The product:
Look beyond Facebook Home, though, and you'll find an exceedingly basic stock Android handset with
none of HTC's characteristic attention to detail or well-crafted flair. Facebook and HTC -- and AT&T, for that matter -- have travel this road before, also with questionable results. While the First is by no means as quirky or as limited as the HTC Status -- in fact, it offers quite competent midtier features like an HD screen, dual-core processor, and passable 5-megapixel camera. Yet, the physical design also stops short of delivering a compelling experience as unique as Facebook's mobile aspirations.
At least the First is pretty comfortable to hold, and, at 5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide by 0.35 inch deep, it isn't so wide you need to have giant mitts to operate it. The soft-touch material also offers some grip, so it won't threaten to slip from your hands while you update your status or flip through your News Feed.
The First comes equipped with a 4.3-inch HD screen (a 1,280x720-pixel resolution) that supports 16 million bright, rich colors. Above the display is the 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera lens, and below it, the three capacitive navigation buttons to go back, home, and pull up the menu. I do like that HTC has stylized the home button as a circle, a design element that does actually echo the circles in Home's profile pictures.
What it offers:
Facebook fanatics -- and, weirdly, Android purists -- looking for a functional Android phone will enjoy the HTC First. Everyone else can move along.
The advantage:
As Facebook Home's debut handset, the HTC First delivers the social network's complete Android skin experience, along with Android 4.1 functionality at an affordable price. Android purists seeking a stock OS can get it by disabling Facebook Home.
The unfavorable:
Without Facebook Home, the First is a forgettable handset, from midrange camera hardware to its utilitarian design. It lacks a removable battery and microSD slot.Via
Look beyond Facebook Home, though, and you'll find an exceedingly basic stock Android handset with
At least the First is pretty comfortable to hold, and, at 5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide by 0.35 inch deep, it isn't so wide you need to have giant mitts to operate it. The soft-touch material also offers some grip, so it won't threaten to slip from your hands while you update your status or flip through your News Feed.
The First comes equipped with a 4.3-inch HD screen (a 1,280x720-pixel resolution) that supports 16 million bright, rich colors. Above the display is the 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera lens, and below it, the three capacitive navigation buttons to go back, home, and pull up the menu. I do like that HTC has stylized the home button as a circle, a design element that does actually echo the circles in Home's profile pictures.
What it offers:
Facebook fanatics -- and, weirdly, Android purists -- looking for a functional Android phone will enjoy the HTC First. Everyone else can move along.
The advantage:
As Facebook Home's debut handset, the HTC First delivers the social network's complete Android skin experience, along with Android 4.1 functionality at an affordable price. Android purists seeking a stock OS can get it by disabling Facebook Home.
The unfavorable:
Without Facebook Home, the First is a forgettable handset, from midrange camera hardware to its utilitarian design. It lacks a removable battery and microSD slot.Via
