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AT&T to Discontinue 'Facebook Phone' HTC First?
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It's a somewhat obivious conclusion to come to a year or even two ago, just as it is now.
Can't exactly say I'm surprised.
The Microsoft Kin failed, the HTC ChaCha and Salsa failed, and now this has failed too. How many more of these pieces of crap will they churn out before they realise it's a terrible idea, you reckon?
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What would Facebook stores sell? Virtual chickens?
The Microsoft Kin failed, the HTC ChaCha and Salsa failed, and now this has failed too. How many more of these pieces of crap will they churn out before they realise it's a terrible idea, you reckon?
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What would Facebook stores sell? Virtual chickens?
Facebook is dying breed nowadays. The cool factor has been wearing off since about 2 years ago.
Recent surveys stated only "old people" use facebook.
Twitter and simple messaging services picking up the trail between youngsters.
So be prepared for the worst, it's been good riddance. Funny though because the FB IPO is a milestone if declining performance.
Recent surveys stated only "old people" use facebook.
Twitter and simple messaging services picking up the trail between youngsters.
So be prepared for the worst, it's been good riddance. Funny though because the FB IPO is a milestone if declining performance.
Just picked one up as a spare
I just picked one(white model) of these up on Ebay last week for $225 (off contract). I think its a nice little phone actually, with exception of the camera.
I work heavily with mobile devices and wanted to have a near stock android phone to play with and test apps and MDM solutions. For anyone considering a second (non-iPhone) I would suggest the HTC First. Check out eBay, sounds like prices will only drop.
The main reason I like it is that its very similar to the iPhone 5. The shape, size and button layouts are all the same. Only big difference is that the headphone jack is on the top like with old iPhones. It has a great screen and very good performance for an Android phone.
Hell, I even liked this phone better than the HTC One that I had for less than a week. It was nice but way too big of a device. I'm a big guy at 6'6" but I've realized that phones over 4.3 inches are just annoyingly big. You have to re-grip the phone every time you want to turn the damn thing on. I'm sure its because I've been using the iPhone for more than 5 years, but I think Apple is the only company makes decent feeling buttons on their devices.
I think the problem with selling this phone was all based on marketing. They marketed to heavily with the FaceBook brand, so anyone who considered the phone would immediately dismiss it if they didn't like or rarely used Facebook. When under the hood its a nice stock android phone with a subpar camera.
Anyway, sad to see this news, because it most likely means I'll never get an updated version of Android from AT&T.
I just picked one(white model) of these up on Ebay last week for $225 (off contract). I think its a nice little phone actually, with exception of the camera.
I work heavily with mobile devices and wanted to have a near stock android phone to play with and test apps and MDM solutions. For anyone considering a second (non-iPhone) I would suggest the HTC First. Check out eBay, sounds like prices will only drop.
The main reason I like it is that its very similar to the iPhone 5. The shape, size and button layouts are all the same. Only big difference is that the headphone jack is on the top like with old iPhones. It has a great screen and very good performance for an Android phone.
Hell, I even liked this phone better than the HTC One that I had for less than a week. It was nice but way too big of a device. I'm a big guy at 6'6" but I've realized that phones over 4.3 inches are just annoyingly big. You have to re-grip the phone every time you want to turn the damn thing on. I'm sure its because I've been using the iPhone for more than 5 years, but I think Apple is the only company makes decent feeling buttons on their devices.
I think the problem with selling this phone was all based on marketing. They marketed to heavily with the FaceBook brand, so anyone who considered the phone would immediately dismiss it if they didn't like or rarely used Facebook. When under the hood its a nice stock android phone with a subpar camera.
Anyway, sad to see this news, because it most likely means I'll never get an updated version of Android from AT&T.
Actually HTC is pretty good with updates, it's Verizon that's a PITA.
You can also thank them for not carrying the HTC One, but rest assure that they will eventually release their own droid branded version of the One that most likely won't get supported either.
Dear Silicon Valley,
No one wants a SpyPhone.
The boiling of a billion frogs and their willingness to trade off privacy will end, albeit slowly, but soon enough to destroy your hopes of building a company that's built to last. You're chasing a fashion trend, nothing more.
Love,
Your fellow humans
No one wants a SpyPhone.
The boiling of a billion frogs and their willingness to trade off privacy will end, albeit slowly, but soon enough to destroy your hopes of building a company that's built to last. You're chasing a fashion trend, nothing more.
Love,
Your fellow humans
QFT. THIS A THOUSAND TIMES OVER!!!!
I can't believe they haven't learned their lesson from losing their marketshare so wildly. Oh, and the HTC Cha Cha (prior facebook phone).
I doubt that piece of crap will ever see anything more than possibly 1 security update.
Very sensible idea. If you were giving consumers what they wanted, an invisible integrated social network would be awesome - and enough to bring me back to Facebook after having dumped it almost 2 years back.
But Facebook arent in the business of giving users what they want, or a better experience. They are in the business of making money. Its harder to make money with this model so, sadly, it will never happen.
The other factor is trust - I do not trust Facebook with my personal data, so I would still have reservations with an integrated model.
I would go further and say people dont love using it - they use it because there is no viable alternative for many people. If their social network isnt on any other social network service, they stick with facebook. They may hate parts of it and hate what it stands for, but still use it.
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Its a good point you make - but I would still feel a little strange using it - there would be some doubt in the back of my mind that Zuckberg had put some hollywood-esque tracking device in the phone that couldnt be disabled and was sitting in front of a screen following me around, clasping his hands together, saying good.. good..
The funny thing is this thing other than facebook home had no skinning at all. You could totally turn off facebook home with about 3 taps. Menu, settings, turn off facebook home.
Hahahaha, no. I don't like them at all. They get in the way. Here's an idea, maybe include an option to have them or not. What ever happened to the days of options allowing you to customize your experience.
One of the reasons why Verizon is hesitant to release Windows phones. It went downhill quickly after that debacle. Almost 6 months to get a Nokia flagship after the Nokia 920 was released. And for those that don't remember the MS Kin was a huge pile of crap. I would pick the HTC First any time of the day over it.
And now they do have an excellent phone in the ONE, but people may be hesitant to buy it due to moves like this. And cancelling the phone after one month had to cost them money.
I could not agree more. I have never used it, nor do I intend to.
However it's so incredibly popular that most all of my friends, as well as their wives or girlfriends do. Yet that said they are finally beginning to get tired of it. They are waking up to the downsides which are many. One of the worst is the depth and breadth of tracking they do. Not to mention the time that is largely wasted.
None of us like to be tracked, but accept some of it due to the fact it's nearly inescapable, unless one goes to great lengths. Even then it's difficult to avoid. If the "TOS" and "Privacy Statements" could be believed and trusted, that would be one thing, and even then some are getting quite nefarious.
But here in the USA there's simply too much money to be made off of our personal data.
A thrill a minute
And what are the downsides of Facebook, apart from privacy? Just curious.