HTC and AT&T Update Their Facebook Status to “Coming Soon”
HTC and AT&T have updated their Facebook status to confirm that their social network-oriented phone is coming later this summer.
The companies announced plans to release the HTC Status, an Android phone with a keyboard and dedicated Facebook button, later this summer. The announcement was made, of course, on a new Facebook page for the device.
Introduced as the Cha Cha at Mobile World Congress in February, the Status allows aficionados of the social network to share all manner of content just by holding down the blue Facebook button at the bottom of the device. The button is context-sensitive, allowing users to share the photo they are taking, the Web page they are viewing or even the song they are listening to. The device was launched first outside North America, but AT&T had said it would bring a version to the United States.
On the technical side, the candy bar-shaped Status features a 2.6-inch screen, the Gingerbread version of Android and the latest version of HTC’s Sense, which allows features such as a ring that gets quieter when a phone is picked up or louder when the phone is in a pocket or purse.
The phone also has other Facebook features, such as the ability to see friends’ statuses via a Facebook Chat widget and the ability to see a friend’s Facebook profile pic and status every time you call them or they call you.
Pricing and exact availability for the phone were not announced.
HTC is not alone in eyeing the market for a Facebook-centric phone. INQ Mobile also debuted an Android phone with ties to the social network, though U.S. plans have yet to be announced.
