Flop. That’s the sound the HTC First made when it hit the stage at Facebook’s Menlo Park headquarters.  One would expect something very exciting for a “Facebook phone” launch the day after the 40th anniversary of the cell phone.  The real issue is that no one knows a whole lot about this new phone yet, but here’s what we are hearing so far…

The blogosphere is exploding right now with eager Facebook phone followers being disappointed.  At “the big reveal” in Menlo Park, HTC CEO Peter Chou didn’t actually reveal much.  He said that the HTC First will be the “ultimate social phone” and then disappeared off stage.

Considering the phone will be available for purchase in 8 days, at best, it’s annoying that they have failed to share or even tease the specs for the highly anticipated device.  Alas, we do know that the phone will come in 4 colors: black, white, red and blue.  Yippie. 

Rather than being a Facebook phone, the HTC First seems more like a Hype phone.  Based on what info is currently available about the device, it’s likely that the majority of those signing up for a 2-year plan are doing so based on two very uninteresting facts: It’s a Facebook phone, and it’s available in blue.

Most tech junkies spend days, if not weeks and months pouring over the specs of soon to be released mobile devices.  “Ultimate social phone” just isn’t enough to get people fired up for this question mark device.  HTC is a good brand some will be willing to give the Facebook phone the benefit of the doubt. However, the majority of the social buzz today is dispassionate at best about the anticlimactic announcement.

**UPDATE**

HTC First specs

 

  • HTC first on AT&T with 4G LTE
  • 4.3-inch 720p HD display
  • Dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 series processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 5 megapixel rear, 1.6 front camera
  • Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean covered in Facebook Home
  • WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, etc.
  • $99 on April 12th
  • and more

 

One tech enthusiast referred to these as “mid end specs.”  “And more” is our favorite, because it highlights how lackluster this device is compared to the competition.  Considering you can get a GS3 for the same price with 2GB of RAM and a bigger screen, the only thing that might make the Facebook phone worth your time is if some service providers offered it as part of one of their  “free phone” promotions.