Is Facebook Looking To Buy Nokia? Some Say Yes.

Speculation has emerged that Facebook is considering buying Nokia, a move that could be a blow to the Apple Facebook relationship.Paul Amsellem, managing director of mobile marketing company Mobile Network Group, a major Nokia dealer in Europe, claims that Facebook could purchase Nokia within 18 months.

He claims that $10 billion would get the struggling Finish Company whose profits have been falling. He said that the social network Company could use the manufacturer’s existing expertise and partnerships to create the FacePhone

He further claimed to Tech Radar that Nokia’s relationship with Microsoft would allow them to easily create a Facebook-branded Windows Phone.

“They need to do it,” Amsellem said.

But analysts are skeptical of the proposed deal, Recon Analytics’ mobile analyst Roger Entner told TechRadar that purchasing Nokia would be an “over-the-top” move for Facebook.

Entner said that although Facebook is the most popular smartphone app, he doubts there would be much consumer interest in an official Facebook phone.

“You don’t need to buy, you know, the world’s second-largest handset manufacturer to build a cell phone,” he said. “It’s like you’re trying to get to your house, from here to there, so you buy an airline.”

Earlier this week Apple executives hinted that they are looking at a closer relationship with Facebook.

Purchasing or even partnering with Nokia (which Entner said is much more likely) “would certainly spur a better integration with Windows Phone,” he said.

“The problem is that Window Phone’s market share is still very modest. So it doesn’t really make that much of an impact.” he added.

During the week as Samsung was rolling out their new Samsung Galaxy S3 speculation was swirling that Facebook was hiring former Apple hardware engineers to design a phone internally.

Other rumors have centred aound HTC taking a stab at the Facebook phone (and calling it “Buffy”), and further back, Motorola was also said to be working on a FacePhone.