AT&T CEO compares Facebook's HTC First to Apple's failed ROKR experiment

AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega has told CNET that the carrier has sold all of its HTC First Facebook phones. While he declined to say exactly how many phones AT&T has sold, our sources revealed the phone was "disastrous" for HTC, and plans for a UK launch were scrapped last month. In response to poor sales, AT&T dropped the price of the First from $99 to $0.99, and according to de la Vega, the carrier has now cleared its inventory — the Facebook phone experiment is over.

WILL FACEBOOK GO IT ALONE LIKE APPLE?

Facebook's first foray into smartphones may not be for nothing. CNET quotes de la Vega comparing the HTC First to Motorola's "iTunes phone," the ROKR. Announced in September 2005, 16 months before Apple announced the iPhone, the ROKR is remembered by most as a tepid product that led the way for future success. Following an unsuccessful launch, Steve Jobs famously told his iPod team that he was "sick of dealing with these stupid companies like Motorola... Let's do it ourselves." Although the HTC First doesn't seem likely to go on sale again, Facebook will continue to offer its Home launcher for other Android phones, and appears focused on improving the experience before considering a return with another Facebook-focused smartphone.

Just as AT&T was the only carrier to sell the HTC First, it was also the sole US carrier to sell the original ROKR. De la Vega believes his company's early faith in Apple helped it get "the inside track" on the iPhone. "We have a great relationship with Apple just like we have a great relationship with Facebook," de la Vega says, "we look forward to working with them to make Home better."

No Home for the HTC First anywhere, it appears

With the release of the ‘Facebook Phone’ postponed, Chris Donkin reckons the social networking site should stick to what it does best

It was no great shock to see the HTC First, AKA the ‘Facebook Phone’, being pulled by EE in the UK given the lukewarm reception it received in the US.

As soon as carrier AT&T announced it was dropping the price to less than a dollar, the proverbial vultures were circling over HTC HQ, with the internet awash with rumours the US network was going to pull the device completely.

The key selling point – in fact the only selling point anyone mentioned at the handset’s announcement – was the fact it came with Facebook’s new interface Home built in.

Facebook Home was – and still is – available on a handful of high-end devices but the interface’s ‘flagship’ was always meant to be the First.

As with the handset Home has been panned, with very few positive comments on the Google Play Store and an underwhelming overall rating of two and a half stars out of five – compared to four and a half for Facebook Messenger.

To someone who has had a play with Home on the Galaxy S III the reaction came as no surprise. I got the distinct impression this was the social network taking over the handset completely and wondered if that’s what people really wanted.

The app sits above the Android system, bombarding you with Facebook updates from ‘friends’ and anyone else on your Facebook news feed even while the phone lock screen is on.

In what felt like quite an intrusive feature, if someone sends you a Facebook message, an image of their head appears above whatever you are doing alerting you to the fact.

Staff at the Home/HTC First launch were enthusiastically saying this was an immersive social experience, but it just felt a little too much and, though they wouldn’t admit it, there must be a detrimental effect to battery life constantly downloading everything on your newsfeed.

Taking on Home and making it central to the handset was always a risk for HTC – especially when you consider it has been burned before by the HTC ChaCha and Salsa which bombed on release in 2011.

Perhaps it’s time Facebook stuck to what it knows best – although given its recent history, it may no longer have a choice.

We suspect Twitter won’t be making the same moves any time soon.

First alleged iOS 7 controller revealed in leaked image

Kotaku has obtained an image of what it claims is the first "Made For iPhone" controller. Purportedly made by Logitech, the controller looks similar to the guidance images Apple released when it detailed the new iOS 7 controller API. It features what appears to be a circular D-pad, four action buttons, and a pause key. The guidance images also called for either two or four shoulder buttons to be included, but it's difficult to see from Kotaku's blurry image if the controller has any shoulder buttons at all, let alone how many.

Logitech's controller is likely to be one of many to launch at around the same time as iOS 7. Third-party controllers have been around for iOS devices for a long time, but their success has always been limited by the small selection of supported games. With the launch of iOS 7, expect manufacturers to refresh their products to support the game controller API in the hope of being certified by Apple. iFrogz, which announced its Caliber Advantage controller back in January, has already confirmed that its product will support the new API.