It is amazing! Facebook phone could be revealed this Thursday

Rumors and speculation have cropped up perennially about whether the world's largest social network, Facebook, would ever take a crack at the mobile phone industry. But with representatives at the company's Menlo Park HQ remaining quiet and adamant denials from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook phone seemed to be a piece of wishful vaporware.
That is, until a seemingly innocuous invitation for the company's latest event hinted that there may be more to the talk than previously thought.

The single sentence, "Come See Our New Home on Android," has led various media outlets to jump at the possibility of a forthcoming Facebook phone. And some publications, including TechCrunch and The New York Times, have already reported that the event will be focused on unveiling Facebook's partnership with HTC to produce a special, Facebook-influenced OS in a phone.
Rumors of a partnership between HTC and Facebook have been bubbling up since All Things D reported that the companies were working together on a full-scale Facebook phone back in 2011. Unsurprisingly, Facebook representatives and spokespeople have remained mum throughout, but that hasn't stopped the rumors from escalating to a fever pitch since the invite, with "sources" spilling out all kinds of details on the new device.
It's important to note that these rumors should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Like all the buzz before a phone release (if this announcement is a phone release after all), some things may be twisted, amped and hyped just to raise enthusiasm. But that doesn't stop the dream, does it?

What's Inside That Facebook Phone?

According to TechCrunch, the Facebook Phone is a modified HTC device that features an application layer over Android, so those expecting a fully-written and Facebook-heavy OS may feel a little let down in its lack of intense detail. Still, the layer should provide more robust integration with the main features of Facebook, including the home feed and messenger, as well as easy social sharing throughout the phone.
In addition to a branded OS layer, a source cited in the Times piece indicated that there will also be plenty of room for standalone, Facebook-branded apps — and that the release of popular apps like Facebook's Poke have been training grounds to prove what exactly would be successful on a mobile platform. Combine that with a possibility of finally taking advantage of a camera integration with Instagram, and Facebook's most recent acquisitions and developments seem to have a clearer home.
News on the phone's hardware capabilities have been murky at best, but The Guardian says that the phone will look similar to a black iPhone, but with a bigger 4.3 inch display. The features are average at best, with a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.6 megapixel front facing camera for video calls, and a 16 gigabytes of storage.
No words of substance have coalesced around the phone's processing power, carriers, or special "wow" features, although some loose talk has been geared at possible 4G or VoIP capabilities and maybe even the return of the physical Facebook button seen on HTC and Facebook's previous collaborations, the ChaCha and the Salsa.
Facebook is definitely showing a laser-lock on the mobile game -- and the success of a phone may up the ante for the social network. April 4th should be a very interesting day, indeed!
What do you think of the rumors surrounding the Facebook phone? Let us know in the comments.