What to Expect From Facebook’s Android Phone

Facebook phone rumors have swirled for quite some time. As recently as September, though, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg quashed the idea of one, calling it “the wrong strategy for us.”

But today, at a press event at its Menlo Park headquarters, Facebook is expected to announce a new mobile phone called Facebook First. The phone will be manufactured by HTC, not by Facebook.

Some stats: The phone is expected to be a midrange smartphone with a 4.3-inch 720p display, 1GB of RAM, a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and a 5-megapixel camera. The phone will be powered by Google’s Android operating system and modified to showcase Facebook and its apps on the home screen.

Earlier this week, pictures allegedly of the phone were posted to the @evleaks Twitter account.

[Related: Infographic: Smartphone Users Tap Facebook Obsessively]

Other alleged leaked images of the operating system surfaced yesterday on the blog 9to5google.com.

“What will these ‘Facebook phones’ look like when you’re actually using one? In a word: good,” the blog post says. “From the imagery we’ve seen, Facebook Home incorporates a minimal aesthetic with a lot of focus on full-screen photography. It looks clean, well-thought-out, and will probably appeal to social networking aficionados with an appreciation for design—assuming the marketing campaign can convey the added value.”

Considering the reported specs and price point, would a Facebook-branded phone interest you? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments section below or join the conversation on the CIO.com’s Facebook page.