While the whole Android ecosystem is breeding on large-screen tablets and smartphone devices, HTC, on the contrary, has decided to break the tradition and has surprised all its foes by moving to a smaller form factor. Better known as the new “Facebook phone,” HTC has recently unveiled its new mid-size Android phone – HTC First – that is as compelling as its predecessor, HTC One, the towering flagship of the company that earned great remarks both from its fans as well as critics. Though HTC First is the modest new offering when compared to its predecessor, it is pretty clear that with this phone HTC is not joining the specs race, rather it wants to be a smartphone that will appeal to all the Facebook fanatics.
So, while HTC is busy marketing its mid-size offering through its ‘Facebook Home’ feature, iYogi team decided to give you a complete and all-inclusive review of this powerful smartphone that is going to change the way we look at technology enhancements.
A well-crafted smartphone
The First has a number of things that many Android phone users have been long waiting for. But its biggest accomplishment is its small size. Rounded at sides and corners, the phone comfortably nestles in your hand, and is thus a pleasure to hold. Made up of polycarbonate body, the handset measures 126 x 65 x 8.9 mm in size and bears a striking resemblance to your older iPhone. However, unlike iPhone’s glossy finish, the First is built out of matte plastic that is more appealing to your eyes.
The layout is also pretty similar to the iPhone, with power button on top, volume on the left, headphone jack on top left, and camera at the back, on the upper-left size. It also features three unusual buttons at the bottom that are designed to reach Home, open the menu options, and go back to the previous search option. Simply double-tap the home button for multitasking and press it long to reach Google Now.
Design-wise, HTC First is a neat offering that is comfortable to hold and is a pleasure to carry around.
Powerful and captivating screen
HTC will surely surprise you with its powerful screen capacity and great display. The 4.3 inch, 720p LCD display is capable of producing crisp colors and superb viewing angles that you can never expect from a mid-size phone. Auto-brightness works perfectly and things look bright and clear without putting much strain on your eyes.
Decent performance and hardware specs
Built on Qualcomm’s new 8930AA Snapdragon 400 processor, with dual-core chip clocked at 1.4GHz, the First is extremely snappy, and even with only 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, it just happily takes any task thrown at it. The overall hardware of this phone is just fine; though it is not a phone that has latest and the greatest processor, considering the price at which the phone is being offered, it runs efficiently, if not speedily.
The apps open up quickly and the phone’s scrolling performance is also pretty decent. The battery is surprisingly efficient, thanks to its powerful processor and smaller-than-usual screen size. Powered by 2,000 mAh battery, the First can easily handle one day of regular usage.
Filthy camera
Probably the only place where HTC has left us disappointing is its relatively low-powered 5MP camera that just captures passable shots in the day light. Though the image quality is not bad, considering it is just a 5MP camera, it is definitely one-step behind the smartphone’s other capabilities. Though there are a lot of artifacts and sharpness that need rework, the color reproduction is accurate. But things are different in dim-light scenarios. When it comes to using the snapper in the night, it completely falls down your expected standards. The First’s camera makes you feel like a throwback to an earlier age when smartphone cameras were useless in the dark.
The video quality, on the other hand, is smooth and without any jerkiness. The audio quality depends on the distance from which the video is being shot.
The stock Android
HTC First is the first smartphone that’s shipping in with the all-new Facebook Home software running on a traditional Android phone skin. After a long wait, finally we have a stock Android 4.1.2 phone that is capable enough of running on an LTE network and is completely unpolluted from apps from both AT&T and HTC.
Other than this, the First also hosts two intriguing features – the visual voicemail and automatic connectivity to AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots. Like Facebook Home, both of these features can be completely disabled to let you enjoy the clean version of Android.
An all-in-all Facebook phone
The biggest sales pitch for this smartphone is obviously its ability to connect you to your Facebook connections through Facebook Home, a customized launcher that turns your Android smartphone screen into a Facebook home page. It basically consists of three elements – the Facebook Home Cover Feed, the Chat Heads, and the App Launcher.
Facebook Home collapses your lock screen as well as your homescreen into one, turning it into your Facebook News Feed. It’s a new change that feels quite and natural on HTC First.
To help you continue your conversations either on Facebook or on SMS, a functionality called as ‘Chats Head’ has been added on your Facebook Home. It acts as a one-stop destination for all your texts as well as Facebook messages.
The radically simple ‘App Launcher’ has access to all other apps in your phone. You can get complete access to all your apps by just swiping to the right. Another great new feature that isn’t available on any other phone, but HTC First, is its complete integration with your notifications. All your notifications stack up on your homescreen and you can swipe them individually or as a group.
What makes it different?
There are two reasons why you will love HTC First. One, its flagship for containing Facebook Home, a feature that you can get on limited number of devices, including Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy S 4, HTC One, One X, and One X+, but HTC First is the only phone that will give you out-of-the-box experience with Facebook Home.
Two, it is one of the few devices that offer stock Android experience. This means that there is no additional OEM dazzle. Once the Facebook Home is disabled, all you get is a clear Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean version that is rarely heard of. Thus, stock Android is a huge perk if you are looking for an exclusive Android experience.
On top of this, the First dons a captivating screen, a powerful processor, a neat display, and a decent battery life that puts this phone well above other mid-range offerings that fall too short of specs that they intend to offer.
What needs to be changed?
At a price range of $99, HTC First offers all the specifications that are more than acceptable. However, its camera is definitely something that needs huge improvements. A plain old-fashioned 5 megapixel camera with underserved image capturing ability is a big ‘no,’ especially when you want to market this phone to people who want to stay active on Facebook 27 x 7.
The final verdict
HTC first is a pretty decent offering for mid-range phone buyers who want the power of both phone as well as social media connectivity right at their finger tips. The phone will definitely impress the mass with Facebook thrown on top of everything else. The First is incredible, with its ability to handle everything that comes its way. Though the camera needs some improvement, but given the price at which HTC is marketing its phone ($99), it is a great alternative to all those high-end smartphones that put a dent in your pocket. So, though First cannot rank itself in ‘premium’ smartphones, it still holds a reputation of counting itself in classic handsets that prove to be decent offering for a budget user.
