Last week at Facebook headquarters, CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg officially announced Facebook Home, a small suite of applications that users can install on their Android devices to essentially “Facebook-ize” their phones. The event came after rumors that the social networking giant was finally pulling the trigger on an official handset. Facebook didn't announce a Facebook phone, but it did reveal a partnership with HTC to produce a mid-range handset that would come pre-installed with Facebook Home.

Specs at a glance: HTC First Screen 1280×720 4.3-inch (341 ppi) glass display OS Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean CPU Dual-core 1.4GHZ Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 RAM 1GB GPU Qualcomm Adreno 305 Storage 16GB, no expansion slot Networking 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC Ports Micro-USB, headphones Camera 5.0MP rear camera, 1.6MP front camera Size 4.96" × 2.56" × 0.35" Weight 4.37 oz Battery 2,000 mAh Starting price $99 with a two-year contract. Sensor Ambient light, GPS Other perks Facebook Home

Facebook intended to introduce a new way to make the smartphone experience "people-centric." Zuckerberg made the case that most mobile operating systems keep social interaction sequestered to several specific applications, forcing them to exist independent of each other and limiting them to particular lanes. But with an app like Facebook Home installed, the social network becomes the core of the mobile operating system. Notifications and status updates from friends or family become a priority rather than a grid of icons screaming for attention with loud, red-numbered badges.

To be clear, the HTC First is a nice looking phone, but it's not a “Facebook phone.” At its core, the First is an Android phone with a Facebook overlay. Once Facebook Home is officially released on April 12 in the Google Play store, five supported devices will all have the same Facebook Home functionality. The HTC First is its own product, which will also arrive at AT&T on April 12, but we’re going to review both the application and the handset as one entity because they’re sold as a package. Think of it as getting two reviews for the price of one.

HTC First

The HTC First is a smaller handset that’s not like the devices recently making headlines—phones like the HTC One, LG Optimus G Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S4, for instance. This is meant for a different subset of users. Unlike the aforementioned devices, the HTC First is only $100 with a two-year contract. Although mid-range phones are often quietly announced, this handset is seeing more fanfare because of its out-of-the-box features and native Facebook Home integration.

It's important to note that this isn't even the first "Facebook phone" that HTC has produced. Back in 2011, Facebook and HTC partnered up to release the HTC ChaCha and Salsa, two Android handsets with convenient Facebook buttons located right on the chassis. But a phone can’t be all about social networking—it should be able to stream video, keep a phone call going, and multitask, all the while feeding into its user’s social networking addiction.

Body, insides, and display

When I first held the phone in my hand, it immediately brought back flashbacks of my HTC Incredible from eons ago. The First is a very stylish, well-built phone, once again proving that HTC has a penchant for design. At 4.96 × 2.56 × 0.35 inches, the First is about the size of the iPhone 5, but as mentioned, it's smaller than some of the more popular phones on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S III. It features a micro-USB charging port on the right-hand side, as well as a pinhole for the micro-SIM slot. The First also has a volume rocker on the left-hand side, a power button and headphone jack on top, and three navigational buttons below the display.

I can see the placement of the micro-USB port becoming a bit of an issue in situations where the phone is charging and it needs to be laid horizontally or placed in a car holster for navigation (this is the same issue I had with my Incredible way back when). It’s also awkward trying to type with both hands when the phone is plugged in.

Inside its black matte chassis, the phone is equipped with a dual-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor—which was part of the chipmaker’s CES announcement lineup earlier this year—as well as a 2,000 mAh battery pack, a 5MP rear-facing camera, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. There is no expansion slot, nor is there a way to pop open the back cover and replace the battery. The HTC First is HSPA+ and LTE 850/1900 MHz compatible.

The handset is also equipped with a 720p, 4.3-inch display with 341 pixels per inch—that’s just a bit bigger than the iPhone 5’s display, but it's smaller than Samsung’s Galaxy S III. Since I've become so used to bigger displays in the last year, it’s been difficult to transition back to a smaller screen during the few days that I used the HTC First. The phone didn't necessarily feel antiquated because of its size, but it certainly felt different, even when I'd switch between it and my everyday phone (the Galaxy S III).

The screen size wasn't much of an issue except when reading e-books and text-heavy webpages. Reading a website on the 4.3-inch screen strained my eyes because they've gotten used to consuming content on bigger screens. I use a 4.8-inch display on a daily basis and the small numerical difference is apparent. This experience sometimes translates over to other applications too, especially with the original Facebook application (separate from Home). Fortunately, there is an option in the Settings menu to make the font bigger, which actually helped significantly.

In spite of that, the display still presents a pleasant photo experience for Facebook Home’s Cover Feed and other photograph-centric features. The colors seemed true to their nature and the picture was always vibrant, crisp, and easy to see. Only in direct sunlight was the screen a bit washed out, even with the brightness all the way up.