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HTC’s new First smart phone — the first mobile to feature the newly unveiled Facebook Home interface — will only be available to UK buyers via EE’s 4G service.
Those with O2 or Vodafone, or even EE subsidiaries Orange and T-Mobile will be out of luck if they want to give HTC’s new blower a go. The 4.3-inch First will play host to Facebook’s new Android skin, which replaces normal homescreens with friends’ photos and status updates.
EE hasn’t confirmed how much it’ll be charging for the modestly specced First when it’s released in the summer, but unless the network decides to drop prices, customers could end up paying over the odds for the operator’s pricey 4G service.
EE’s cheapest tariff is a costly £31 per month on a 24-month contract, which only nets you a measly 500MB of data. If that’s how much the First costs, it could put off those who’d be interested in trying out the First’s new Facebook goodies.
The First could suffer the same fate as the HTC One SV, another mid-range HTC phone that earned itself a paltry two stars in our review, thanks to its pricey 4G tariff.
If you’re on another network, there’s every chance that the First will eventually reach rival operators, so hope does exist. Failing that, Facebook Home is going to be available on a range of (much more exciting) phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S3, Note 2 and Galaxy S4, as well as HTC’s One and One X.
Are you interested in the First? Does a Facebook-orientated operating system tickle your fancy? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.
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