HTC Facebook Phone May Be Real

HTC, Facebook and AT&T are allegedly pooling their rather eclectic resources to create a new phone called the HTC Myst #UL.

The HTC Myst was originally named the HTC Opera.

This miscegenation adventure will not be the first time the troika of HTC, Facebook and AT&T has worked together. The HTC Status (aka Codename "Buffy") was released in 2011 and, yes, was named after the vampire-killing heroine.

"After years of considering how to best get into the phone business, Facebook has tapped Taiwanese cellphone maker HTC to build a smartphone that has the social network integrated at the core of its being," All Things D reported on Nov. 21, 2011 in an article discussing the then-forthcoming 

The goal of the HTC Status was to create an Android-powered phone that would be "tweaked heavily" by Facebook to "deeply integrate its services."

Facebook was initially looking at Samsung as a partner, but eventually went with HTC for the Status, which would become an Americanized version of the HTC ChaCha, along with its being a "QWERTY-equipped companion to the full-touch HTC Salsa," in the words of Unwired View. 

Nearly two years later, Facebook is back to working on a new phone with HTC.

The HTC Myst #UL, another handset that will be heavily social network-centric, has only been rumored — for the most part — until now with Unwired View releasing an alleged leak of its specs:

• 1.5GHz dual-core MSM8960 processor
• 4.3-inch, 720p @320ppi display
• 1GB of RAM
• 16GB storage with no microSD
• 5MP rear camera
• 1.6MP front camera
• LTE, Category 14 HSPA
• Android 4.1.2-powered OS
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi

"It's not clear if Ultrapixel technology is being used here, or even big glass on the lens," Unwired View says. "If not, this would be a rather curious design decision, since the Status also offered the same resolution rear sensor."

Being a Facebook machination, users can expect the HTC Myst #UL to "ship with a full complement of FB software pre-loaded, such as a new version of the Facebook app, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram, among others."

The HTC Myst #UL is expected to come out some time this spring.