The smartphone is expected to hit shelves in Q2 2013

Feb 5, 2013 07:15 GMT  ·  By

There have been lots of rumors in the last couple of months suggesting Facebook will launch its own phone powered by Google’s Android platform.

Even though there are no official statements regarding the release of such a device, it looks like there’s a new leak that indicates the Facebook Phone is real and we’re closer to its launch than we might think.

However, until Facebook comes forward with an official announcement there’s no telling whether or not they will go through with this project, so we should take the following with a grain of salt.

The folks over at Techkiddy cite HTC insider LlabTooFeR, source of many important leaks, who recently published what appear to be the main specs of the Facebook Phone.

Codenamed MYST_UL (also known as Opera_UL), the smartphone is said to come equipped with a 1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM9830 Snapdragon S4 Play processor and 1GB of RAM.

On the inside, the Facebook Phone will pack around 16GB of storage, but there is no info on the existence of a microSD card slot for memory expansion, so for now we must assume it will not come with one.

Furthermore, the device will sport a 5-megapixel rear photo snapper with autofocus, LED flash and video recording, as well as a secondary 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera for video calls.

Last but not least, the Facebook Phone will feature a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display with HD (720 x 1280 pixels) resolution. No word on Corning Gorilla Glass coating for the moment.

Software-wise, the handset will ship with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box. It will also feature a dedicated Facebook button. Other highlights of the phone include Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP support, GPS with A-GPS support and Wi-Fi connectivity.

According to the latest hearsay, HTC MYST_UL is expected to hit shelves sometime in Q2 2013 in the United States. The smartphone will be available via AT&T, but there are no details on pricing options yet so stay tuned for more updates on the matter.