The HTC Status, nee ChaCha, is coming to Telus for the back-to-school season. It’s the first “Facebook” phone, with its dedicated “F’ button, and Legend-like chin, and if stars align it’s going to be a very successful device.
The Facebook button is context-sensitive, and the service is baked into the device without slowing it down. It’s running Android 2.3 Gingerbread with an 800mhz processor, 512MB RAM and a 5MP camera, so standard HTC specs, but the real magic is in the combination touchscreen/keyboard. HTC adapted their Sense UI to support the 2.6” 480×320 pixel screen, and for the most part it works very well.
Of course the screen size will make it difficult for some apps to run properly, but one of Telus’ new corporate policies is to fit the right device to the right person, in store and over the phone. As a result, they will be training thousands of their service reps to know exactly what to recommend to their customers and make it much more inviting to come into a retail branch and not be overwhelmed by the choices presented.
We’ll be up with a full review in the coming weeks, but enjoy the pictures and video in the meantime.
Update: Forgot to mention, the device will be launching in black and lavender, similar to the purplish colour of the Blackberry Curve 9300.
