Last week we found out that Facebook is finally announcing their new phone. Well the invite didn’t actually say that. But they are showing off their “new home on Android” whatever that will be. We’ve been hearing rumors and seeing leaks of a new Facebook phone built by HTC. Yes, new phone because Facebook had one before. It was the HTC ChaCha and was on AT&T, and about 5 people bought it. It was an ugly looking version of a Blackberry with a Facebook button and HTC’s Sense UI on board.
Now we’ve gotten some new information about the new HTC/Facebook smartphone – codename HTC Myst – here’s what 9to5Google found:
Sources who have seen the Facebook/HTC smartphone hardware in-person say it is reminiscent of an iPhone. It includes an iPhone-like “home button” on the bottom center, and this button is surrounded by horizontal function keys on the right and left side. These buttons are said to be capacitive. Above the keys is a display slightly larger in size to the 4-inch display found on the iPhone 5. Recent rumors have pointed to a collaborative Facebook/HTC phone featuring a 4.3-inch display.
Well I don’t think a lawsuit with Apple is going to help out HTC. Although that agreement they have might allow them to build this type of phone without getting sued for patent infringement.
Also, @evleaks published a picture of the HTC device called the “first”. It looks almost identical to the Facebook phone that was described last week. We’re expecting the image shown above to be either the first or one of the first Facebook Home Handsets. Other sources are also stating that the device appears to be the Facebook Home device that was originally seen.
This is interesting that HTC is putting together a device that looks so similar to the iPhone. One thing that I noticed appears to be missing is the speaker grill at the top. But the HTC First appears to have the power button still at the top of the device, making it hard to turn on/off your phone with one hand. When will they learn to put it on the side like Samsung, LG, and everyone else?