Rating: And Hyperwords is interesting, too
The USP to the first handset launched today by INQ Mobile, the INQ1, is that it is a “social mobile”. A mobile phone designed primarily to allow access to social networking sites.
In essence, Facebook is so tightly integrated into this handset that you can work on your Facebook pages even when undergraound. The phone automatically syncs itself once you come within signal range.
The motivation behind INQ Mobile – part of the Hutchison Whampoa Group- was that 3 was so dissatisfied with the hardware available to it that it decided to start its own brand handset vendor – INQ.
Just like the two Skypephones beforehand, the INQ is actually made by China’s Amoi.The big difference is that in order to get the tight integration of apps within the INQ1, it is based around Qualcomm’s Brew environment. Itlooks like INQ is using UIOne but it isn’t.
Using Brew was deliberate becaUSE it enabled 3 to come in with a price point on the INQ1 of £79.99 on PAYG. This very definitely enables 3 to attack the mass market. It’ll be offered to other network operators outside 3′s core territories in a short time.
From GoMo News’ perspective one of the most interesting features is offered by Hyperwords.This feature enables the handset user to cut and paste from any part of the handset’s screen.
The copied data can then be fed into a search facility. That not only includes the obvious search engines like Google and Yahoo! but also the other tight apps like email and Facebook, of course.
The whole ethos behind INQ is based on research by 3 which showed that 82 per cent of mobile data traffic is based around five different applications.
These are VoiP,IM, social networking, video sharing and email. So those five apps are integral to the INQ1.
