Feb 18, 2009 05:36 ET
INQ1 Wins Best Mobile Handset Award at GSMA
BARCELONA, Spain --(Business Wire)-- Feb 18, 2009
In Barcelona last night INQ Mobile won the GSMA’s award for “Best Mobile
Handset or Device” for its INQ1 Social Mobile. This award is
the most coveted and fiercely contested prize in the mobile industry and
is given to a device with the combination of design, technical
excellence and functionality that comes together to position a product
at the top of its market. The INQ1 won the award over four
other shortlisted contenders including the Nokia E71, T-Mobile G1, RIM
BlackBerry Storm and LG KS360.
INQ Mobile, a new Hutchison Whampoa company, is creating a category of
consumer devices that put social networking, email and instant messaging
at the heart of innovative mass-market mobiles. The company launched the
INQ1 in October of 2008 and it became known as the world’s
first Facebook phone.
“INQ Mobile was formed by Hutchison Whampoa as part of a two-fold 3G
strategy; to maximize the user experience of wireless broadband through
extensive high-speed coverage and a flat rate data plan and to create
innovative yet affordable devices. The way people communicate has
evolved, but mass market devices have remained anchored to just voice
and text. INQ set out to change this. We created a new mobile device
platform that would transform the consumer experience with always-on,
easy to use, Internet driven communication services, and we designed it
to deliver positive economics to operators,” said Frank Meehan, CEO of
INQ Mobile. “We are proud of having introduced Social Mobile to the
market and very honoured that our first device has received such
recognition.”
“More than 20 million Facebook users currently access the site through
their mobile devices. This number has quadrupled over the last 12 months
and we expect it to continue to grow as more people begin to connect
with their friends and family through Facebook on innovative mobile
devices, like the INQ1,” said Henri Moissinac, director of
mobile, Facebook. “Congratulations to the INQ team for being recognized
for the hard work they put into bringing a standout device to market.”
The INQ1 is an HSDPA handset that provides one-click access
to fully integrated applications including Facebook, Skype, Windows
Messenger and Last.fm. The intuitive navigation offered by the switcher
key and menu carousel, along with instant information provided by the
home screen widgets and the integrated phonebook, deliver an experience
so intuitive that it’s easy and fun to stay connected. The INQ1
has a 3.2MP camera that allows for photos to be directly uploaded to
Facebook, while preloaded modem drivers mean the handset can double as a
plug and play dongle.
“INQ1 is the first device to have unlocked mobile social
networking on a mass market handset to this extent, and Qualcomm’s
integrated chipset technology and BREW software have enabled INQ to meet
not only the increasing demands of ever-richer user interfaces, but also
the capability to deliver the upload and download speeds that has
enabled INQ Mobile to realise the potential in mobile social networking.
Qualcomm is proud to have played a role in the development of the INQ1
device that is being recognized by the GSMA, an exceptional
accomplishment,” said Enrico Salvatori, SVP and General Manager,
Qualcomm Europe.
More about INQ Mobile
INQ Mobile is a standalone company wholly owned by Hutchison Whampoa
Limited. INQ Mobile is the maker of the INQ1, the world’s
first Social Mobile to integrate email, IM and social networking in an
intuitive way. INQ draws on the strengths of its parent company, which
made an early investment in global 3G networks based on a fundamental
belief that 3G changes the way people communicate and was formed to
address a growing need for advanced mobile internet handsets from
operators across the world. For more information visit: www.inqmobile.com
Notes to editors:
Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc. Other trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.
For INQ Mobile
Rachel Bremer, +44 (0)207 253 9897 (UK)
rachel@sparkpr.com/
Candace
Locklear, +1-510-292-8216 (US)
candace@sparkpr.com/