22 posts tagged “inq mobile”

Spotify

3

Spotify, the music streaming service from Sweden, has signed a deal with 3 Mobile to bring said service to the UK operator's handsets.

The first handset to feature Spotify will be HTC's Android-rocking Hero - which is due to be launched in time for Christmas.  Other handsets on 3 will follow next year.

The announcement comes as no great surprise as 3's parent company, Hutchison Whampoa, bought a stake in Spotify earlier this year - with 3's sister company, INQ Mobile, now having their CEO, Frank Meehan, on Spotify's board.

Disclaimer: Frank has helped me out in the past - so bear that in mind when I write about INQ or Spotify (not that I'm easily swayed or anything!)

It seems to be a day of world firsts - this time instead of a Welsh phone we have a Twitter phone (or two)...

INQ Mobile, a spin-off of Hutchison Whampoa - the folk that own 3 Mobile - have announced not one, but two, follow up phones to their first handset, the INQ1, last year.

INQ Chat 3G is a qwerty keypad-sporting Nokia E71-alike and the INQ Mini 3G - which looks like a funkier version of the Skypephone S2.

INQ Chat and INQ Mini

It's not just Twitter that's built-in both handsets have the usual suspects integrated - Facebook and Skype.  The INQ Chat also has built-in GPS.  The INQ Mini, however, hasn't.  For Apple fans who don't fancy (or can't afford) an iPhone, there's sync support for iTunes.

TechRader are reporting that the Mini is likely to sell for £70, the Chat - £110.  Presumably they'll only be available on 3 Mobile in the UK - which might be an issue for some due to ongoing network failures facing the operator's customers and the often abysmal customer service.

Currently I'm on a terrible mobile plan that no longer suits my needs.  As much as I like 3 Mobile, their customer service sucks as does their inflexibility.  There's a plan that would be ideal which is exactly the same cost as I'm paying right now.  Will they let me change to it?  Will they hell!

So, instead I have a plan that doesn't have anywhere near the amount of texts I need (damn you friends, family and acquaintances with your new fangled unlimited tariffs!).  Can I get an add-on that gives me unlimited texts?  Nope.  Can I get an add-on that at least gives me a significant extra bunch for a reasonable sum?  Again.. nope!

What does that leave me with?  Well I'm in one of those bloody 18 month contracts.  Off the top of my head, I don't think I'm yet halfway through it.  I need more texts - that is that.  The only sensible thing to do would seem to be to get a short term contract that offers me more texts and carrying yet another mobile around with me.  As such I've been keeping an eye on what's on offer.  Oh, and despite all of this - I'm still looking to 3 first, hence I discovered this... (even though I was meant to be looking at contract, not PAYG...)

INQ1 - £79.99 - PAYG

Note the price?  Good!  That was back in December.  Now let's have a look at how much it costs two months later...

INQ1 now £88.29. Success gone to it's head

A couple of months ago, if you were using Quidco, you could've had the INQ1 on PAYG for just £58.99... see

That price rise pales into insignificance when you look at how much the Sony Ericsson W595 has gone up (I believe it's around £50 more expensive on PAYG now!)

I still don't know what to do.  Right now I'd just be happy to be able to use the internet I'm paying for on my existing phone to work.  As it is its routinely blocking my attempts to connect and as such MMS and push email isn't working either.  But that sorry state of affairs is for another post entirely!

Hutchison Whampoa spin-off INQ Mobile's INQ1 has won best phone at this year's Mobile World Congress.  Well done guys!

Taken with the phone that was in that box

I just noticed I never took a picture of the INQ1 itself when I had it!  Or, if I did I didn't upload it.  Oh well.

Social networking site Bebo is already taking Mobile seriously.  They have a rather nice, rather clean, rather useful mobile site.  But that's not enough any more.  Things need to be better integrated, as seamless and uncomplicated for the end user as possible.  That's the logic behind Hutchison Whampoa spin-off INQ Mobile, and their INQ1 (the so called 'Facebook phone').

Incidentally I found the absence of Bebo from the integrated features a huge omission, especially when one considers the huge amount of younger people (in the UK especially) that use it over Facebook and MySpace.  I was told by INQ folk that the platform they've used for Facebook integration can be adapted for more social nets as and when they come on board.

In my opinion a 'Bebo phone' would be huge in that market.  But what do I know?  I only have five friends on Bebo (I'm really too old to be on it, had my arm twisted by younger family members!)

IntoMobile: Bebo Open Mobile launched to spread Bebo across mobiles

My time with the INQ1 has now been consigned to the pages of history.  I have so many thoughts about it that I don't know where to begin.  It feels very much like the handset is a work in progress rather than a polished, finished product.  Don't get me wrong though, despite this I would wholeheartedly recommend it to those that I know would love it.  Heck, I loved it - it had barely been out of my hands since the day it was (eventually!) delivered.

My full thoughts on it are for another day though.  One thing I would ask of the INQ Mobile guys is that they come up with a built-in screen capture app.  I would've loved furnishing my blog with screen shots of the menu system, the weather widget I had running on it, what third party apps looked like etc... but couldn't.  Taking pictures of the INQ1's screen isn't quite the same and those shots tend to look terrible (and require a lot more time, effort and patience!)

My time with the INQ1 is coming to a close.  I've grown kinda fond of the little fella.  Sure the thing's not perfect but many of its foibles can easily be overlooked or worked around.

Now I have to get it all ready, which means backing up what I had on it (will be kinda difficult for some things as the trial units weren't shipped with the CD with the PC Suite on it.. d'oh!)  For instance I have no idea how to back up any text messages, so I'm gonna just have to sacrifice them (I like keeping messages, rarely will I delete them).

Anyway, I better get on with it...

HP's UK peeps quite like a bit of Catherine Tate it would seem - and the INQ1 phone...

HP not bovvered

Not bovvered indeed...

HP INQ

Is the above just a HP employee taking an interest in the INQ1 or are HP thinking about launching a similar phone?