I got invited along to the launch of a mobile phone the other day – the INQ1 (pronounced “Ink”). But just calling it a mobile phone is a bit harsh – it’s more of a communications device than anything.
It comes from a new company who are looking to target people for who iPhones, Blackberrys, and Nseries Nokias are out of their price range (or desire). These are great, but expensive devices, and that means that the bulk of the market aren’t interested in them. (I, of course, am interested in them, and currently quite like my Nokia N82).
What INQ has done is produce a device that serves a purpose and does it well. This, if you like, is the Facebook phone. Indeed we got a pre-recorded message from Mark Zuckerberg (a bit wooden, but then he’s not an actor), telling us how much he loved it. Facebook is essentially built into the phone, along with Skype, eBay, MS Live Messenger et al. What is very clever, and has been done nowhere else, is the way it imports your contacts from these social networks into the phone.
So your Facebook contacts are now your phone contacts, along with photo profiles, and other data. The phone grabs similar data from your other networks and then lets you merge the various people together. You have to do this because in one system I might be “Adam Bowie”, in another “A Bowie” and in another… well something very different.
The always on nature of the phone along with the built-in all-you-can-eat data seems good value, and it means that your Facebook updates ping the phone as they come through.
This is a basic phone, but at a reasonable PAYG price point or free on contract, it’s going to appeal to a lot of people who don’t need all the bells and whistles but just want internet connectivity wherever they go.
What is clear is that INQ and Three do seem to understand the market, and where there’s a gap in it. I think that this could be pretty popular.
Disclaimer: I was invited to this launch presentation, and was given a memory stick, a poster and a t-shirt. So I think I’m being impartial!