AT&T on Monday announced pre-order availability of its first “Facebook Phone,” the HTC Status. Social butterflies on the nation’s No. 2 wireless carrier can pre-order the sleek smartphone for $49.99 on contract beginning immediately, and the phone will arrive in stores this Sunday, July 17th. Aimed squarely at young Facebook fanatics, the HTC Status features Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread, a QWERTY keypad, a 5-megapixel camera and a dedicated Facebook sharing button. “We can’t wait to put the HTC Status in the hands of our young customers who will waste no time tapping into Facebook to update their friends,” said AT&T Senior VP of Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets Jeff Bradley in a statement. “We’re also really pleased to offer the hottest new smartphone at an affordable price to this important, socially savvy youth market.” Also of note, Best Buy will be the exclusive purveyor of the HTC Status in a special limited edition mauve color when the phone launches next week. AT&T’s full press release follows below.
HTC Status Offers One-Touch Facebook Sharing For Just $49.99
First Mobile Phone with Dedicated Facebook Share Button Available for Preorder on ATT.com Arrives in AT&T Stores on July 17
Dallas, Texas, July 11, 2011
Key Facts
- AT&T begins presales of the HTC Status today on http://www.att.com/.
- The first phone with a dedicated Facebook share button, the HTC Status is exclusive to AT&T customers for $49.99 with a two-year contract.
- Best Buy stores to offer exclusive color.
- HTC Status available in time for back-to-school shopping season.
HTC Status
The ultimate phone for customers who love posting on Facebook what they’re doing, seeing or listening to, the HTC Status is the first phone to feature a dedicated Facebook share button. Not just a link to a mobile Facebook application, the button lets you quickly share what you are doing on Facebook with a simple press. It is also context aware and lights up when there is an activity to share, such as a song you are listening to, a website you are viewing or a photo you have taken.
The Facebook share button allows people to:
- Post instantly on your wall or a friend’s wall by pressing the Facebook share button from your home screen.
- Take a picture or shoot a video and share it instantly with a press of the Facebook share button. You can also post multiple pictures at one time and label and tag them before posting. Or even post photos automatically as you’re taking them.
- Check in to Facebook Places by pressing and holding the Facebook share button from the home screen.
- Share something cool on the Web with a quick press of the Facebook share button and be the first with the news.
- Let your friends in on the music you love with the push of a button by pressing the Facebook share button to post the song title and other details.
The HTC Status runs on the Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) platform, AT&T’s first smartphone to do so. It is also the first phone in the US with an enhanced version of HTC Sense™ that integrates Facebook into more places than ever before. Facebook content and information is integrated in the clock, dialer, calendar, address book and photo gallery. The HTC Status also features a Facebook chat application that lets you maintain your chat conversations, even when you navigate away to take a call, browse the Web or play a game. And the Facebook chat widget shows who is available to chat and allows you to initiate a conversation with just a tap.
The HTC Status, with its uni-body design with sleek metal accents, is easy to customize to reflect your style with widgets, shortcuts and wallpapers, and its customizable lock screen lets you open your favorite application quickly when you unlock the screen.
The HTC Status also sports a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and LED flash on the back and a front facing camera to easily capture and share self portraits. Above the dedicated physical keyboard, HTC Status has a 2.6-inch touch screen with 480 x 320 resolution and capacitive navigation buttons.
Exclusive custom cases and a screen protector will also be available for sale with the HTC Status at AT&T company-owned retail stores. Customers can choose from hard- and soft-shell case options from Speck and AGF. The HTC Status will be compatible with a number of universal micro-USB charging options, Bluetooth headsets and corded stereo headsets such as the IFrogz Luxe corded headsets with integrated microphone, which will be available in four colors, black, silver, pink and blue. Accessories will also be available for sale in AT&T’s online store.
Pricing and Availability
Arriving in stores as the lead device in AT&T’s back to school promotions starting July 17, the HTC Status will be available in AT&T stores and online for $49.99 after a two-year contract. (Minimum $15 data plan required.) Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile standalone stores will feature an exclusive mauve edition.
