HTC First Facebook dedicated smartphone

Few weeks of rumors and speculations and here we have - new HTC device, called HTC First and created together with (and for!) Facebook. Its surely not a flagship model, but also not a low-end device.

Actually it has quite nice specifications:

• Platform: Android 4.1
• Processor: Qualcomm® MSM8930AA 1.4Ghz, dual-core
• Memory: 16 GB, 1 GB RAM
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900/2100, HSDPA 21/5.76, LTE 4/17
• Display: 4.3-inch, HD 720p
• Battery: 2000mAh (non-removable)
• Main camera: 5 MP camera with auto focus, LED flash, BSI sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 28mm lens, 1080p video recording
• Front camera: 1.6 MP camera
• Dimensions: 4.96 x 2.56 x 0.35 (in) (LxWxT)
• Weight: 4.37 oz

What is special about this device, is very deep Facebook integration. It has its own Facebook launcher instead of HTC Sense launcher. What else?

• 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 youre 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.

Personally, Im very curious how this device will work with its custom launcher and what will be customers judgement. I think it has a huge potential. The idea of new custom launcher is more then interesting. Lets take a quick pick how it looks like:

To me, it seems to be very simplified version of Android launcher. It might be a great choice for users who are not expecting their phone to be multimedia all-in-one device, but they want to easily stay in touch with their friends using the most popular social channel. There is also Instagram pre-installed, so sharing your great moments captured with 5 MP back camera will be easy as well. Additionally, it is very likely that the overall system performance in HTC First will be very good. Qualcomm 1.4 GHz dual-core CPU in pair with 1GB of RAM memory will probably bring you smooth user interface experience, considering the fact that device doesnt have pretty heavy HTC Sense on board. So, do you think it is a device for you?

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HTC battery bank short review

Lately Ive been using one of the best phone accessory Ive ever had. And the funny part is, I didnt suspect it to be that great. But lets start from the beginning!

Full name of that red & black little thing is "HTC External Battery Bank for all Micro USB Handsets".

What is so great about it? In simple words - its small and can save your butt in many situations. The capacity of 6000 mAh is enough for full two charges. What is more - due to dual charging port - USB port and micro USB port - its compatible with most new smartphones.

Its quite small (9,7 x 4,2 x 2,2) so you can take with you everywhere. Not really useful when you are in the car (better to use car charger) but quite handy in the train, bus, boring lecture or long day trip outside the city.

At the top youll find a button. Once pressed, the lights in front of the battery bank will indicate how much power left inside. Very nice!

As I wrote before, the size is great, but as most of you probably think - things can always get smaller! I dont know if its possible to make such battery bank smaller (at least now) but the current size should not be an issue. If you have enough space to carry 4-inch screen device or bigger, then you surely will find extra space for this external battery bank.

When battery bank is discharged, simply plug it to any device with USB port (can be notebook) or regular charger. It will take few hours to full charge, but afterwards its ready to be your lifelong companion!

Described battery bank comes with a micro USB cable with a length of 15cm. What I really miss here is some kind of holder for that cable integrated with the battery bank. Some simple plastic holdfast would be really great and wont take much space. HTC, maybe something worth to consider?

Reviewed subject was delivered by HTC.

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How To recalibrate battery life on HTC devices

This method is an official one, recommended by the HTC Technical Support Team. Finally we have some alternative to the old myth related with re-calibrating the battery by removing the batterystats.bin file from /data/system location, as it has no impact on the battery life.

So if youre having some problems with battery life, for example it rapidly or erratically discharges (the battery indicator says 18% left but then suddenly, 5 seconds later your device is OFF) this procedure should help, as it clears all battery stats, coordinates and normalizes charging. At least HTC Technical Support says that :)

The procedure is simple:

1. Make sure that Fastboot option is disabled in Power settings.
2. Turn off your phone.
3. Plug phone into HTC charger and charge for two minutes or more.
4. While charging, hold down volume-up + volume-down + power button and continue holding. Phone will turn on and off repeatedly every 15 seconds or so while continuing to hold all three buttons.
5. Keep this going for 2 minutes, then release all buttons when phone is ON.
6. Now, let phone charge fully normally (with phone either on or off) and battery level reporting, charging and battery life should be normalized.

So... have you tried it? Did it help? Let me know!

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