3 to announce Facebook handset

3 the UK 3G network are rumoured to be ready to announce a new handset after the success of it’s Skype Phone. The phone, manufactured by INQ (Hutchinson Whampoa’s new handset making division), will basically be based on Facebook, meaning that we’ll be seeing unified contacts, texting through messages and IM through Facebook chat. The phone itself, the INQ1 (as it’s the company’s first handset, the name makes sense), is a fairly basic slider, though it carries an HSDPA connection for super-fast network speeds.

Which makes sense as, like the S2, it doubles as a modem for mobile broadband with speeds up to 7.2Mbps on the go. Switz swoo indeed.

It also has the now mandatory Skype integration, as well as an eBay tracker and Windows Live Messenger for those who don’t like Facebook Chat (though these people might want to consider another handset).

We’ve been invited to a launch of ’something to do with 3 and Facebook’ next week, so it doesn’t take much to work out what it’s going to be.

Apparently this will hit the shops in November with a PAYG price tag of £99, which is cheap for a totally integrated handset in anyone’s book.

via Techradar