Facebook Cancels UK Launch of HTC First 54
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.'"
HTC first post? (Score:1)
Awesome!
Hm.. (Score:2, Interesting)
Try harder.
Re: (Score:3)
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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That was my thought also. I'm in New Zealand where I'm around 150-200ms away from most of the major US-based sites and I'm not complanining. First world problems I suppose.
zuck would have gone mobile only? (Score:3, 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).
Who's on HTC First? (Score:5, 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$ !!!
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There seem to be more and more comments like this on various discussion boards lately, just completely random incoherent disconnected words. It doesn't disturb, merely intrigues until I find out who or what is behind it.
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Re: There seem to be more and more comments like this on various discussion boards lately, just completely random incoherent disconnected words. It doesn't disturb, merely intrigues until I find out who or what is behind it.
Dude, lurk on ./. more and understand memes like "1 x, 2 y, 3 z, 4 ???, 5 profit!!! " !!! You'll have more fun in life, and you may get the jokes that keep whooshing over your head!
And srsly, who the fuck hasn't heard of Abbott & Costello's "Who's on first?" routine? Get a life. T
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I went to buy a clue, but it was actually glue, and now I'm stuck with it.
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Yep, you got the Abbot and Costello reference.
The reference for the Profit! meme though is South Park. That's where Slashdotters got it from.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO5sxLapAts [youtube.com]
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... hey, I've evidently got nothing else to do!
That was my diagnosis after reading your first post. And confirmed by a second post.
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Very definitely a fail, but it still sold 3x more units (15k v 5k) than Microsofts Kin... both reduced to 99c ;)
Hardware vs Software (Score:5, 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.
Re:Hardware vs Software (Score:4, 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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Were HTC *that* committed? I thought it was only one of their lines and that they also have both Androids and WinPhones. Of course Nokia also have multiple platforms, it was announcing their intent to vacate the others that got them into the current mess.
Re:Hardware vs Software (Score:5, Informative)
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 [guardian.co.uk] for them:
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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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.
Making new products and trying new things is the only way you can find out if they're going to succeed or fail though.
To me this whole campaign doesn't seem like a flailing around, clutching at straws affair (...like almost everything Blackberry does). I can't imagine HTC or Facebook are in that much strife - it looks more like a toe in the water to gauge reaction. So far from what (little) I've seen reaction hasn't been great, so winding it back gracefully and trying something else is probably their next
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I suspect you meant death throes [wiktionary.org]. The term "death throws" is confusing, and possibly a little bit disturbing.
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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
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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.
Is the case is branded with the Facebook logo? that would seem a good way to cut losses,
Put them on kickstarter, call them a new way of thinking about pocket sized touchscreens, and sell them blank. Mention that it could run android as well and has cellular connectivity, bet it raises a few million.
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But they are selling it with stock Android!
From the reviews I read it sounds like it is easy to uninstall the Facebook from the First and make it a stock Android phone. (Though nothing I read addressed the issue of what would happen to your stock Android each time you update the firmware.)
I think we should cut Facebook some slack. Apparently Facebook Home is not as horrible as everyone expected, and more importantly, the built it on top of a perfectly stock Android and made that stock experience easily ac
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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.
sorry guys (Score:1)
I know all three of you were really excited, but now you'll just have to go back to your Microsoft phones..
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That doesn't make sense given that Facebook Home is a purely Android thing.
Offer who new opportunities? (Score:2)
Really now, offering us new opportunities, or Mark and HTC? I'd vote for the latter......
uh, Facebook, you've been unliked. (Score:2)
don't cry, just give it up and concentrate on your other friends.
Cooked... (Score:2)
Stories like this, about things the DON'T Matter, should be ignored. Seriously, letâ(TM)s just agree that Facebook is cooked and done, and move onâ¦
But of course, /. no longer uses the "Stuff That Matters" moniker... Much of the time itâ(TM)s not even all that âoegeekyâ.
Must be fucking joking (Score:1)
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Wow, you should be careful, that could lead to the Blue Balls of Death and could seriously impair your uptime. ;-)
Lost in translation (Score:5, 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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Facebook is Dying (Score:1, Funny)
It is now official. Netcraft has confirmed: Facebook is dying
One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Facebook community when IDC confirmed that Facebook market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that Facebook has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Facebook is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by fa
LMAO (Score:2)
Actually, UK canceled WANTING HTC First.
Facebook's issue not HTC (Score:4, 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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HTC's been going through a rough time lately. While they're not left holding the bill for unsold devices, they may have made strategic decisions about their next year's handset releases that assumed they'd have the HTC One on sale and doing well (such as cancelling low/mid-range handsets in their own portfolio).