HTC First

Zitat: Facebook Home and a low-price make the HTC First the ideal phone for Facebook fans on a budget.

Zitat: Pro: + First phone with Facebook Home + Instagram preinstalled + 4.3 inch display with 1280x720, 341 PPI Con: - No user replaceable battery - No microSD card slot - Unimpressive camera

Zitat: Pro: + Elegantly compact design + Bright display with wide viewing angles + Cover Feed is engaging and intuitive + Chat Heads lets you message while using other apps + Pure Android Jelly Bean under the hood Contra: - Camera a bit slow and struggles in low light - Lax default security settings - No microSD Card slot The HTC First gives Facebook fans an attractive smartphone with an immersive social experience, but the camera could be better.

Zitat: You could argue that the HTC First is in a category on its own, the first and so-far only dedicated Facebook Home device. That’s certainly how HTC and AT&T would like you to see it. However, there are plenty of ways to do social aggregation – HTC’s own BlinkFeed for instance, on the One, pulls in Facebook updates among other things – and viewed in the grander scheme of things, the First simply doesn’t feel like a $100 device. We’d certainly argue strongly in favor of spending the extra $100 upfront and going for the more refined build quality, better camera, and generally more impressive hardware and software experience of the HTC One, for instance. We also noticed that, for all the First is meant to be a great social phone, we quickly grew frustrated by its social immersion. Part of that is because we’re not fully committed to any one single service, and Facebook Home does its level best to bury others, like Twitter and Google+, beneath the surface. More critically, there’s not enough control over what gets included in Cover Feed and what doesn’t. The First is a window into your entire Facebook experience, whereas most of the time we wanted a more pared-back glimpse into the subset of people we’re particularly interested in. That could be addressed with support for Facebook’s existing Groups, and we’d not be surprised if it’s high on the company’s to-do list, but right now it’s a hit & miss affair as to whether you’ll turn on your phone and be faced with something you actually care about, from a friend you’re actually close to. Ironically, Facebook Home is perhaps the best argument for pruning your friends list that we’ve seen in some time. If the HTC First was a $99.99 device on prepay, we’d be a lot more comfortable recommending it. With a two-year agreement involved, and the relatively small step up to a device like the HTC One, which we rate so strongly, it’s not just Facebook Home’s beta-style performance that gives us pause for thought. The First is not a bad handset, but it’s a generally nondescript one, and Facebook Home is not the “killer launcher” that would make it a must-buy.