INQ Mini 3G Offers Greater Affordability on "Social Mobile" Segment

INQ's pioneering social networking phone, the multi-awarded INQ1, gets an updating inside and out with the INQ Chat 3G at one end of the price spectrum and the INQ Mini 3G at the other end. Both are full-featured smartphones leveraging on the excellent legacy soon to be left by its INQ1 predecessor. Both are superbly designed with the right feature set but without the frills that make their competitors sport the same features at a heftier price tag. Both are expected to give the Hutchinson-Whampoa company INQ a wider reach and coverage of its market demographics.

Putting the Chat 3G aside, you’d know how affordably capable it is when we talk how intelligently designed its modest brother is, the INQ Mini 3G. Starting off with the name, it’s 3G alright, supporting high speed HSDPA and HSUPA data connectivity that make surfing, downloading and messaging a more satisfying online mobile experience than without them. If there’s anything "mini" about it, it’s the conventional candybar size that makes it a smaller version of its heftier and muscular INQ Chat 3G that sports a QWERTY. That can be an advantage to getting a pocket-friendly size and heft. Otherwise there’s really nothing mini about its feature set that puts it at par with any candybar mobile phone out there.

Mini Features for a Mini Price

How "mini" is the INQ Mini 3G set against its heftier Chat 3G? For one, you just get a 2.2" LCD TFT screen and a 2.0 megapixel camera. Not really far from the 2.4" screen and 3.2 megapixel camera of the Chat 3G. And there’s some obvious cost cuts alright, nothing that can’t be remedies with the features that it has. Like a very modest internal memory. But that’s something you can forgive with its microSD memory expansion slot that can support up to 16 GB or the lone microUSB port that will require an USB-to-3.5mm adapter so you can you use your high fidelity headphone. We don’t see that as a letdown, but rather a very prudent feature cut that can take out much from its sticker price.

Admittedly, some cost cuts can disappoint. Like when an otherwise capable media player can’t play Windows Media files. That’s not really serious as you can always convert them to a more compatible format on your PC before uploading to the handset. There’s no GPS. If that’s a letdown, then maybe the INQ Mini 3G is not for you. You won’t need it when engaged on Facebook or Twitter, will you?

Getting the Essentials Right

The INQ Mini 3G gets it right to the point as a social networking phone. It retains the award winning mobile phone apps in the INQ1 that includes tight integration with Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Windows Live Messenger. Its homescreen widgets allow access and update to these social networking sites a breeze. You also get iTunes syncing from its doubleTwist software. Clearly in step with the social networking trend, the INQ Mini 3G sports a great feature/price ratio to make it a formidable phone to beat. Expect to see it by the last quarter of the year.

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