Facebook Inc. (FB) is working with HTC Corp. (2498.TW) to build a smartphone for release as early as the middle of next year, Bloomberg News reported Thursday on its website, citing unnamed people with knowledge of the matter. The people said Facebook is also developing a modified operating system for the device and has assembled a team of former Apple Inc. (AAPL) programmers to improve its iPhone application, the report said. It said that Sally Julien, a spokeswoman for HTC, declined to comment, and Facebook said in a statement, "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."
