last100 » Three

Hands-on review: 3’s INQ Chat 3G – Twitter, Facebook, Skype and more

Steve O'Hear — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:20:29 +0000

Back in August, I was pretty bullish when Hutchison-owned INQ announced the INQ Chat 3G, a follow-up to the INQ1, the company’s so-called Facebook phone.

The updated device adopts a BlackBerry-esque form-factor in favor of the INQ1’s candybar, adding a full QWERTY keyboard to support a host of social messaging capabilities, including ‘push’ email (via Gmail), Facebook access, Instant Messaging through Windows Live Messenger, Skype, and a Twitter client that provides ‘always-on’ connectivity to the micro-messaging social network so that updates are pushed ’straight to the homescreen’.

That’s a lot of functionality for a fairly low-cost device – it retails for £99 on a pre-pay (PAYG) tariff on 3UK – leading me to describe the INQ Chat 3G as taking aim at overpriced QWERTY touting smartphones.

It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago, however, that I actually got my hands on the phone. Read on for my thoughts…

Hardware

The INQ Chat 3G looks better in real life than the pictures do justice. Despite being (mostly) plastic, the phone has a glossy look to it and the silver trim down the side, along with the metallic painted back cover, adds a certain amount of style. And while nobody would likely buy the Chat 3G based on looks alone, I actually prefer it to some of the lower end BlackBerrys.

The screen is reasonably bright too, and the navigation pad is nice and large, as is the surrounding function buttons. But with regards to hardware, it’s the keyboard which sets it apart from its predecessor.

And it’s pretty good.

There’s plenty of travel and prominence to each key, and a definite click too. The phone’s software offers auto-suggestions in the form of a popup menu, and I found that with very little practice my typing speeds were on-par with similar portrait QWERTY phones, though not quite as fast as using Nokia’s E71/E72.

On the downside, the space bar feels a lot stiffer than the other keys, although this may wear in over time, and I would have liked a dedicated @ key. That said, a long press and hold negates the need to use function to bring up symbols etc.

Overall, I could certainly live with the INQ Chat 3G’s keyboard on a daily basis, which is saying something.

Like the original INQ1, the Chat 3G’s 3.1 MP camera is nothing to write home about, it’s only really good enough for the most throw away use. Which, once again, is a shame considering how the phone integrates with Facebook, making sharing photos on the social networking site a breeze.

There’s 3G (HSDPA 3.6 Mbp) but no WiFi, understandable considering the phone’s price point. There’s also charging and mass storage mode via miniUSB, and a microSD card slot. Oh and GPS too.

It’s also worth mentioning that battery life is much improved over the INQ1. With push email, a few calls, light surfing, and a healthy sprinkling of Facebook/Twitter, you should be good for at least a full day, if not a little more.

Software

Once again, it’s the software where INQ hopes to distinguish itself from competing phones sold at similar or slightly higher price points. And coupled with 3’s support for Skype, for example, the proposition is pretty compelling.

The UI is the same found on the INQ1, with the phone’s homescreen containing live widgets (weather, RSS feeds, Twitter etc.), along with a carousel of app short cuts, not dissimilar to Mac OSX’s dock.

New to the table however, is INQs Twitter app.

It’s fair to say that the app itself is really nicely designed. As well as updating your Twitter status, along with viewing the updates of those you’re following, there’s support for @ replies and Direct Messaging. The latter are also pushed to the homescreen, just like an SMS, which proved really useful.

So far so good.

But this is where things go a little downhill.

After launching Twitter, the INQ Chat 3G routinely froze while downloading the updates of the 300 or so people I follow. Sometimes this would be for a minute or two and then normal use could resume, and other times the phone would actually reboot. It’s quite a serious issue that INQ needs to address as soon as possible in a firmware update, as a quick google suggests the problem isn’t unique. It’s a real shame because, as I said, the app itself, when working, is great.

The second app I put through its paces was push email using my Gmail account. This was very easy to set up, requiring just a user name and password and I was good to go. There are also options for other common email providers, such as Hotmail, Yahoo etc.

Next up, Facebook.

While the Facebook app is quite basic, often sending you off to the mobile website version, the address book integration we first saw in the INQ1 is really neat. It’s a feature that used to set INQ apart from most of the competition, but is now offered in some form by almost every other handset maker – Palm Synergy, HTC Sense etc. – and a number of carriers (Vodafone 360). INQ’s implementation still works well, enabling you to merge contacts that crop up in both Facebook and the phone’s address book/SIM card (and MSN, Skype – see below), although this has to be done manually. A degree of automation would save quite a bit of time setting up the Chat 3G’s social address book, but as this only really needs to be done once, it’s no deal breaker.

Skype was next.

Again the client is really well designed, integrating with the phone’s address book, including the ability to merge duplicate contacts across the various other services that the Chat 3G supports. There’s IM and calling, including SkypeOut for international calls – thanks to 3 – and both worked as you’d expect. Call quality wasn’t great, however, but easily passable for social calls.

Finally, I tried browsing the web. And while full web pages rendered well, the experience was painstakingly slow. An alternative is to install Opera Mini, which I’m told works better.

Verdict

On paper, there’s a tremendous amount of value packed into the INQ Chat 3G and for the most common apps and social web services, the phone has you covered. The built-in apps replicate almost exactly how I’ve set up my day-to-day and much more expensive smartphone, Twitter, push email, Facebook, Skype etc., and in that sense, the Chat 3G fulfills its mission: bringing a social messaging QWERTY phone to the mass market.

But, and it’s a big but, the Chat 3G often seems to be trying to punch a little bit too much above its weight.

In places – particularly, Twitter and web browsing – it feels like the processing power can’t quite keep up with the phone’s software ambitions. Freezes and a general sluggishness let down an otherwise smart feature set and User Experience.

Whether or not this can be improved through a firmware update, only time will tell.

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3’s CEO talks iPad, the mobile network’s ‘perception problem’, Spotify, and more

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:38:02 +0000

3UK’s CEO talks about how the network is planning to address its ‘legacy perception problem’ and why bidding for the iPad would be like trying to sign a premiership footballer

I’ve just got back from a fascinating press briefing with mobile carrier 3UK’s CEO Kevin Russell and CTO Graham Baxter, billed as a discussion of the “themes, trends and challenges that will shape the mobile industry in the UK in 2010.” Although the subtext was something more along the lines of: how is 3 addressing what was described as its legacy perception problem.

People still, wrongly or rightly, often associate the network with poor coverage and/or service. This despite the fact that the network’s coverage and capacity has and is improving and that in my view 3 is one of the most, if not the most, innovative of the UK networks, especially on pricing, data services and positioning.

Here’s what I learnt during two presentations and the very frank Q&A that took place afterwards:

3 has an image problem that needs be addressed.

Despite investing heavily in its network and seeing the benefits in terms of coverage, speed and capacity, the number one issue facing the network is how to shake off what was described as its ‘legacy perception’ problem. If I remember correctly, it’s the one thing that keeps Russell up at night. Two ways 3 can address this.

1) Organically by letting the network speak for itself as 3 attracts and retains subscribers who can experience the improvements for themselves

2) Try to create a big ‘catalyst’ moment, perhaps through acquiring a ‘hero’ handset or device as O2 did with the iPhone. Russell suggested that it could be a combination of both but wouldn’t go into specific details with regards to 3’s marketing strategy.

In terms of reality, 3 has been on a steep learning curve with regards to huge increases in mobile data usage by its customers, says Russell. But that the network has steadily improved its data coverage and capacity, in part through its network share with T-Mobile, and that 3 is on track to have over 12,000 base stations up from just over 7,000 by the end of October 2010.

It was also pressed home by CTO Graham Baxter that in the end all of the carriers faced the same challenge. The only real way to increase capacity is to acquire more sites (base stations/cells) and more spectrum. 3 is making great strides with the former but the latter is in the hands of the government/regulator. That’s why 3 is particularly worried about the Orange/T-Mobile merger.

Apple iPad maybe?

While Russell didn’t appear to totally rule out 3 offering a subsidised iPad (or perhaps a SIM-only offering that targets owners of Apple’s device) he acquainted bidding for an exclusive to trying to sign a top premiership footballer. Not only does everyone want the same player, but as a result there is a hefty price to play. A price that Russell suggested wasn’t usually worth playing. And besides, 3 likes to ’swim in the opposite direction’ to the rest of the industry.

He also wasn’t familiar with the new microSIM ’standard’ that the iPad requires, which provided a slightly awkward moment.

Spotify’s ’soft launch’

3 began offering the music streaming service Spotify with a single handset – the HTC Hero – in November of last year. It was a relatively soft launch, conceded Russell, and that the network was waiting till it could offer Spotify on more than one device before giving the service a much greater push. He also said that 3’s retail bricks ‘n’ mortar stores were the best channel to promote offerings like Spotify.

As for more handsets that support the service, Russell talked of a half-dozen rather than one or two more. Not surprising since Spotify has clients for Symbian, Android and the iPhone.

YouTube not iPlayer is the bandwidth hog

It’s YouTube not the iPlayer which stands out as 3’s biggest bandwidth hog. Although Baxter explained that in some ways the problem takes care of itself. YouTube throttles its own bandwidth at peak times so it’s often out of 3’s control anyway. In comparison, iPlayer hardly registers. Why?

No reason was offered but I think it could be to do with the way 3’s handsets support iPlayer. All of the Symbian devices support downloads not just streaming. Perhaps users are grabbing content over WiFi before leaving the house. Also worth noting: there’s currently no official iPlayer client for Android.

As you’d expect, Facebook has been a big driver of data usage on handsets too, though obviously nowhere near as bandwidth intensive as streaming video.

3’s been surprised by the Terminate The Rate campaign’s support

Russell said he’d been surprised by how well the carrier’s Terminate The Rate campaign had resonated with the public and members of parliament. The campaign is attempting to influence the decision Ofcom makes on reducing the charge of Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs). From the campaign website:

MTRs are charged when you call somebody on a different mobile network, or call a mobile from your land-line. Their network will charge yours a fee for receiving (or ‘carrying’) the call. This is a Mobile Termination Rate. The current charge is around 4.7p or more for every minute you’re connected – charges we think are excessive and distort competition.

Of course, 3 is particularly exposed to MTRs since it has less subscribers than its competitors so, inevitably, will have to pay out a lot more than it gets in.

Data roaming charges are “stupid”

Somewhat related to MTRs is the charge levied on customers when they consume data in other parts of the EU or elsewhere abroad. Russell highlighted the difference in price domestically and internationally.

Typically, 5GB of mobile broadband will cost £15 here in the UK, while it’s something like £6,000 when roaming. Russell said this is “stupid” and that the issue needs to be addressed now not sometime in the future as has been argued by others in the industry.

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I’m really liking 3’s MiFi, mobile broadband turned WiFi hotspot

Steve O'Hear — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:38:35 +0000

I’ll admit that when I first heard about 3UK’s MiFi offering and similar devices from other mobile networks, I didn’t really see the appeal.

The tiny gadget – about the size of a typical candy bar phone – uses its own built-in 3G modem to create a mobile broadband-powered WiFi hotspot, which, optionally, several devices can connect to. In my experience, however, mobile broadband isn’t the quickest (not helped by the fact that I sit in front of a fiber-optic connected laptop most of the day), so it’s not something that I’d instinctively want to share. But…

Now that I’ve actually used the MiFi, I totally get it.

It’s not just about sharing a single 3G connection with others – though at times this could be a life saver – but the flexibility the MiFi offers through the ability to add mobile broadband to devices that aren’t compatible with a USB 3G dongle but that do have support for WiFi.

Apple’s iPod touch is a great example of one such device. It’s even referenced in the included instructions (see below). Other examples include the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and Nintendo DS Lite or Sony’s latest WiFi-enabled Walkman.

As more and more non-PC devices add support for WiFi – eBook readers, media players, MIDs etc. - a device like the MiFi will become infinitely more appealing than a single purpose 3G dongle.

Generally, the MiFi is dead easy to use and the accompanying instruction cards do a good job of walking you through the set-up. The only real complaint or shortcomings are the overly minimalist LED indicator lights, which don’t give you any idea of 3G signal strength and battery level, aside from telling you when you’re nearly out of juice. And battery life itself. The MiFi packs a 1500mAh battery, large for a cellphone but could be larger still for the job in hand. It should give you about 5 hours max of 3G to WiFi goodness, although you can also power the MiFi over USB or using a mains adapter.

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3 and Spotify point to the future of music purchasing

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:45:58 +0000

UK carrier 3 has teamed up with Spotify to offer a mobile tariff that includes a premium subscription, no ads and mobile usage, for the popular European (US launch pending) music streaming service. While the offer in itself is news worthy – it’s quite an attractive deal (more below) – perhaps more interesting is that the model may well point to the future of paid-for music.

Prior to 3’s offering, those wanting to utilize Spotify’s service on their handset were required to take out a premium subscription costing £10 per month in the UK. That’s quite high when competing against “free”, such as ad-supported offerings (including Spotify’s own, which prohibits mobile access) or illegal file downloads and the like.

However, by burying the premium subscription within a user’s monthly mobile tariff the service begins to enter the needed “feels like free” territory that self-proclaimed media futurist Gerd Leonhard has been talking about for years.

For £35 a month over 24 months, alongside an upfront fee of £99 for the handset (the very nice Android-driven HTC Hero – see my review) here’s what 3 are offering:

Unlimited Spotify Premium for 24 months (worth £240 at the non-bundled price of £10 per-month)
750 minutes to other mobiles
Unlimited texts
Unlimited 3 to 3 calls
Unlimited email, internet browsing and Facebook
Free Skype to Skype calls

Aside from paying an upfront cost for the HTC Hero, I think that’s a pretty good deal. My only real reservation is that I don’t like the move towards 24 month contracts, not because I particularly like to switch carriers but, being the early adopter I am, I like to upgrade my handset as soon as possible. On the other hand, for many users, a 24 month contract maybe a little easier to swallow while the music keeps playing. 3 have also hinted that the Hero is only the first handset to be offered with a bundled subscription to Spotify, and with a Symbian/S60 mobile app for the service just around the corner, I expect a range of Nokia phones on 3 to soon to be included.

As for the whole ‘feels like free’ mobile music space, 3 and Spotify’s offering will inevitably be compared to Nokia’s Comes With Music, which hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. However, CWM doesn’t offer a free version to hook users in and utilizes DRM in a much less user-friendly way. While Spotify does employs DRM, because it’s cloud-based (either streamed or cached rather than traditional downloads), the service can much more easily be used across multiple devices, Windows PC/Mac and on supported handsets.

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How I plan to use my HTC Magic Android phone

Steve O'Hear — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:08:55 +0000

Vodafone HTC Magic running on a SIM Zero contract on 3

As my obsession with mobile continues – the new frontier – I’ve made the decision to take out a second mobile phone contract. But with a twist. I don’t plan to make (or receive) a single call on handset number two. Instead, it will be used for data only (Web browsing, third-party Internet-connected apps and email).

Handset and contract number one will remain my trusty Nokia E71, with its fantastic physical QWERTY keyboard, superb voice call quality and reception, and huge battery life (3-4 days at a stretch). This will be my all rounder: voice, sms, email, BBC iPlayer, live radio streaming and occasional web.

Contract number two will power my shiny new HTC Magic, which runs Google’s Android OS. The phone is a Vodafone exclusive here in the UK but I picked one up on eBay – somebody’s unwanted upgrade – and the great thing about most Vodafone contract phones, as I’ve discovered, is that they come unlocked so that you can use them on any compatible network. In this case, I’ve signed up to a second contract with UK carrier 3.

Why choose 3?

The answer lies in their new “SIM Zero”, SIM-only 30 day rolling contract. Basically, it costs nothing per-month with no inclusive calls or texts – these are charged separately at fixed rates – but does allow you to pick from any of the available add-ons, in this case 1GB of mobile Internet (data) for just £5 per month. It will also be the SIM card that I’ll use most often when I’m sent a new phone to review.

The end result is that my all rounder, the Nokia E71 is costing me about £20 per month to run with an inclusive bundle of voice minutes, texts, free skype-to-skype, and 1GB of data. And my second handset – let’s call it my touch screen mini Internet tablet, the Android-powered HTC Magic – is costing me £5 per month to keep the lights on.

I know what you’re thinking, why not just carry one handset and save some money in the process. It comes down, in part, to the compromises of both devices. The Nokia E71 is super reliable – battery wise and reception – and has a keyboard I much prefer. The HTC Magic on the other hand has a superior web browser and much better over-the-air syncing with Google’s apps. And there’s the growing library of really cool third-party Internet-enabled applications and my general interest in Android as an up and coming mobile OS.

Besides, two or more mobile devices is just how I like to roll.

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INQ working on a mass market ‘Twitter phone’

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:35:08 +0000

Hutchison-owned INQ, makers of the Skype phone and INQ1 – dubbed the Facebook phone – is said to be targeting Twitter next, according to a Reuters report. That’s hardly surprising considering the rise in popularity of the ‘micro-blogging’ site and the large amount of media attention the service has garnered here in the UK, one of the primary markets for the INQ1 via mobile network “3″, which is also a subsidiary of Hutchison.

“This can really help open up and drive Twitter use on mobile when usage becomes part of your data package like on the PC”, Frank Meehan chief executive of INQ tells the news service. One again the proposition to carriers is that a low cost ‘Twitter phone’ would help to drive data usage and retention amongst mass consumers not just those who can afford a traditional ’smart phone’.

On that note, Marc Allera, director of sales and marketing at 3 UK, tells Reuters that the data usage via social networking services for customers of the INQ1 is three to four times higher than from other phones and is likely on par with Apple’s iPhone, a considerably more expensive device. Sixty five percent of INQ1 users are said to be using Facebook on a regular basis and fifty percent using Windows Live Messenger: “On usual smartphones the Internet experience is in no way close and their price is 3-4 times higher.” Again, I’m not too surprised.

In my recent review of the INQ1 I concluded by saying:

I don’t have any stats to prove it, but I’ve long believed that 90% of mobile phone owners probably only use about 10% of the device’s features. That’s unlikely to be the case with the INQ1, which not only concentrates on three of the most popular web services – Facebook, Skype and Windows Live Messenger – but integrates them in a very practical and intuitive way.

Whether or not Twitter alone warrants its own handset is another matter, and I suspect that any new divice will incorporate additional social networks and other web services as is the case on the existing INQ1, and instead will be largely differentiated by marketing alone and, perhaps, a different form factor. A QWERTY keyboard would be a welcome addition to a INQ Twitter phone, although perhaps I’m just old school. Kids around these parts don’t seem to have any problems conversing via T9 on a traditional number pad.

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