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Facebook Cancels UK Launch of HTC First

Posted by Soulskill on from the second-guessing-the-first dept.

redletterdave writes "After AT&T unceremoniously canceled the HTC First after just one month on the market, Facebook announced the first phone running the Facebook Home operating system will not be launching in the U.K., as originally planned. From Facebook: 'Following customer feedback, Facebook has decided to focus on adding new customization features to Facebook Home over the coming months. While they are working to make a better Facebook Home experience, they have recommended holding off launching the HTC First in the UK, and so we will shortly be contacting those who registered their interest with us to let them know of this decision. Rest assured, we remain committed to bringing our customers the latest mobile experiences, and we will continue to build on our strong relationship with Facebook so as to offer customers new opportunities in the future.'"

13 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. Hm.. by grub · · Score: 2, Interesting
    "While they are working to make a better Facebook Home experience"

    $ ping facebook.com
    PING facebook.com (173.252.110.27): 56 data bytes
    64 bytes from 173.252.110.27: icmp_seq=0 ttl=87 time=59.217 ms
    64 bytes from 173.252.110.27: icmp_seq=1 ttl=87 time=58.550 ms
    64 bytes from 173.252.110.27: icmp_seq=2 ttl=87 time=58.887 ms
    --- facebook.com ping statistics ---

    Try harder.

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    1. Re:Hm.. by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      You're really in that much of a hurry to tell everyone what you had for lunch?

      It's not like you're doing high frequency trading.

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  2. zuck would have gone mobile only? by gl4ss · · Score: 2, Insightful

    if he had the chance?
    he had the chance. we had mobiles back then - and facebook would have been just another blip on the mobile scene, another path nobody gives a fuck about. another booth at 3gsm.

    yes, it's a thing from the article.. and htc is fucked. they always kind of were though. there's no real reason to care about the htc first either, since you can have it on any android - and every smartphone on the market has some sort of facebook integration(which they wouldn't have if he had gone mobiles only).

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  3. Who's on HTC First? by girlinatrainingbra · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who's on HTC First? No, no, no, that's a bad joke. Leave the "who's on first?" to Abbott and Costello!

    It doesn't take a prophet to see what happens when there's no interest and no profit!

    Profits First, HTC 2nd? No, wait...

    Sales first, profits 2nd, HTC 3rd? No... wait!

    1. Mediocre Concept first
    2. Poor Execution second
    3. HTC "First" really last! Puts M$ Zune to shame in lastness!
    4. ???
    5. No Profit!!! Do not pass go! Do not collect 200 Dollar$ !!!

    1. Re:Who's on HTC First? by JustOK · · Score: 2

      I went to buy a clue, but it was actually glue, and now I'm stuck with it.

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      rewriting history since 2109
    2. Re:Who's on HTC First? by Quasimodem · · Score: 2

      Hey, I thought Robin Williams was funny even when I was too broke to buy cocaine.

  4. Hardware vs Software by scorp1us · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It looks like decent hardware. I hate to see the losses to HTC because Facebook's platform isn't ready. How about this: sell the hardware with stock Android. Make it a nexus phone.

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    1. Re:Hardware vs Software by gstoddart · · Score: 3, Interesting

      More importantly, what does the Facebook platform bring to the table beyond their existing app?

      My perception of this was to basically ensure Facebook gets even more of your personal information, since the TOS likely grants them a perpetual license to your data.

      Somehow, HTC decided to play along. Now they're the ones making a phone nobody seems interested in buying. This is kinda like Nokia pinning their company future on Windows phones -- if nobody bought them, it was Nokia left holding the bag.

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      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Hardware vs Software by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Informative

      Were HTC *that* committed?

      I have no idea how committed they were to this particular model, I didn't get the memo, but they sure as hell better commit to something which is going to work for them:

      With HTC's monthly revenues for the first four months of 2013 at under two-thirds of that for the same period in 2012, and first-quarter operating profits down by 99%, the company is struggling to cope with the growing power of South Korean rival Samsung

      Making a product which everyone has decided they don't want isn't how you succeed in the long run. That's the sign of a company in its death throws.

      If people are leaving like rats on a sinking ship, you only get so many more chances to do something which works. I can only assume this is likely to turn into a costly mistake.

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    3. Re:Hardware vs Software by gubon13 · · Score: 2

      This is kinda like Nokia pinning their company future on Windows phones -- if nobody bought them, it was Nokia left holding the bag.

      I would disagree because it's not like Nokia had many other options. They were quickly being phased out of the market, suffering massive losses, when they decided to gamble on Microsoft's phone platform. The amount of time it would have taken them to develop a new operating system and/or next-gen Symbian would have guaranteed their continuing loss of market share for at least a couple more years.

      Nokia had to gamble on either Microsoft or Google. Microsoft is the one that came to the table with a ton of cash to boost joint development of the new endeavor. At the end of the day, Microsoft had/has just as much - if not more - to lose than Nokia.

    4. Re:Hardware vs Software by tftp · · Score: 2

      it sounds like it is easy to uninstall the Facebook from the First and make it a stock Android phone

      Why would one buy a FB phone just to start hacking it? If you want a stock Android phone, there is no shortage of those; perhaps even a stock phone can be had at a better price because stock phones cannot claim some unique feature in them. The HTC First is special, and it can command a premium price. This is orthogonal to how many people want it.

  5. Lost in translation by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Funny

    Rest assured, we remain committed to bringing our customers the latest mobile experiences, ...

    Not necessarily the best mobile experiences, but certainly the latest.

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    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  6. Facebook's issue not HTC by Mr_Silver · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Unless this was some special partnership, then Facebook will have a contract with a clearly stated MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity).

    If they cannot make that commitment to purchase from HTC the amount stated then HTC will charge them to get out of the contract. This will be broken down into costs for the handsets already produced and unsold, materials already bought and some additional fee for lost revenue on the rest.

    In short, HTC will be okay (they'll even make a bit of profit, although not as much as if the phone had been a success) however it will be Facebook who will be left with one expensive bill.

    (been there and, sadly, done that)

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