HTC First announced, coming exclusively to AT&T on April 12th for $99.99

HTC First announced, coming exclusively to AT&T on April 12th for $99.99

Continuing its obsession with the number one, HTC has officially announced the First, an Android device with a bit more Facebook influence than most other smartphones we've used in the past -- including other handsets given preferential treatment from the social media network during the last four years. HTC's Peter Chou and AT&T's Ralph de la Vega took the stage at the event to announce the phone, which is the world's first Home-optimized device. What exactly that means remains to be seen, but HTC's Chou indicated it will be a "unique experience."

There were no specs announced for the device, other than it having LTE, of course. But, earlier leaks have indicated it will be 4.3-inch, 720p mid-range phone, not threatening the HTC One by any stretch of the imagination. It will be available on April 12th exclusively in the US on AT&T for just $99.99. And, it will be available in four colors: red, turquoise, white and, of course, black. You can pre-order yours today at the More Coverage link below, and there's a brief video after the break to explain how the new notifications work.

Gallery: HTC First

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Facebook phone dev-edition APK reveals details about HTC Myst, new Facebook Home features

Facebook phone devedition APK reveals details about HTC Myst, new Facebook Home features

Facebook already told us all that it'd be announcing something new and Android-related at an event on April 4th. Android Police has just given us a new heaping helping of evidence, via an APK teardown, that the social network will, at long last, announce an oft-rumored, never revealed Facebook phone and a FB-themed version of Google's mobile OS. The ROM reveals that it's built for an AT&T-compatible HTC Myst handset with a 4.3 inch display, 1GB of RAM and a dual-core MSM8960 SoC. There's also a 5-megapixel rear camera, 1.6-megapixel front shooter, Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi a/b/g/n radios, which confirms earlier spec leaks about the phone.

As for software, it runs Android 4.1.2 and Sense 4.5, and most importantly, a new Facebook program called Facebook Home. As you might expect, it'll serve as the phone's home screen and launcher. To that end, it has more system controls than the existing Facebook app, with permission to turn off the lock screen, start up when the phone boots and control your WiFi connection, among others. The APK also revealed that there's a host of circular Facebook-flavored icons and tight Facebook Messenger integration. Oh, and in case you aren't looking to buy FB-specific hardware, fear not, for the presence of TouchWiz compatibility indicates that Facebook Home will be available for other phones as well.

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Source: Android Police

Facebook planning Android-related event on April 4th

Facebook planning Android related event on April 4th

It looks like Facebook's got an Android-related event up its sleeve next Thursday April 4th right here in the Bay Area. So, what's this about? A major revamp of Facebook's Android app? An Android-based Facebook phone like HTC's rumored Myst? Whatever it is, we'll obviously be there to liveblog the announcement in great detail, so be sure to tune in at 1PM ET (10AM PT). While focusing its recent efforts on features like Graph Search and News Feed, Facebook's been clear that mobile is a top priority for 2013. Let's just hope this event brings something more exciting to fruition than HTC's half-baked Status.

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HTC Myst specs purportedly leak, hint at a second-gen social phone

HTC Myst specs purportedly leak, hint a second crack at a social phone

We wouldn't exactly call the social networking-focused HTC ChaCha (aka Status) and Salsa resounding successes in the smartphone world when they were quickly overshadowed by... just about everything with a Facebook app, really. Still, there have been murmurs of a comeback, and Unwired View's historically reliable evleaks has obtained specs for what's supposedly the follow-up. The HTC Myst (Myst #UL, to be exact) wouldn't have any special tricks on the surface beyond preloaded Facebook apps, but it could be surprisingly well-equipped for a mid-range Jelly Bean device: a 4.3-inch 720p screen, a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4, LTE and 16GB of non-expandable storage would be nothing to sneeze at. About the only sacrifices would be the 1GB of RAM and a potentially UltraPixel-free 5-megapixel rear camera. While there's no guarantee that these details will reflect a shipping device, there's talk of the Myst reaching the US as early as the spring -- we won't have long to learn the truth. Just don't expect that other Myst in the box.

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Source: Unwired View

NYC Museum of Modern Art opens game collection with 14 classics, exhibiting in March 2013

NYC Museum of Modern Art opens video game collection with 14 classics, on display starting in March 2013

Given the subject matter, this is usually where the author waxes philosophical about whether -- having been accepted by a major international museum -- games are indeed "art." We're gonna skip that needless exercise today and simply tell you that the New York City Museum of Modern Art is officiating its intake of 14 video game classics as the start of an ongoing gaming collection, set to go on display in March 2013 in the MoMA's Philip Johnson Architecture and Design Galleries -- the same galleries that house an original iPod and more. The games range from Buckner & Garcia inspiration Pac-Man to modern classic Portal, and even includes some lesser known gems (vib-ribbon, anyone?). The MoMA blog calls this initial selection just the "seedbed" for a chunkier collection of around 40 titles, all of which will be part of a "new category of artworks" at the iconic museum. Head below for the full first 14.

Continue reading NYC Museum of Modern Art opens game collection with 14 classics, exhibiting in March 2013

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Source: Museum of Modern Art

Now You Can Play Myst in an Actual Book

Remember Myst? The graphic adventure game that transported players to the island of Myst by using a special book? Well, how would you like to give the game another go while playing it in an actual book?

MystIf you’re a fan of the classic adventure game, then this must feel like a dream come true. This book was basically hollowed out and filled in an actual hand-assembled desktop computer that runs Windows XP, which is the system used to boot up the actual game.

Myst1

Mike Ando, the man behind the machine book, explains:

Unlike Cyan’s well-worn copy, this one is almost pristine. The cover has been beautifully restored & the cracked hinge has been repaired. Custom embossing dies were made for the individual MYST letters, then the embossing was filled with 24-carat gold paint.

Mike is selling his real Myst creation for a cool $15,625. Pretty pricey, if you ask me – but he wanted the price to be exactly 1000 in D’ni numerals. If you’re interested, check out his site and hit him up with an email.

[via Obvious Winner]


Myst linking book replica goes on sale with full PC inside, won’t quite take us to other worlds (video)

Myst linking book replica goes on sale with full PC inside, won't take us to other worlds video

Most of us who remember Myst are content to relive the halcyon days of click-and-watch puzzle games by loading up the iPhone port. Mike Ando is slightly more... dedicated. He just spent the past six years building a replica of the Cyan game's signature, Age-traveling link books that includes a full Windows XP PC with a 1.6GHz Atom, a 2-hour battery, a 5-inch touchscreen and every playable game from the Myst series stored on a CF card. And while we've seen books hiding devices before, Ando's attention to detail might just raise the eyebrows of hardcore custom PC and gaming fans alike: he went so far as to gut and emboss a 135-year-old copy of Harper's New Monthly Magazine to match Cyan's reference tome as closely as possible. It's tempting for anyone who cut their teeth on CD-based gameplay through Myst, but perfect devotion to one of the better-known fictional worlds will cost an accordingly steep $15,625. We wouldn't have minded seeing some real intra-world travel for the cash outlay.

Continue reading Myst linking book replica goes on sale with full PC inside, won't quite take us to other worlds (video)

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Myst linking book replica goes on sale with full PC inside, won't quite take us to other worlds (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 02:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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