INQ INQ1
3 Directwe fell in love with its brushed grey and silver metal look – as it gives it a sophisticated edge that is not common for a handset at this price range
Our INQ INQ1 Review
Design
The INQ INQ1 is a cold-elegant slider handset. Its design marks the birth of social networking handsets equipped with all the user needs from web 2.0 features. From the very first moment we saw it, we fell in love with its brushed grey and silver metal look – as it gives it a sophisticated edge that is not common for a handset at this price range. At 110g, it is not what we consider lightweight but it comfortably settles in our pocket without feeling too bulky or heavy.
Screen
At 2.2”, the INQ INQ1’s screen isn’t what we’d call a social blast. The modest screen delivers 262,144 colours with a 240x320 TFT resolution. We found the colours to be a little toned down in the handset we reviewed. The INQ1’s themes come in earthy and ocean shades that we’re used to in most social networking websites. A handy built-in accelerometer enables you to automatically switch the viewing orientation from landscape to portrait and vice versa.
User Interface
The INQ INQ1’s user interface brings forward a lower icon strip with easy shortcuts for your favourite applications and websites. The widget system facilitates bookmarking your frequented websites in the home screen. The interface is minimalist and optimized for web browsing and texting.
Keypad
The INQ1 isn’t what we expected to see in the keypad area. While we would’ve loved a QWERTY keyboard for maximum social networking, we found a standard, plus alphanumeric keypad waiting for us. To be fair, the keys are spacious allowing the fingers to easily travel between letters and numbers. The press feedback is quite nifty and great to keep things at a fast chatting pace.
Camera & Multimedia
The INQ INQ1’s camera isn’t our favourite at the moment. At 3.2 Mega Pixel, the camera does not compete with other handsets in its price range. The image quality is average in good lighting conditions, and noisy in poor lighting. We didn’t feel at ease with its video shooting mode either as it isn’t as snappy as we’d like it to be. This of course comes as a surprise, as a great deal of social networking needs quality images – something this web 2.0 handset did not deliver for its target audience.
In the multimedia arena, the INQ INQ1 comfortably delivers great audio output. You can easily kick back and listen to Last FM or sync your favourite tunes via the mini-USB.
It comes with infinite social networking integration such as: YouTube, facebook, Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Twitter, eBay, Last FM, Yahoo Mail, Google Mail, and Google Maps. Here’s what’s so beautiful, they can all be run in the background simultaneously thus giving the user the chance to connect at all times.
The integration is full down to the interface. Such sites are wired into the messages screen, where you’ll find all sorts of notifications displayed: IM, Skype, emails, facebook, and chat notifications.
Connectivity & Battery Life
The INQ INQ1’s connectivity is exactly what we expected for a social networking pioneer handset: 3G HSDPA, EDGE, GPRS, Bluetooth 2.0, and mini-USB. You can always expect to be connected one way or another with facilitated data transfer. The browser is a little piece of wonder with optimized pages of your favourite social networking websites.
You can easily sync with your PC using the mini-USB cable. The data syncs beautifully with no known system crashes or freezing.
Battery life is currently estimated at 5 hours talk-time and 329 hours standby – which is quite modest if you ask us. We felt the need for a more solid battery life as web browsing drains your handset’s battery at all times.
What We Liked
We liked INQ1 for its friendly shortcuts, design, and superb messaging interface.
What We Disliked
Its sub-standard 3.2 mega pixel camera and modest screen.
Our Final Verdict
The INQ INQ1 excels in the social networking department. If you’re an average user, expect to become hooked to the different websites embedded. We loved using the handset for Facebook and YouTube at a great, affordable price tag!
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| Read Review | |||
| INQ INQ1 | |||
General | |||
| Form Factor | Slider | ||
| Dimensions | 97 x 47.6 x 14.4 (mm) | ||
| Talk Time | 324 mins | ||
| Standby Time | 329 hours | ||
| Weight | 110 g | ||
| Quad Band | Yes | ||
Photo and Video | |||
| Integrated Camera | Yes | ||
| Camera | 3.20 megapixels | ||
Phone | |||
| Internal Memory | 50MB | ||
| Memory Card Type | microSD | ||
Messaging | |||
| Photo Messaging | Yes | ||
| Predictive Text | Yes | ||
Screen | |||
| Colour Screen | Yes | ||
| Screen Resolution | 240x 320 pixels | ||
| Screen Colour Depth | 262K colours | ||
Connectivity | |||
| 3G | Yes | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | ||
| Yes | |||
Music and Radio | |||
| MP3 Player | Yes | ||
| MP3 Ringtones | Yes | ||
INQ INQ1 Full Specification
General
| Form Factor | Slider |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 97 x 47.6 x 14.4 (mm) |
| Talk Time | 324 mins |
| Standby Time | 329 hours |
| Weight | 110 g |
| Quad Band | Yes |
Photo and Video
| Integrated Camera | Yes |
|---|---|
| Camera | 3.20 megapixels |
Phone
| Internal Memory | 50MB |
|---|---|
| Memory Card Type | microSD |
Messaging
| Photo Messaging | Yes |
|---|---|
| Predictive Text | Yes |
Screen
| Colour Screen | Yes |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 240x 320 pixels |
| Screen Colour Depth | 262K colours |
Connectivity
| 3G | Yes |
|---|---|
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Yes |
Music and Radio
| MP3 Player | Yes |
|---|---|
| MP3 Ringtones | Yes |
User Comments
Mr Megson submitted on 14 October 2009When I first saw INQ, I was plain curious as I've never heard of such a brand. The phone is funky cool, after giving it a test drive, I absolutely fell in love and didn't disappoint so far
Diana submitted on 5 October 2009my favourite thing about this is the battery life, as I've suffered with handsets that don't last much, but this one is great… would recommend to anyone who's plain lazy to charge his handset everyday :)
Please note all submissions are subject to manual review prior to appearing on this website.
Images of the INQ INQ1
