The INQ Cloud Touch is a phone targeted at the Facebook generation, but it does have one feature that could easily make its home on any and every smartphone on the market – a dedicated “Info” hardware button that offers an immediate shortcut to some of the most important data on your phone.
The phone itself, which runs on Froyo and has a customised Facebook friendly homescreen sells for $299 outright through Vodafone. While the 600MHz processor won’t blow a smartphone connoisseur out of the water, the phone’s info key is such a simple, useful idea that it’s surprising it hasn’t appeared on more phones before now.
By pressing the discreet button on the left hand side of the handset, you automatically get access to the phone’s key information, including time and date, alarm functionality, Wi-Fi connectivity, battery life (including estimated battery life left for music playback, talk time and standby time), available memory on both the phone and the SD card and quick access to switch on vibrate mode, silent mode, airplane mode, Bluetooth and GPS functionality. The touchscreen lets you toggle any of these functions with a simple touch, and is incredibly useful for monitoring and controlling your phone’s performance.
Considering the price and the Facebook integration, the phone is likely to do well with the younger generation, although there would definitely be quite a few more discerning smartphone users who would appreciate the inclusion of a dedicated info button on their own devices…
[Vodafone]