TORONTO – Smartphone maker INQ is doing something few have done before: It is launching in North America in Canada, before the States.
INQ bills itself as more than a handset company though because its hardware and software are completely geared around social media. Its launch release this morning bills it in near religious terms: “The inventors of true social mobile bring their mission of affordable wireless internet for the masses to North America,” reads the release’s headline.
It’s Canadian launch partner is Telus, which will roll out the INQ Chat 3G (pictured) “soon”, under the Telus and Koodo brands, according to the release. It will also launch here with a customized phone back unique to the Telus or Koodo version of the device.
“A global movement is underway as Internet social media forever changes the way we communicate. Immediate access to online information, from any place at any time, has gone from a luxury to a necessity. In fact, many Canadian youth in the net generation increasingly use social media such as Facebook and Twitter as their main mode of communication,” adds the release.
"We know there’s a whole generation of people out there with no ‘off button’ – they are messaging, texting and uploading and updating 24/7. We exist for them." adds INQ founder and CEO Frank Meehan.
INQ decries the high price of handsets for young and “constantly on the move people who use social media sites,” and offers a few low-price choices. (click here to see some pricing in other places around the world.)
INQ launched in 2008 and won "Handset of the Year" at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and unlike handsets designed primarily for talk and text, INQ devices embed popular internet applications such as Facebook and Twitter in the phone’s underlying software.
This allows INQ to eliminate many of the steps required to access social mobile sites on other phones. Apps are always running and accessible with just one click from the home screen. INQs also offer a multimedia experience courtesy of media sync software for MAC and PC that allows users to sync music, photos and video without giving up their preferred media player.
"We focus on what our core consumers want to do most with their mobile phone and deliver it at a price point that’s affordable, especially for the youth that are driving the social media revolution," said Meehan. "Our mission here in Canada is to bring a great mobile internet experience to the masses."
