By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
Facebook-happy and messaging-centric mobile users now have an Android smartphone built just for them. The HTC Status (AKA Cha Cha) $29 on a three year plan or $249 outright from Telus, fulfills most of the requirements of a modern QWERTY smartphone but adds the convenience (or hassle) of being connected to Facebook all the time. We find out what's to like or unlike about this new idea in mobile.
At first, the thought of a smartphone tied to a specific social network sounded weird. We never got a Friendster phone (ick!) or a Flickr phone or even a Twitter phone so what makes Facebook so darn special?
Then we realized that this 'love it or hate it' website really is all encompassing. I mean companies now use Facebook as their corporate websites (bad idea), people have replaced e-mail with it (groan), everyone from Tweens to Zoomers is on there and so many are oversharing. Damn, Facebook really has become that big, hasn't it?
Back to the Cha Cha or as it is known in these parts, the HTC Status. It was released together with the QWERTY keyboard-free Salsa (horrible, horrible names). What set these products apart from the rest of HTC's squadron of Android devices is that blue "F" button that seem to be stalking all the other keys from a safe distance away. Hmnn, sounds vaguely familiar.
Press that F button and you're locked into Facebook's gargantuan (and irretreivable) neural network. Whatever you want to share can be zapped up on Facebook faster than ever, faster even than the time it would take your good judgement to prevail.
Same goes for the camera which sends photos directly to Facebook once they are snapped. Convenient, yes but there's a slippery slope there somewhere.
The phone itself has all the qualities of a robust and well-designed HTC phone. Rounded corners, good blend of metal and rubber plus that QWERTY keyboard is oddly attractive. Some staunch BlackBerry users we know marvelled at just how good it feels to type on it.
It has a 2.6 inch touchscreen, which may seem small to manage Android but does okay. A laudable 800 MHz processor helps move things along quickly. Add a rear facing 5 megapixel camera, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity as well as GPS, G Sensor and a digital compass and this thing is a pretty well outfitted device for its size. One other thing we liked about it is is slighly angled design that fits nicely in the hand.
You also get a modified version of HTC Sense that puts a variety of widgets front and centre and it does look a bit small and hard to read on the smaller screen.
The HTC Status also comes with Facebook chat, which could be what sets it apart from every other device that runs Facebook since the keyboard is clearly designed to work with chat better than a touchscreen could.
Here's the thing. Once you try or enable Facebook chat on the Status, it seems to leave to door open to Facebook chat on the web. So don't be surprised if you log on Facebook a few days later and find a lot of annoyed messages from your friends saying "'Sup?," "You, there?", "Yo, why aren't you answering?"
It seems once the portal is opened, it is opened for good and your status appears as online and available as long as the phone says so. Do people really want this?
It quickly becomes apparent that for Facebook addicts, there's really nothing like the HTC Status. The device is simply geared to make the most out of the social network. If you're on Facebook all day anyway, can this phone make the experience better for you?
We laud HTC for being bold enough to pursue this concept, the price is right for the intended audience plus the features are quite impressive. The Telus version is also capable of Skype calling via WiFi or 3G.
Rating 4 out of 5