Facebook brought a recently rumored Android overlay to life today, Facebook Home, along with the first handset to carry it, the appropriately named HTC First.
Rather than making its own handset, or forking Android to create the Facebook operating system outright, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that as a Google Play download, Home can reach the maximum number of users.
"Our community has more than 1 billion people in it," he said. "A really good phone would only get to one or 2 percent of that."
That's nice rhetoric, but the elephant in the Facebook press conference room was, "What about Apple?"
Zuck answers
Again and again, Zuckerberg highlighted the openness of the Android platform, a feature that ultimately allowed Facebook to develop the Home overlay to fit on top of the operating system. He played the PR game, but his message about why Facebook went after Android devices is clear:
"We have a great relationship with Apple, and the way you work on all these operating systems is pretty different," Zuckerberg said during a post-conference Q&A. "So Apple is a very controlled environment.
"The good news there is we have this long, good relationship with Apple. We are integrated into the operating system, we have an active dialogue to do more with them, but ultimately anything that happens with Apple is going through partnership with them.
"Now Google is aware of what we're doing, we've talked with them about this and all of that, but fundamentally Android is just a more open system, so we don't have to work directly with them in order to build an experience like this or even go deeper than what we're talking about today.
"They've designed Android from the ground up to support deep integration like this."
Why work when you have these crazy cats to hang out with?
If you're in the office now, look around you. The people you see looking at their smartphones are probably playing Temple Run.
This according to apps analytics firm Flurry which has posted some revealing stats breaking down how we use our phones. Looking at only US data, Flurry sees smartphones users spending 2 hours and 38 minutes a day on phones, with 32 percent of that time in games.
20 percent of the remaining time is spent using web browsers, and only 2 percent of the time in productivity apps. Shocked? Your boss is.
The only single app named in the data is Facebook, which accounts for a remarkable 18 percent of smartphone usage, or about 30 minutes a day for the average user. This dominates all other forms of social media which only account for 6 percent of the time in the research, as a collected figure of everything that isn't Facebook.
Blips are TechRadar's new news nuggets that you'll find percolating through the homepage - or you can see them all by hitting the blip keyword below.
It’s still too early to say whether T-Mobile’s recent change to its “ UNcarrier” approach has made a huge splash in the American cell phone service market, but it’s obvious enough that the other carriers have taken notice. It’s pretty universally known that people don’t like contracts, but what is the best way to get rid of them while still maintaining a high level of customer retention?
When asked whether they too would consider getting rid of two-year contracts, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said it was something on the table and that it would be “pretty easy” to change their current model to accommodate the new system. This doesn’t mean that Verizon is going to be dropping its contracts any time soon; it just means that they’re open to the idea. And that’s really just the safest PR answer the CEO could give. After all, it’s better to say you’re open to it and never do it than to say you’re against it and then do it anyway.
Realistically, the T-Mobile “UNcarrier” approach is still like a contract, but without the traditional contract. You’re simply paying for the phone in installments over the course of a 24-month period, so you’re still tied to Old Magenta as long as you still owe money on the phone. Of course, you could just buy those phones outright. Up here in Canada, several carriers offer a “tab” system that works in a similar way, except you’re not really paying installments; rather you are given a “free” credit with each monthly bill you pay. Again, it’s like a contract, but not really.
If you were in the position of Verizon, Sprint or AT&T, how would you handle the situation? Would it just be business as usual with the 24-month service agreements or would you propose something different like what T-Mobile has done?
Say hello to the HTC First, the first phone to highlight Facebook Home, an Android overlay newly introduced by the social network.
This is not a Facebook phone, nor is it not a Facebook phone. Confusing? Yes, but what we mean is that this is a phone built by HTC with Facebook DNA. You can turn Home off, but that sort of defeats the First's purpose.
Immediately upon turning on the First (after the obligatory Android opening), users are greeted with a log in screen to sync their Facebook accounts with the Home experience.
What Home, and by extension, the First, really boils down to are photos and content. A constant stream of images and captions merry-go-round through the home screen. The lockscreen is never the same - whenever it's turned on, a picture of your buddy skydiving, an underwater sea turtle, or the picnic you weren't invited to occupies the space.
Your lockscreen shows you images straight from Facebook
A little bubble of your profile image lives on the screen, a kind of mini-guide that when you press on it is ready to take you to app launcher (on the top), Messenger (on the left), and whatever app you used last (to the right).
Status updates are shown in a larger text to differentiate from photo captions. There's some Facebook mojo used to show the most interesting/Liked/commented-on images, with an eye to make it so content you would be compelled to interact with what's shown.
Hardware
As an actual piece of hardware, the First itself is fine enough, though definitely not a sleek, plasticized high-end handset.
Made of a rubberized material, the body is has an almost rugged feel. What is nice is that the 4.3-inch screen feels expansive, offering a canvas for users' photos to breathe. Resolution-wise we're looking at 1280 x 720.
At 125.6mm x 64.93mm x 8.96mm, it edges out the iPhone 5 in size. The actual edges of the device are softly rounded, and it weighs an appreciable 4.37 ounces.
From left: iPhone 4, iPhone 5 and the First
Compared to the iPhone 5, the screen pops in a really attractive way. We almost felt like moths being drawn to a lamp - it was hard to ignore the flow of pretty pictures.
All in all, the body feels like a carrier for what Facebook and HTC really want you to focus on - the Facebook Home experience.
Users can escape Home if they desire in Settings, though their only options are to lower the image resolution or turn Home off completely, a Facebook rep explained.
Turning Facebook Home off will essentially bring the First back to a normal Android 4.1 experience.
First with Facebook Home on and, on the right, deactivated
There is a Home icon that, if tapped, gives users the option to reactive the overlay if they like.
There's a Snapdragon 400 processor with 1.4GHz dual-core CPU inside, and we're told that battery drain of the 2000mAh juicer isn't too different than a comparable handset, though there is extra drain caused by the Home's always active capacities.
Camera functionality is an two-headed beast. Users can either snap photos through the Facebook Camera function (accessible within the app launcher in a bar along the top) or through the phone's standalone camera app.
The 5MP snapper is fine, though perhaps consumers would expect something a little stronger to pick up the pics they're about to post to Facebook.
Oddities
A few things stood out to us as peculiar. Facebook hasn't forked Android, it wants you to know, but there are definitely some aspects that are, shall we say, unique to the Facebook Home and First experience.
Something we found quite odd was that your profile pic button, floating above the bottom of the screen, doesn't actually take you to your profile when you click it. An FB rep said that you have to take the normal route to get to your page, i.e. through the Facebook app, and that's "probably something we should think about" in future iterations.
We understand that pressing on it serves as a gateway to other functions, and as a rep told us puts you at the center of the phone experience, but intuitively one would think your profile picture would take you to your profile.
Another semi-off putting element is that you have to go to the app launcher to access your phone. The focus truly is on Facebook and communicating with your social network through features like Chat Heads, essentially bubble-headed icons of friends that wobble onto your screen when they message you and allow you to keep your conversations with you wherever you are on your phone.
The back is plain indeed
Even if you launch an app, your Chat Heads will stay present wherever you like on your screen. A tap on the topmost one will let you open all conversations, while holding a bubble and swiping it down pops them off your screen. You could keep conversations going for as long or as little as you like, and the icons will appear as soon as you receive a new message.
Chat Heads work with both messages and SMS messages, so there's continuity with your text-based communication experience.
There also doesn't seem to be a way to slow the flow of pictures, unless you comment or like them (a double click will let you comment while hitting the comment icon along the bottom lets you leave a post).
While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it was jarring to look at what essentially feels like a Facebook wall paper only to have it suddenly switch. After some time this would likely be less bothersome, but initially it was a weird feeling to see something you expect to stay static move.
Early verdict
This is an HTC phone built in conjunction with Facebook to make you use Facebook on an almost constant basis. If that's attractive to you, then you'll like the First.
We hesitate to say "love" because the hardware isn't overly compelling, though it's hard to argue with a Jelly Bean handset that costs $99.99.
There are some odd elements, as noted above, that one must accept as part of the Facebook Home overlay experience. Thankfully, there's choice as to how you use Home, though your options of what stays and what goes is extremely limited. If you want to leave your social network behind while you're on vacation, at least you have that option. Of course, the flip side is you can stay pretty much in constant contact while your out of your normal surroundings as well.
We found navigating around the device took some getting used to as it didn't mesh with the usual Android UI, but since the icons are built on a tactile, spring-inspired principle of movement, eventually we got gestures like shooting our profile picture bubble up to access our apps.
Is this a successful first try at baking Facebook into an Android device? We give a reserved yes, though there are definite areas that need improvement. Maybe by the time Facebook and HTC gets to the Second (or whatever it's called), Facebook will have figured Home out.
The HTC First is available in several fetching colours
The HTC First the closest thing we'll be getting to a Facebook Phone, as it has Facebook Home preloaded.
Facebook Home is the eponymous social network's new deeply-integrated Android overlay which brings all manner of Facebook shenanigans to your phone's homescreen and notifications bar.
"It's a great opportunity to bring mobile and social together even more closely," Cho said, promising "the best Facebook experience" on the device.
The HTC First comes with Instagram pre-loaded.
HTC First release date
The HTC First US release date is April 12, but there is no UK release date as yet. It will come in red, light blue, white and black.
HTC First design and specifications
HTC says its new "hardware is thin, modern and seamless, with soft edges to draw your attention to the updates from friends and family". Inside, the smartphone runs Android 4.1 - Jelly Bean - with the new Facebook Home experience and incorporates a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with dual-core CPU and 3G/4G world and multimode LTE.
There's also a 4.3-inch glass display, while the dimensions are 125.6mm x 64.93mm x 8.96mm.
HTC First in the US
The HTC First will be available in the US for $99.99 exclusively on AT&T at first for LTE. "The HTC First will offer the best Facebook Home experience on mobile, right out of the box," said Ralph de la Vega, chief of AT&T Mobility. "Because AT&T offers the fastest 4G LTE in the nation, it's the best network for Facebook Home. And the best device for Facebook Home is the HTC First."
HTC First in the UK
The HTC First is also coming to the UK, with EE set to range the First first on its 4G network.
We're anticipating a UK price tag of about £100, but there are sure to be contract deals in the works too.
"The HTC First will be exclusively available this summer on EE's superfast 4GEE service, with details on pricing and availability to be announced in due course"
We're on the case with both the networks and HTC so we'll bring you more details on the HTC First US and UK release date and pricing as we have them.
