HTC, AT&T and Facebook announce the HTC First, preloaded with Facebook Home
HTC and AT&T have announced the HTC First, the first phone that comes preloaded with the new Facebook Home. Facebook unveiled Home yesterday as a new family of apps that works as a home and lock screen on Android.
The HTC First is the ultimate social phone,”HTC’s Peter Chou said during the launch. The new phone features LTE connectivity and a 4.3-inch display. It is powered by a Qualcomm dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor and Android Jelly Bean 4.1, and comes in black, white, red and pale blue.
Facebook Home’s family of apps enables users to flip through stories, tap on content to Like it, and more. All the interactions are apparently “smooth,” with the feel of system software and not just a third-party app.
It offers several features, including new notification protocols, Cover Feeds, Chat Heads, and an App Launcher:
Cover feed: With Home, people can immediately access your app content from their News Feed once they turn on their phone. We also make it easy for people to engage with your content as they can simply double tap to like a post and comment right from cover feed. At launch, Open Graph stories with user generated photos will be supported in cover feed.
Notifications: People will receive bigger, bolder notifications from you right on their phone home screen. We’ve made improvements to notifications to make them more engaging and easier for people to interact with. It’s never been easier to reengage with people using your app.
Chat heads: We’ve optimized messaging so that people can seamlessly receive messages in a non-intrusive fashion while they’re using your apps. This will help improve engagement as it lets people jump in and out of conversations without ever having to leave your app.
App launcher: Home’s launcher makes it easy for people to get to your apps quickly. People choose what’s on their app launcher and it’s simple for them to get your app in there.
The HTC First goes on sale April 12th for $99.99.
Credit: TNW
