It took a surprisingly long time before people realised that the ideal device for the Facebook (FB) addicted was actually a Blackberry, or at least a Blackberry style device.
A proper keyboard, a decent screen and a conducive tariff go a long way toward making a device that would be attractive to the Facebook legions. The only problem is that the Facebook legions aren’t the highest disposable income group in the world.
So, Vodafone worked with TCT Mobile to create a slightly odd mix of high end and low end features to create the 555 Blue. It is a small, light and well built device, that is just 12mm thick, with a 320×240 pixel, 61mm screen, a 2MP camera with LED flash, a full Qwerty keyboard, radio receiver with RDS and a MicroSD card slot for up to 16Gb of storage. However, all of those features are counter balanced by a 200Mhz processor, 40Mb of internal storage and no 3G or Wi-Fi – battery life is good though with that lean, slow processor.
However, apart from being a phone, the main feature of this device is as a FB platform. This is done through a dedicated Facebook button and deep integration with the operating system (OS). Via a track button in the centre of the device, you can scroll through and select all of the usual phone functions, camera, e-mail, media, etc, but also go direct into the FB newsfeeds, timelines etc. The Java based OS is fairly fluid, but the lack of processing power comes to the fore when actually opening applications, even the dedicated FB features.
A major criticism of the 555 Blue is the bundled browser, Opera Mini. It is clunky and not very easy to use. The screen is fine nine times out of 10, but in browsing in particular, it conspires with the limitations of Opera Mini to make viewing websites a bit of a pain. This is especially so as the likes of e-mail and other messaging appear just fine.
Overall, the 555 Blue delivers well in so far as its Facebook capabilities are excellent and low price points suit well the intended audience. However, the lack of Wi-Fi or 3G means that downloading any significant amount of data can take a while. The device is a juggling act between the cost necessities and delivering capabilities. Users will have to decide if the balance is right, but in terms of a device with deep FB integration aimed at the heaviest of FB users, the Vodafone 555 Blue hits the mark.
The 555 Blue is available exclusively on Vodafone from €29 pay as you go when switching networks, or €49 for a new sign up.
Paul Hearns
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