Facebook still trying to build a smartphone

Having made the jump to Wall Street, Facebook is reportedly eyeing another new frontier: smartphone manufacturing. The New York Times reports the social network is making a strong push toward launching a branded smartphone next year. Facebook has even hired former Apple engineers who worked on the iPhone and iPad to help make the device. The report, citing \"employees and those briefed on the plans,\" also says Facebook would not confirm nor deny the smartphone claims. Rumors of a Facebook smartphone are nothing new. Several outlets such as TechCrunch have reported the social network was working on a device as early as 2010. The most recent claims came from the Taiwan-based news site DigiTimes, which reported last month the social network was collaborating with manufacturer HTC on a smartphone with integrated Facebook functionality.