Facebook and Nokia are reportedly in negotiations to forge a partnership that would embed elements of the social networking service into the handset giant's devices.
The Wall Street Journal reports the two companies have been in discussions for months, but it remains unclear whether or not a deal will reach fruition: according to sources familiar with the talks, Nokia is uncertain if it wants to team with an established web force like Facebook or if it would rather build its own mobile social network from scratch. No financial terms are unknown.
So far, the firms have discussed several collaboration models, including integrating Facebook contact information with the phone's address book to enable users to determine the presence and availability of their friends. A potential sticking point of the talks is exactly how much information about Nokia's customers will Facebook have access to‾
Sources told the Journal Nokia doesn't want any services it runs as part of the deal to provide Facebook with the means to compile consumer data such web browsing patterns or purchasing habits.
The Journal notes Facebook is also working with Palm and in discussion with Motorola.