INQ intros two 3G phones with Twitter, iTunes sync
updated 10:30 am EDT, Tue August 4, 2009
INQ intros two 3G phones
UK phone maker INQ Mobile on Tuesday announced it will soon offer two new 3G handsets that will bring quick access to social networking site Twitter, push Gmail compatibility and the capability to sync via iTunes on PCs and, in a rare instance Macs. The INQ Chat 3G is the provider's first QWERTY phone while the INQ Mini 3G sports the more traditional candybar form factor with number pad. The phone are sold on pre-paid plans, and Twitter compatibility is new to either, as previous handsets from INQ had support for Facebook, Skype and instant messaging programs.
Users will only be required to sign in once to Twitter, without the need to log in every time Twitter is accessed. This is done thanks to INQ Chat, a widget designed specifically for Twitter that delivers updates on the home screen.
The INQ Chat 3G otherwise gets free push Gmail support, Facebook access, Skype, IM and Twitter. It sports a 2.4-inch, 320x240 resolution color display, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a GPS sensor. There is 120MB of memory that is expandable to 8GB, with Brew 4.0 and Java MIDP 2.0 can be switched between thanks to a dedicated button. An active address book shows users which of their contacts is logged into an IM program. Supported multimedia formats include AMR, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC+, MIDI, MP3 and WAV audio files as well as MPEG4, H.263 and H.264 videos.
The INQ Mini 3G has a 2.2-inch, 320x240 display paired with a 2-megapixel camera. There is 100MB of integrated memory, which can be expanded to 8GB via a memory card slot.
Both new handsets can be used to connect PCs to the Internet via an HSDPA network. Syncing photos, videos and music is done through a conduit app that supports either iTunes or Windows Media Player.
The rear panels of the INQ Mini 3G and the INQ Chat 3G can be ordered in one of seven colors. The INQ Chat 3G and INQ Mini 3G will be available before the end of 2009, though pricing information has not been announced.
INQ Chat 3G on left, Mini 3G on right
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 1999
iTunes Sync
See Palm, even a fly-by-night operation like INQ is savvy enough to do iTunes syncing properly through a conduit app in a totally supported manner, so their customers won't have to ask themselves if they should be installing that iTunes update or not.