for the company. However, people close to the company said Facebook has worked closely with handset manufacturers, such as HTC, to design phones, according to The Daily Mail.
The Jan. 15 conference will give the company a chance to single itself out from the wave of tech companies making their own announcements at this year's consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. There are other rumored reasons behind Facebook's planned event.
The company may have another product that they plan to launch or they may be collaborating with another big tech giant to produce something yet unseen. There is also the possibility that they have redesigned Facebook as a whole, or any number of its popular components.
Whatever Facebook has planned for the event, it is sure to be big news coming from the world's largest social networking site. The last time Facebook hosted a similar event was at its California headquarters about a year and a half ago. At that event, Zuckerberg announced the company would proceed with a partnership with Skype.
