The INQ Chat 3G takes the popular, inexpensive INQ 1and slaps a full Qwerty keyboard on top.It's an addition as delicious as gravy on a pile of mashed potatoes, butthe Chat 3G doesn't live up to the BlackBerry devices that it emulates.
INQ Chat 3G
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The Chat 3G is available from 3 for £90 on apay-as-you-go deal, or £15 per month on a contract.
BlackBerry lite
Look at the Chat 3G from an angle and you could easily confuse it with aBlackBerry -- it has the distinctive landscape screen and Qwerty keyboard. Thatlook has proved popular with business-focused phones from the Nokia E71to the HTCSnap, but the Chat 3G targets the twittering Facebook addict rather thanthe email-happy business suit.
Like its predecessor, the INQ 1, the Chat 3G is no smartphone, but it comes pre-loaded with a pack of social-networking apps that help you keep connected on the go. The user interface is bright, simple and playful,with colourful images highlighting the menu options. Navigation isstraightforward, thanks to a five-way function key, and, although the screen doesn't have a very high resolution, text is clear and easy to read.
Purty Qwerty
The addition of a Qwerty keyboard means that text messages and statusupdates are easy to type out. The keys lack the angled texture of the ones on thetop-of-the-line BlackBerry Bold 9700, and there's no space between them. Butthey are as puffy as plush pillows, so we had no trouble pecking out ourmissives at top speed.
On the downside, you're restricted to the basicapplications that the Chat 3G supports, so you can't install the same range ofpowerful apps and games that you could on a smart phone. We found that the Chat 3G could be sluggish at times, taking a few moments to register our clicks whenusing applications such as Facebook, or browsing through the customisableshortcuts on the home screen.
This handset has 3G to keep you connected at top speed on thego, but it doesn't have Wi-Fi. This means that large downloads, such as videos,will take a while and possibly stretch your data allowance. On the other hand, welike that you can connect your laptop to the Chat 3G with a USB cable andpiggyback its 3G connection to surf the Web on the big screen.
Stiff competition
The biggest fly in the Chat 3G's soup is the BlackBerryCurve 8520. RIM recently released this budget-level BlackBerry into thewild, and, although it lacks 3G, it has Wi-Fi and access to everything you'dexpect from a BlackBerry -- that means world-leading push email and access to allof the applications in the BlackBerry App World. It also has a zippy opticaltrackpad (instead of a five-way function key), a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and dedicated music keys.
On a pay-as-you-go deal, the Chat 3G is significantly less expensive than the 8520 -- £90 compared to about £150 -- but they're both available on the cheapest £15-pound-a-month contracts. At the same price, the 8520 is the vastly superior choice.
You look fabulous
The theme of the stylish, artistic menu icons is continued on the phone'swallpaper, welcome screen and even its box. The phone comes with a glossy red back,but the battery cover is interchangeable with yellow, pink or blackversions. It looks very good for a budget phone, but it does feel flimsy.
Conclusion
The INQ Chat 3G has a good design and features for a budget phone, and weappreciate its attractive case and funky menus. The Qwerty keyboard and social-networking apps, along with the 3G connectivity, did a good job of keeping usconnected, but the phone was often slow and unresponsive, and the BlackBerry Curve8520 offers many more features for the same price.
Edited by Charles Kloet