HTC First a flop, AT&T to discontinue the Facebook Phone? [Report]

Well, this is certainly embarrassing (and potentially disastrous) for HTC, the company that is working hard at getting some profits out of its revenue stream – according to BGR’s sources, the HTC First (or the Facebook phone) is a flop and will soon be discontinued by AT&T.

This comes only a few days after AT&T dropped the price of the HTC First from $99.99 to $0.99 in an attempt to woo more customers. The price drop didn’t exactly turn out to be much help, as AT&T sold fewer than 15,000 units in the US since then. Apparently, the sales of the HTC First have been worse than even the HTC Chacha’s sales back in 2011, which is a rather damning thing for both Facebook and HTC, though more so for the latter as Facebook has made Facebook Home available to other devices on the Google Play Store.

AT&T reportedly slashed prices in order to sell as many Firsts as possible and will return any unsold inventory to HTC after eventually discontinuing it in the coming days. The carrier’s sales representatives aren’t interested in pushing the Facebook phone on consumers, as the iPhones and the Galaxies dwarf any interest in the First, though AT&T will have to showcase the phone in-stores until HTC’s in-store display contract expires.

If true, this is going to put a dent in HTC’s sales record this year, a record that the HTC One’s popularity and sales have helped improve. It’s a shame really, as once Facebook Home is disabled, the HTC First makes for a rather attractively priced smartphone running a completely stock version of Android.

So, let’s hope the HTC One continues to be a success, the First disappears into the ashes of nothingness whence it came, and that HTC comes out of it unscathed.

Via: BGR