Remember the Facebook Phone? If you’re a tech blogger, maybe. Anyone else? Probably not. Its real name was the HTC First, and it was an Android smartphone announced as part of a press event held by Facebook in April 2013. Here’s a little more history: One of its headline features, chat heads, has now made its way into the world’s most popular mobile operating system — seven years later.
From the Cha Cha to the HTC First, the idea of a Facebook phone has been lingering for several years. Perhaps not giving up on the dream, the uber popular social media outlet is reportedly ready to take another shot at creating a smartphone and this time the company is looking for a new hardware partner. According to multiple Korean news outlets, Facebook frontman Mark Zuckerberg recently met with Samsung’s leadership to discuss a hardware partnership.
The final nail in the coffin of the Facebook phone seems to have been hammered into place as AT&T has sold the last of it’s HTC First handsets and has no plans to purchase any more, reports CNET.
AT&T had earlier denied that any plans had been made to discontinue the handset, but there had seemed little doubt about the handset’s future after the carrier dropped the price from $99 to 99 cents. Even Facebook itself went as far as telling users that the front-end could be switched off … expand full story
Following the failure of the HTC First, Facebook has reportedly moved on to its next smartphone idea (via the Korea Herald). Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg supposedly flew to South Korea this weekend to meet with several Samsung executives about working on the next “Facebook-friendly” smartphone together. According to the report, however, Samsung shot down the idea. “Samsung doesn’t want to help nurture a second Google, which is now becoming a formidable rival for Samsung in the handset business,” the source said. The company also cited the recent HTC First failure as another reason to avoid the Facebook phone market.
Facebook Home doesn’t seem to have wowed early adopters, with TNW pointing to the fact that by far the most common rating of the app in user reviews on Google Play is just one star out of five … expand full story
Facebook Home is the mobile experience that puts your friends at the heart of your phone. From the moment you turn it on, you see a steady stream of friends’ posts and photos on your home screen. Upfront notifications and quick access to your essentials mean you’ll never miss a moment. And when you download Facebook Messenger, you can keep chatting with friends when you’re using other apps.
In addition to the new HTC First, Facebook Home is currently supported on the HTC One X, One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, and eventually the HTC One and the Galaxy S4.