The HTC first is now being offered through AT&T for $0.99, previously available for $99. Of course, that’s the current promotion price when combined with a new two year service agreement.
As you probably already know, the HTC First is the very first Android phone running Facebook Home right out of the box. While the software remains optional for many other devices out there, Facebook Home comes preinstalled on the First.
The truth is, the HTC First is a damn good phone even though it does have a few minor quirks. For starters, it’s running Android 4.1.2, which is the latest version of Android. It’s all stock Android too aside from Home, so it’s about as close as you’ll get to a Nexus experience outside of a Nexus device. It’s also packing a 1.4GHz dual-core processor (Qualcomm), 1GB of installed RAM, 16GB of internal storage and a 5MP rear facing shooter with flash. To summarize, that’s a pretty good mid-grade device with decent specs. Of course, it operates on HSPA+ with no LTE support so that’s yet another drawback.
The biggest problem with the phone has been the price, until now. There was no way to justify spending $450 off-contract for the HTC First when you could just pick up a Nexus 4 for $100 cheaper. Now, there’s absolutely no excuse since the First is only $1 on-contract and $350.99 off.
Mark Siegel AT&T spokesman declined to comment on how well the device has been selling, but he did offer this rather vague statement:
“We do promotions like this all the time.”
A Facebook spokesperson also said, “we think this is a good move by AT&T, and have highlighted the new price on our Facebook Mobile page.”
HTC chimed in with the following:
“Promotional pricing is common in the mobile industry. HTC doesn’t comment on sales outside of our official financial announcements.”
To translate, we don’t really know whether or not the current price drop is because of poor sales or if it really is just a promotion. I’m not going to bother guessing because I really don’t care, I’ll leave that up to the rest of you in the comments.
All things considering, the HTC First is definitely a reasonable choice for some at the new price of $0.99 if you can stomach that two year contract that goes along with it. You can always just pick it up for $350 off-contract on the flipside.
Via: AllThingsD, AT&T