HTC announced two Android-powered “Facebook phones” at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona: the ChaCha and the Salsa. Both ran Android 2.3.3 with the latest version of HTC Sense and featured a dedicated Facebook button that pulsed gently with light whenever there was an opportunity to share content. A single press of the button could update a status, upload a photo, share a website, post a song, check in to a location, and more.
The ChaCha featured a tilt design with a physical QWERTY keyboard below a 2.6-inch landscape touchscreen, a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, and a front-facing VGA camera for video chat. The Salsa was a touch-only device with a 3.4-inch touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera, and a front-facing VGA camera.
Both phones brought Facebook data into the dialer, displaying a contact’s latest status and photos when making or receiving calls, and integrated Facebook Chat and Messages directly into the messaging inbox alongside regular texts and emails.
The ChaCha and Salsa were planned for major European and Asian markets during Q2 2011. In the United States, they would arrive later that year exclusively on AT&T.
