DALLAS, BELLEVUE, Wash. and MENLO PARK, Calif., April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T*, HTC and
Facebook have teamed up to develop and launch the HTC First™, the
first and only smartphone built to feature Facebook Home, which
puts your friends at the heart of your phone. Facebook Home is the
first mobile experience designed to give you your
friends' latest updates right on your home screen
and messages that
reach you no matter what you're doing.
HTC First will be available for pre-order today for $99.99 with a two-year commitment and available
exclusively in AT&T stores and online starting April 12.
To pre-order, visit www.att.com/facebookhome.
The HTC First runs on AT&T 4G LTE, the nation's fastest 4G
LTE network.** In addition, independent mobile research firm
RootMetrics® has published a special report on 4G LTE in the U.S.
which notes that AT&T wireless customers in our 4G LTE markets
that were tested by RootMetrics have access to the fastest mobile
speeds on their smartphones. AT&T also has the nation's
largest 4G network, covering 288 million people.
"The HTC First will offer the best Facebook Home experience on
mobile, right out of the box. That's why we're committed to
this phone and making it exclusive in our stores," said
Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO,
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 has a track record of providing beautiful hardware design,
and of being first-to-market with smartphone innovations," said
Peter Chou, CEO, HTC Corporation.
"The HTC First continues that track record, providing AT&T
customers with a unique home experience that puts a user's
friends and family at the center of their mobile
experience."
"Home is a completely new experience for your phone," said
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's Founder and CEO. "With Home
available right out of the box, you're getting the best quality
experience for connecting with your friends."
Facebook Home brings your News Feed to the surface, immediately
giving you the content you care about right on your home screen
when you turn on your phone without having to open an app or access
a mobile website. Just sign into your Facebook account and begin
using Home – no need for download or configuration. Facebook
Home connects you directly with your friends, whether it's their
real-time updates and newest photo uploads being streamed on your
cover feed or the ability to chat with friends without jumping in
and out of apps.
Facebook Home is built around your friends and puts them at the
center of your phone:
- Cover feed: A constant, fresh stream of photos and
updates from your newsfeed, cover feed is always present when you
wake up your phone. It lets you stay up-to-date on your
friends' latest activities in real-time, all the time. You
can swipe through to see more photos and updates, double tap to
"like" a post and comment right from cover feed. To learn more
about cover feed, check out this video.
- Notifications: Notifications from apps and friends
appear right on your home screen. It's easier to see when you
have a missed call, calendar reminder or new message. Open a
notification with a double tap or clear them away to see your Cover
Feed. To learn more about notifications, check out this video.
- Chat Heads: The mobile messenger lets you jump in and
out of conversations while you do other things, like watch a video
and browse the web. Reply right from chat heads, or move them
around if you're not ready to respond. Plus you can send and
receive texts and Facebook messages from the same spot. To learn
more about chat heads, check out this video.
- App Launcher: See your favorite apps and post
right to Facebook from the same spot. You choose what's on your app
launcher—press and hold an app then drag it
anywhere.
- Instagram: HTC First is the only phone that comes
with Instagram pre-loaded.
HTC First will be available in four colors: black, white, red
and pale blue. The hardware is thin, modern and
seamless, with soft edges to draw your attention to the
updates from friends and family on the 4.3-inch glass display.
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 so you can enjoy the richest content on AT&T's
blazing fast 4G LTE network.
For more information, or to pre-order HTC First, please visit
www.att.com/facebookhome.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by
subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T
brand and not by AT&T Inc.
**Limited 4G LTE
availability in select markets. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Claim
based on a comparison of U.S. national carriers' average 4G LTE
download speeds for Android™ and Windows smartphones and iPhone 5.
4G speeds not available everywhere.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier
communications holding company and one of the most honored
companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T
operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in
the United States and
internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that
includes the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading
provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and
cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also
offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier,
offering the most wireless phones that work in the most
countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the
AT&T U-verse® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands. The
company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one
of the most advanced in the world.
Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and
services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is
available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release
and other announcements are available at
http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at
www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT.
About HTC
Founded in 1997, HTC Corp. (HTC) is the
creator of many award-winning mobile devices and industry firsts.
By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC pushes
the boundaries of design and technology to create innovative and
personal experiences for consumers around the globe. HTC's
portfolio includes smartphones and tablets powered by the HTC
Sense® user experience. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange
(TWSE: 2498). For more information, please
visit www.htc.com.
© 2013 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. 4G
not available everywhere. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other
marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual
Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks
contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
HTC and HTC First are trademarks of HTC Corporation.
SOURCE AT&T Inc.
