HTC unveils ChaCha 'social' smartphone

MANILA, Philippines - HTC, one of the most innovative and fastest growing smartphone manufacturers in the world today, recently unveiled a new phone built entirely to be social, combining the simplicity and ease-of-use of HTC Sense with the power and connectivity of Facebook.

Having debuted globally at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain earlier this year, the HTC ChaCha features a dedicated Facebook button for one-touch access to the key functions of the Facebook service that are integrated throughout the HTC Sense experience.

“The new HTC ChaCha offers a new unique way to experience Facebook on a mobile device to communicate with your circle of friends on a brand new level,” said Lennard Hoornik, president of HTC South Asia Pacific.

“With more than 500 million active users worldwide, Facebook has become synonymous with the social Web and we wanted to create the ultimate socially connected phones with mass market appeal,” he added.

“We have worked closely with HTC for several years on bringing Facebook to their devices and HTC ChaCha is the next stage,” said Henri Moissinac, head of mobile business for Facebook.

“HTC has brought Facebook to the new device in an innovative way enabling people to connect and share easily whenever they want, wherever they are,” Moissinac added.

The Facebook button on the HTC ChaCha is context-aware, gently pulsing with light whenever there is an opportunity to share content or updates through Facebook.

With a single press of the button, users can update their status, upload a photo, share a website, post what song they are listening to, “check in” to a location and more.

One can take a photograph of friends on their phone and upload it instantly to Facebook by simply pressing the button.

Or they can let friends know what song they’re listening to by pressing the button while listening to music on the phone. The track is automatically identified and shared on Facebook.

The new device features the latest version of Android — Gingerbread 2.3.3 — and uses the latest iteration of HTC Sense to integrate Facebook throughout the HTC Sense experience.

When users make a phone call, the dialer screen displays their friend’s latest status and photos, and even reminds them if their friend’s birthday is approaching.

The same updates are also displayed when users receive a call from a Facebook friend. They can also use their phone’s existing contacts to help them connect with friends on Facebook or personalize their handset further with a number of new, Facebook-branded widgets.

The HTC ChaCha also boasts Facebook Chat and Messages applications. Facebook messages and conversations are integrated within the phone and appear within the text and e-mail inboxes alongside one’s regular conversations.

The HTC ChaCha’s unique tilt design shapes the display and physical QWERTY keyboard so it is easy to view and comfortable to type with.

The handset includes a five-megapixel color camera with auto focus and LED flash and a VGA front-facing camera. It has a 2.6-inch, 480 x 320-resolution landscape touch screen.

The new HTC ChaCha comes in stunning shades of modern white, phantom black and amethyst purple and is available exclusively through Smart Communications wireless centers at Plan 1000.