Report: Android-Based Facebook Phone in the Works

Be warned: In 2012, your Facebook friend activity ticker could go insane -- that is, if Facebook is indeed working on an actual "Facebook phone," as reported Monday by AllThingsD. According to AllThingsD sources, Facebook is working with Taiwanese phone manufacturer HTC on the purported phone, which would run "on a modified version of Android" that Facebook has "tweaked heavily" to integrate its social media platform with the device. AllThingsD says the project -- code named "Buffy" -- will include HTML5 support for applications, a move long espoused by Facebook CTO Bret Taylor as the future of mobile development for the company. Facebook has long denied working on any official Facebook phone hardware, instead stressing close ties between its platform and existing device operators and manufacturers.