HTC is said to be co-developing a new smartphone with Facebook, according to Digitimes. The Taiwanese handset maker has previously launched handsets with tighter than usual Facebook integration with its Salsa and Chacha devices. The new smartphone is said to leverage Android, but develop a platform built exclusively around Facebook.
HTC has added six phones to its list of phones which support the vendor's bootloader unlock tool. With it, savvy users and developers can load a modified version of the Android OS firmware that gives them the interface or app control they wanted. The smartphones added to the compatibility list for the tool include the Aria, ChaCha and its Status counterpart, the Desire Z and its T-Mobile G2 equivalent, and the Droid Incredible.
The self-made Facebook phone nearly fell apart after the team tasked with designing it realized it wouldn't come close to challenging Apple at the time, a further exposé uncovered on Tuesday. The team, nicknamed "Slayer" based on shorthand for "Social Layer," had wanted to do everything from the OS to the hardware in-house, but AllThingsD understood that its costs and required knowledge quickly became "impossible." Such limitations led some in the team to think they would never have a device that could compete with the iPhone.
HTC's ChaCha smartphone will be added to the AT&T network in the near future, according to information leaked to Boy Genius Report. The source said the move would happen soon, possibly within the next week. The source also said the phone would be renamed the Status when it debuted on AT&T. A name change was all but guaranteed after mobile search engine ChaCha sued for trademark infringement.
HTC's Facebook-oriented smartphones, the ChaCha and Salsa, have now gone up for pre-order on Amazon UK. The ChaCha lists for £250 (about $409) and the Salsa is priced at £320 (nearly $524). The phones are due to arrive on June 26 and are sold as unlocked devices.
When HTC announced the ChaCha at the World Mobile Congress in February, the company said that the phone, the first with a dedicated Facebook button, would be available in the second quarter of this year. HTC Germany, though its Facebook page has now suggested that the ChaCha will be formally launched in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, beginning June 18.
T-Mobile UK has recently put up a coming soon page that reveals the approximate ship dates for a few Android smartphones. This includes the Samsung Galaxy S II, the Facebook-optimized HTC ChaCha and the 3D-capable LG Optimus 3D, all said to arrive at the carrier in June. July will see the release of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo at T-Mobile UK.
The human-powered answer service ChaCha has just filed a lawsuit against HTC over its Facebook-branded ChaCha handset. ChaCha Search Inc claims to own the trademark in the US as well as Europe. It added that it spent considerable money and resources on branding its mobile website and apps for smartphones such as Apple's, RIM's and Android-powered devices.
