HTC FIRST REVIEW

Introduction

Announced alongside the Facebook Home launcher, the HTC First for AT&T is the first smartphone to feature the social network's Android add-on out of the box. Launching a dedicated "Facebook phone" isn't an unfamiliar affair for HTC - back in 2011, the Taiwanese manufacturer released the Salsa and ChaCha duo of entry-level devices.

    

HTC First official photos

Facebook Home aside, the HTC First features a spec sheet, mostly taken from last year's top shelf Android smartphones. The highlights included a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset and a sharp 4.3" 720p Super LCD display for liking your Facebook friends' online rants. Here goes the full list of talents, which the HTC First has to offer.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
• Tri-band LTE network support
• 4.3" 16M-color Super LCD capacitive touchscreen with HD resolution (720 x 1280 pixels); Gorilla glass
• Unmodified Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with Facebook Home UI preinstalled
• 1.4 GHz dual-core Krait CPU, Qualcomm MSM8930 Snapdragon 400 chipset
• 1 GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash; face detection and geotagging
• 1080p and 720p video recording @ 30fps with stereo sound
• 1.6MP front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n
• GPS with A-GPS
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and auto-brightness sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port and stereo Bluetooth v4.0
• Smart dialing, voice dialing
• DivX/XviD video support
• Superb build quality and one-hand ergonomics
• Barely visible carrier branding
• 2000mAh Li-Po battery with impressive performance

Main disadvantages

• Only 12GB of available storage and no option to expand
• Battery is not user-replaceable
• Only available on AT&T for the time being
• 5MP camera is not exactly cutting edge these days

A quick look at the HTC First's list of talents shows that the smartphone has a lot more to offer than simply featuring Facebook Home out of the box. Hardware wise, the device is as capable as just about any 2012 Android top dog, but with the added benefit of an impressively pocket-friendly form factor.

The unmodified Android experience, which the device offers, is also a pleasant surprise. It will certainly help the HTC First attract Android purists to its bandwagon.

The non-expandable memory and lack of user-replaceable battery are on top of the smartphone's list of potential niggles. The former in particular, could be a deal-breaker for many, given the ever-increasing size of today's popular apps.

The 5MP camera is arguably also a bit of a letdown, as 8MP shooters find their way even in an increasing number of affordable handsets. Our guess is that, given the social networking aura of the First, its camera was likely not a priority. After all, most, if not all, of the images produced by it are likely going to end up viewed on another mobile device, with a square aspect ratio and an effect filter applied to them.

    
HTC First live photos

As always, we will kick off the HTC First's review with an unboxing, followed by a design and build quality inspection.

Specifications

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
		HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 - for AT&T
	4G Network	LTE 700 / 1700 / 2100
	SIM	Micro-SIM
	Announced	2013, April
	Status	Available. Released 2013, April

BODY	Dimensions	126 x 65 x 8.9 mm (4.96 x 2.56 x 0.35 in)
	Weight	123.9 g (4.34 oz)

DISPLAY	Type	Super LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	720 x 1280 pixels, 4.3 inches (~342 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
		- Facebook Home UI

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	No
	Internal	16 GB, 1 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSPA+
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE
	NFC	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps
	Secondary	Yes, 1.6 MP

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8930 Snapdragon 400
	CPU	Dual-core 1.4 GHz Krait
	GPU	Adreno 305
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	TBD
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	White, Black, Red, Pale Blue
		- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - Dropbox (25 GB storage) - SNS integration - MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player - MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk - Document viewer - photo viewer/editor - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Po 2000 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 432 h
	Talk time	Up to 14 h 20 min