The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds
80%
HTC Cha Cha

HTC ChaCha Qwerty Android smartphone

Facebook favourite?

  • print
  • alert

Review If there is such a condition as telephonic incontinence then HTC is clearly a sufferer, as it churns out a handset for just about every conceivable demographic. With the ChaCha, the company is focusing on text warriors with a hard Qwerty keyboard and some social networking tweaks.

HTC Cha Cha

Upbeat performer: HTC's ChaCha

This Android 2.3 smartie is a funky frolic of a phone with a slimline form factor (114 x 65 x 11m and 124g) that curves in the middle to give it an ergonomic lift in the palm. Its white rubberised plastic and brushed aluminium casing give it a zesty modern feel. While the top half is typically Android – with the four familiar control buttons nestling beneath the touch screen – the 40-key Qwerty keyboard that takes up the lower part looks decidedly different for a Googlephone. BlackBerry users may feel a certain déjà vu, however.

The keys are made of HTC’s comfortingly tactile rubberised plastic, and each one is raised proud of the casing. They’re easy to find and press, both with the tip and the flat of the thumb, and offer good feedback with reassuring clicks for each press. They’re nicely spaced too, so they’re just as easy to use with two thumbs as one.

While there’s plenty of room for the keyboard buttons, the same can’t really be said for this diminutive touchscreen. Unusually for an Android phone it’s essentially landscape rather than portrait format, with its so-so 480 x 320-pixel resolution crammed into a 2.6in display, which at least helps it to look a little sharper than it would on a bigger screen.

HTC ChaCha

Next page: Home from home

Facebook button,

I wonder if it can be reprogrammed to start Google+ app instead...

5
0

Quids in?

You do wonder if they get a few pennies from Facebook for plugging their site?

2
0

Close.....

If the screen were the size of the whole black area, and the processor was one of the new 1.2Ghz dual cores, then this would be just about my perfect phone. Coming from Blackberry, I love the apps on Android, but really, really miss the keyboard.

2
0

I have a Desire Z

.. and this ChaCha has something the Desire Z doesn't have..

A HANG UP BUTTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm thinking of replacing my Desire Z for this ChaCha for that very reason alone.

1
0

Interesting..

... but does it actually make phone calls and if so how well?

1
0

More from The Register

 breaking news
Microsoft reveals Xbox One, the console that can read your heartbeat
Upgrades Live service – and no always-on requirement
US boffin builds 32-way Raspberry Pi cluster
Beowulf cluster built for the price of a single PC
Review: HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook
All roads lead to Chrome?
Euro PC shipments plummet into bottomless pit of DOOOOM
11th quarter of decline, 20pc drop on last year - Gartner
Fairphone goes on sale to all
The Android handset that's PC can be yours
Nintendo throws flaming legal barrel at YouTubing fans
All your walk-through vid revenue are belong to us
Startup hires 'cyborg' Mann for Google Glass–killer project
3D augmented reality specs coming your way this year