HTC buddies up with Facebook for two social-networking phones

The rumors of a Facebook phone have been floating around for a while, but it was only recently that HTC's name came into the mix and, even then, Facebook once again denied the existence of any such product. Well, turns out the company wasn't being completely honest.
Today at Mobile World Congress, HTC unveiled two new smartphones that will feature dedicated Facebook buttons for easy access to the popular social-networking site. The HTC ChaCha and the HTC Salsa (yes, those are the names) each have a Facebook button on the bottom, which when pressed will let you update your status, upload photos, check into places, share news articles, and more.
In addition, the button is context-aware so it will pulse lightly if the phone thinks there's an opportunity to share something on Facebook. For example, if you take a photo, the button will light up as a gentle reminder that you can upload and share that image with your Facebook friends.
Another example given by HTC is if you're using the music application and want to let the world know what you're listening to, you can simply press the button and the phone will automatically identify what song you're listening to and share it on Facebook.

HTC Salsa
HTC Salsa

The ChaCha and Salsa are truly for the Facebook diehard, as the service is integrated into all parts of the phone. When a call comes in from a contact, his or her status update will be displayed on screen, and there will be new Facebook-branded widgets to plaster all over your home screens.
As for the devices themselves, the HTC ChaCha features a full QWERTY keyboard and a 2.6-inch, 480x320-pixel-resolution touch screen, while the Salsa is an all-touch smartphone, with a 3.4-inch, 480x320-pixel-resolution display.
Both smartphones will run Android 2.4 (that's right, HTC's press release reads 2.4) and have back-facing 5-megapixel cameras and front-facing VGA cameras for video calls. Both handsets are expected to ship in major European and Asian markets in the second quarter of the year, but pricing and U.S. availability were not announced at this time.
So, like? Dislike?

27 comments:

Bent said...

Definetely like! I like the idea of a Facebook phone :-)

Snerd Williams said...

It sounds like it would be annoying after a while, though. Think about it. EVERY time you take a picture, it asks you if you want to upload it to Facebook and tag and all that stuff. And I would love to go to a movie without being bombarded with requests for items in Frontierville.

Brendan McCarty said...

i wont buy anything other than htc ever again, i love mine. 2 years old and running gingerbread!

Alopix said...

Adroids are amazing, I wouldn't pick a facebook pimped one :D

obi said...

looks good but id rather have a seamless blogger intergrated phone ;)

Giulzz said...

I seriously can;t wait to get an upgrade for my phone. Will make my life so much easier - thanks for the post!

Meltedsnowgirl said...

I agree obi. Would make blogging on the go much much better. I don't really care to play farmville on the go

differenxe said...

I'm so glad I have a HTC phone.

spook said...

Sounds cool, i think it's time for me to get a new phone.

Garry said...

I will stick with my desire HD I think

KUSHtunes said...

Iphone is doing it for me. I'm already too connected to technology haha

Grunty Assassin said...

I desperately need to upgrade. I'm using an outdated Rumor Touch.

Good post though, following.

http://tameric.blogspot.com/

Bear_Shark said...

Whoa! That is is pretty cool. I like my Droid X for the time being, but still pretty sweet that they're doing that.

Bring_Napkins said...

Pfft, I don't need a phone specially designed for social networking. But, maybe I'll get it anyway, my phone is in desperate need of an upgrade.

Joe Somebody said...

I have the facebook app on my iphone. Why would I need a phone devoted to social networking?

Witteus said...

Nice, still not that fond of HTC phones. But this info makes me tempted still.

Witte

Anonymous said...

Yeah the droids are taking over..

AugustineOfRhino said...

Haha, Salsa? Whoever came up with that name should be fired. It's like the Ford Fiesta.

JWtechparts said...

i would love to upgrade my phone, its just i need some realistic choices. i like the idea of this phone, however, i'm not a huge facebook slut.

Monumental_Mammoth said...

Half the people on my campus can be seen on their phones whether they are physically alone or not. This will only make it worse! I don't care though. I'm still rockin the razor :D

Life With Grandpa said...

i enjoy htc phones, i'll have to give this one a go, but then again, i don't love facebook that much, as a previous comment had said that would get annoying, i feel i would be annoyed within a week, oh well, definitely worth a look see!

following! follow back? you'll get to read stories about my grandpa...yeah, fun is right, lol.

jopjopjop said...

post: like
facebook: not

Learnin' German Admin said...

hm.. i need a new phone anyways...

Polybius said...

HTC phones always look awesome.

Kravy said...

Facebook-addicts will love it...

Bearchiller said...

HTC internet features sure are impressive

FilmAdviser said...

Sounds like another attempt to control the masses

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