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Hands-On: HTC First

Apr 4, 2013, 2:23 PM by Eric M. Zeman

The HTC First is an Android smartphone dedicated to Facebook Home. Here is a really quick look at the hardware.

source: HTC / Facebook

HTC First

The HTC First is a mid-range smartphone that focuses on Facebook. It is the first device to ship with Facebook Home, Facebook's new user interface overlay, presintalled. We covered Facebook Home separately here. This is a really quick look at the hardware.

The HTC First is a smallish Android smartphone that's made of plastic. It definitely does not offer the same quality experience that the HTC One does. The First is a mid-range phone, and you can tell. That said, it has really pleasant rounded edges on the sides and top and a smooth skin that makes it very comfortable to hold and use. The materials don't feel cheap, and the phone appears to be assembled well. It is coming in several different colors, but the unit we saw was white. It reminded me very much of EVE from Wall-E.

HTC First

The screen measure 4.3 inches and has 1280 x 720p resolution. It looks really, really nice on this device. The brightness and contrast are excellent. I was impressed with the display. The smaller screen size also helps keep the otal dimensions of the phone to a minimum. There are three capacitive buttons below the display.

The volume toggle is on the left, and is standard for a device designed by HTC. That means it is a minimalistic strip that you can barely find and offers little travel and feedback. The screen lock button is on the top. HTC did a better job with this button. It is easy to find and has nice travel and feedback. The headphone jack is also on top, and the microUSB port is on the side. There is an ejectable SIM card tray on the right edge of the phone.

The plastic back is plain and simple. The camera and flash are positioned near the top, and the HTC, Facebook, and AT&T logos are next to one another near the bottom. The device has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, and the user interface looked fluid and fast on the demo units on hand.

In all, it is a nice little phone. It's higher in quality than some devices we've seen from other Asian manufacturers (notably Huawei and HTC), but it is definitely not a high-end device.

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About the author, Eric M. Zeman:

Eric has been covering the mobile telecommunications industry for 17 years at various print and online publications. He studied at Rutgers Newark and University of Kentucky, and has a degree in writing. He likes playing guitar, attending concerts, listening to music, and driving sports cars.

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HTC Announces the HTC First, a Facebook-Centric Phone

Apr 4, 2013
HTC today announced the HTC First, a new phone that takes advantage of the new Facebook Home user interface. It runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but has Facebook Home preloaded as the user interface.

Facebook Announces Facebook Home for Android

Apr 4, 2013
Facebook today announced a new push into the mobile space with new Android-based software that exists as its own user interface overlay. The UI overlay is called Facebook Home, and can be used to replace the home screen of select Android smartphones.

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HTC First

4.3" display HD+ resolution
Snapdragon MSM8930AA processor 1 GB RAM
2,000 mAh battery
Headphone Jack (3.5mm), NFC

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Comments

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This forum is closed.

Rusty Shackleford

Apr 5, 2013, 1:20 AM

All smartphones look the same, can be move on?

Considering that every single smartphone is virtually identical to every other smartphone out there, and considering that only a fool would fail to put their smartphone into a protective device, is it really necessary to articulate the look of them? It's one thing to describe the size since that's not immediately apparent, but, lawdy, can we get real and admit that all of these phone look virtually identical? Just throw up a few pics, and talk about the specs instead.

Zpike

To that degree, all cars look the same. And I'm certain you never consider the appearance of a car when you purchase one.

ricAndroid

Apr 4, 2013, 2:44 PM

Galaxy S4 Killer???

C'mon HTC..... 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

Rich Brome

Huh? This is not HTC's flagship. It's not supposed to be. It's not designed to compete with the GS4.

The HTC One is HTC's flagship, and that stacks up well against the GS4.

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Haggard

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bofis

Apr 4, 2013, 2:48 PM

Can't wait for the targeted lock-screen ads!

So much more-useful than lock-screen widgets or shortcuts ;-)

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