AT&T taking preorders for HTC Status Facebook-integrated phone
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Phones with dedicated Facebook buttons are on the way and AT&T is now taking pre-orders for the first model -- the aptly named HTC Status.
Back in February, the Status was unveiled as the ChaCha, alongside another Facebook-friendly phone, the Salsa, which also featured a small, blue Facebook button at the bottom of the device which, when pushed, leads users directly to the social networking service to post photos and links and other content automatically, depending on what is being done on the phone at the time.
AT&T began taking preorders for the Status on Monday, but the phone will also be sold through BestBuy stores.
The Status, which will sell for $49.99 with a two-year contract, is set to hit stores on Sunday and will feature a full keyboard, a five-megapixel camera on the rear and a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front for, ideally, video chatting or photos.
The screen looks a bit small compared with many smartphones -- just 2.6-inches and 480 by 320 pixels in resolution -- but this phone is meant for Facebook power users, not so much Android app power users.
And it will be Android powering the phone’s operations -- Android Honeycomb (the latest version of Google’s phone operating system) with HTC’s Sense user interface modified for the smaller touchscreen and Facebook-friendliness.
No word yet on when the Salsa will arrive, or whether or not HTC will let that one keep its original dance-inspired name.
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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles