Details have leaked of an HTC Myst 'Facebook phone' ahead of an official Facebook event scheduled for April 4.
The Myst was leaked by often accurate Twitter source evleaks in March 2013 and many rumours emerged throughout 2012 of the existence of such a device in development, with most fingers pointing to HTC. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has consistently denied suggestions that his company is involved with smartphone hardware development.
Now, however, with Facebook having invited the media to ‘come see our new home on Android’ in a matter of days, a system dump from a phone alleged to be the Myst has leaked online.
Android Police got hold of the software dump, which cites the manufacturer as HTC and confirms the model name as Myst. It also has a MSM8960 dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 1GB of RAM and a 4.3-inch 720p display. The Android version is 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with HTC’s Sense 4.5 UI build on top. There’s no microSD slot and no details of what the internal storage is like, but we do know it’ll have a 5-megapixel primary camera and a 1.6-megapixel front-facing secondary.
This spec pretty much matches up with evleaks earlier claims. It’s also worth noting the Myst has been spotted on the US FCC’s records where it has already been approved for distribution. It's not clear whether the HTC Myst will be a global release or US-only, as the dump shows the network listed as AT&T. Facebook's launch event is also taking place at the company's HQ in California - though that doesn't rule out a global launch.
Although it mentions HTC Sense 4.5, the leaked info suggests the interface will actually be customised around Facebook, complete with a ‘Facebook Home’ screen. Android Police also noted that there are permissions built into the software for Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, strongly implying we’ll see the Facebook Home app as a standalone release.
A good proportion of the new interface and features remain locked away, requiring a recognised Facebook employee login to proceed past certain screens, but, it’s a tantalising glimpse at what we’ll likely see unveiled on Thursday April 4 later this week. We’ll bring you more news as it emerges.
by pbriden via Featured Articles
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