Facebook phones: HTC ChaCha vs INQ Cloud Touch

Smartphone users tend to use Facebook via an app or an internet browser. But there’s a new breed of Facebook-focused smartphones emerging for people who use Facebook as their primary means of communication.

If this sounds like you then you’ll love the new HTC ChaCha and INQ Cloud Touch – two smartphones that aim to make mobile Facebooking simpler and faster. But which phone best suits your needs?

What is a Facebook phone?

A Facebook phone is essentially one that’s designed primarily for Facebook and all other traditional phone features second.

Each Facebook phone does things differently. For example, some put live Facebook status feeds on the homescreen and other include a shortcut key for publishing stuff onto Facebook just by pressing the button.

Don’t confuse Facebook phones with Facebook-capable phones. These are simply phones capable of accessing the site in some shape or form and examples include the iPhone 4, the Sony Ericsson X10 and the Nokia C3.

The HTC ChaCha

The coolest HTC ChaCha feature is a physical Facebook button with two key features:

1. Speedy content uploads: Say you’ve just snapped a picture on the phone’s 5Mp camera and want to share it over Facebook.

On an ordinary Facebook-capable phone you’d first need to load your browser or open the app and then click through several steps before the picture was finally posted.

With the HTC ChaCha all you need to do is press the Facebook button while looking at the photo onscreen it the will automatically publish the image onto Facebook – simple and quick.

ChaCha’s Facebook button can even post the URL of whatever website you’re looking at and the title/artist of the track you’re listening to directly onto Facebook.

One(black) £44.99

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£26.00

2. Upload reminders: The Facebook button also glows when it thinks you could be missing out on an opportunity to share content onto Facebook. For example, it will glow when you’ve just taken a picture.

The button also glows when you have a new Facebook message, wall post, event invitation or friend request.

The ChaCha’s body has a slight banana curve that HTC said helps you grip the phone more easily, while its physical Blackberry-style keypad will let you type messages with lightening speed.

If Facebook is your primary or perhaps only concern, then you can’t go wrong with the HTC ChaCha. But if you need a little more from your mobile device then it’s important to bear in mind that:

• The phone’s small screen – 2.6in – means it isn’t ideal for watching videos on
• The slow processor – 600MHz – inside the phone could mean the device doesn’t perform as well as higher specification devices, including the HTC Desire S, do. For example, apps may take several seconds to load and games may judder.

The INQ Cloud Touch

Rather than being confronted by a bewildering array of apps when you first switch the INQ Cloud Touch on, the first thing you see on the homescreen is a live stream of your Facebook wall.

This keeps you constantly updated with status updates and posts by Facebook friends and is also simpler than using Facebook’s website or app. Facebook’s other core features, including pictures and events, can also be accessed in one click from the Cloud Touch’s homescreen.

But Cloud Touch’s Facebook innovations don’t stop there - the phone also has a “People” function that ensures you see the status updates of your favourite Facebook chums first.

For example, if you interact with Kevin on Facebook more than anyone else then the Cloud Touch’s People page will ensure you see his latest status updates, picture posts, and events before those of others.

Other cool INQ Cloud Touch features include:

• Interchangeable colourful battery covers
• Spotify – the web-based music download service is the phone’s primary music manager, which makes it really easy to download music directly onto the phone.

It’s worth noting that, since INQ smartphones are targeted at cost-conscious consumers and teenagers – the Cloud Touch doesn’t have the same high-grade features that top-end smartphones do. For example, it only has a 5Mp camera.

The phone’s lack of a physical keypad may also slow you down when writing long Facebook messages.

Alternatives

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