Is Facebook about to launch a phone?

Rumours, which surfaced recently, has is that Facebook may be set to unveil a mobile phone to take on the iPhone. Facebook has circulate invites to US journalists for a special event at their Silicon Valley Headquaters, reports say.

Rumours, which surfaced recently, has is that Facebook may be set to unveil a mobile phone to take on the iPhone.

Facebook has circulate invites to US journalists for a special event at their Silicon Valley Headquaters, reports say.

The invites reportedly promise to allow attendees to 'see what we're building' - with online rumours pointing to a phone.

Bloomberg reported that the phone will debut in mid-2013. In that case, an announcement now would make sense. Talks of this phone have been around since November 2011, though HTC and Facebook have collaborated earlier and launched the ChaCha and Salsa phones with a dedicated Facebook button and deep integration of the social network.

Its apps for existing phones have already been expanded to include many features found in other handsets, such as messaging and photo sharing through the recent purchase of Instagram.