According to a recent New York Times report, citing unnamed Facebook employees and sources “briefed on the plans," the popular social network is looking to foray into the smartphone manufacturing arena, with a Facebook-branded handset likely to hit the markets in 2013.

Despite the fact that the NY Times report said the Facebook has refrained from either confirming on denying the smartphone claims, it has nonetheless drawn attention to the social network’s recent hiring of a few ex-Apple engineers, who worked on the iPhone and iPad, probably for seeking their help in manufacturing its own smartphone.

While reports about Facebook mulling the possibility of its own branded handset have been making rounds for quite some time round, one of the ‘inside’ sources has reported told NY Times that the site's founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was "worried” that not having a Facebook phone in the future would relegate the social network to a mere app on other mobile platforms.

Apparently, Facebook’s reported move to venture into the smartphone market is an upshot of the increasing pressure which it is facing with regard to improving the potential of mobile to make money.

Noting that Facebook’s “simple” mobile strategy underlines the belief that “every mobile device is better if it is deeply social,” a Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement to BBC: “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."