Review: HTC ChaCha, Facebook-telefoon ten top 1

Review: HTC ChaCha, Facebook-telefoon ten top

Presented as the ultimate Facebook phone, social expectations for the HTC ChaCha are naturally high. With one push of the Facebook button at the bottom of the ChaCha’s keyboard, you can send what you are doing to Facebook, according to HTC. Time to check that out.

For the specifications of the ChaCha you do not have to come here, they are of course just on the HTC website . But if you want to know what happens in practice with those specs, then you are in the right place. In particular, the camera, the QWERTY keyboard and the screen are important for extensive testing and I have done that thoroughly.

The camera

The (rear) camera did not make me particularly happy. Well, you can’t quite expect the camera to work like this from a cheap phone, but still, if you’re supposed to send photos and videos to Facebook, then I want the quality to be good too. It’s all fine in good daylight, but in twilight and dark you don’t have to try it, and the flash works, but with objects that you photograph up close, everything is rather overexposed. No, it is not good soon ;-). Videos do go quite well, but here too, of course, you don’t really have to try that in a dark disco or pub.

The keyboard

The ChaCha is completely focused on letting you socialize with your friends, so there is a keyboard à la Blackberry. In practice, there are therefore only a few keys other than on the BB. But to say that it is nice to type … mwah. I have quite long nails and it really does not type very easily. And on the Blackberry I honestly had a little less trouble with that problem, perhaps because the keys on the BB are a bit closer together and shaped differently. Anyway, if you do not have long nails, it is not too bad and typing is fairly smooth. A small detail: the at sign (@) is behind a function key and does not have its own key, while the question mark and exclamation mark do. If you tweet or Facebook, use the at sign to mention someone in your message. It becomes more difficult if you have to press a key combination every time. I think then.

The screen

I can be quite short about the screen: great screen. The resolution is enough to display most websites well, it is clear, perhaps not the sharpest, but still fairly easy on the eyes . The only drawback I have discovered is that a number of applications do not want to run in landscape . Wordfeud, a popular game nowadays, automatically turns into portrait and then you have to turn the ChaCha to play. And so weird: O. Whether that’s HTC or the app builder, no idea, but it’s impractical. The combination of the touchscreen is also nicewith the keyboard. I recently saw that on the Nokia E6 and now I like it on the HTC ChaCha. You switch just a little faster, difficult to explain, but it just works.

The Facebook button

Well, the reason why I wanted to test this phone: the presence of a Facebook button. If you are browsing, press this button and a screen will open where the url is ready to be sent, all you need to do is add a description and send the message. Once you have done that you can immediately continue browsing. You can also do that with music you listen to or with a photo or video that you view in the gallery. However, the Facebook button does not work the Market or an app, which I personally found useful. Something like, “I just downloaded app X” or “I just started the Wordfeud app”. No idea if it’s technically possible to make that, but I would have liked that.

Others

As we speak, HTC ChaCha downloads a system update, over the airyes, and it should do something with the performance. Now I did not find the performance disappointing, but updates are fine I think. Speaking of performance, the battery lasts quite a long time, from Wednesday evening to Saturday morning and then it was really done. In addition, Peep, HTC’s Twitter and Facebook app was updated on the assembly line, I had called for an hour and a half, downloaded and installed a number of apps and started it up. Not really heavy use and I guess that with heavy use the battery would have lasted until Friday morning. It is a 1250mAh battery, deliberately smaller because the screen (uses the most energy) is smaller, but in my opinion that should have been larger, then it is really a big difference with the big brothers of the HTC ChaCha.

Another nice and handy detail: the real fixed red and green button. Most phones require you to hang up and record by swiping the screen, but you can still do it physically! And I think that’s kind of retro too: P Now that we are a bit concerned with the appearance: I often got thrown at my head in the run-up to the test that the ChaCha is really too ugly for words. Although I don’t really think it’s a handsome phone, I don’t think it is ugly. The thing is more that the design does not fit with the other HTC phones and that is perhaps quite striking. I even know something positive about the design and that is the curvature in the phone. Because of the curvature, you put it just a bit nicely in your pocket because it bends so nicely with your leg. Also saves a broken phone (yes, I know people who broke the phone by sitting with the thing in the pocket). Oh, the micro USB connection is on the left, and as with all phones, I prefer to see it on the bottom. Something with docks.

I can still type 2000 words about all the functions of the HTC ChaCha and how it works or not, but I found them less important. Yes, HTC Sense is also on it, and that’s cool in a way. In addition, you can also organize your contacts in groups and get fun tricks with them, but in my opinion those are the nice extras.

Conclusion

Well, if you read the above story, what should you think of it? Hard to say. For this money it is a great phone, can do a lot, is useful on several fronts, but it is not overflowing with interesting features and well-executed details. Are you used to serious serious smartphones, then you better skip this phone. But if you would like a replacement for your Blackberry, you are in the right place. Grade: 7.5 .

2 comments
  1. Geinig concept. In vergelijking met bijvoorbeeld een E6 is de bediening een stuk vlotter en intu

  2. komt facebook niet zelf met hun eigen facebook telefoon. Dat lijkt zo een htc/facebook telefoon overbodig. Ben benieuwd of facebook wel succes gaat krijgen met hun eigen fb phone

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