HTC ChaCha, the second HTC phone with a dedicated Facebook button, is set to be launched today. Unlike the first Facebook optimised phone, Salsa, which was a full touch device, ChaCha will have a touchscreen and QWERTY keypad in a bar design.

At an expected price of around Rs 15,500, ChaCha will probably have a 2.6 inch touchscreen that can display 480 x 320 pixels. It will also have a Qwerty keypad, 5 Megapixel Autofocus camera with LED flash, VGA front camera, 512 MB of RAM and ROM, besides a microSD card slot.

HTC ChaCha supports a high speed HSPDA network, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB connectivity, a 3.5 mm audio jack, music player, video player, G sensor, digital compass, proximity and ambient light sensor and a 1250 mAh battery.

The device is driven by Android 2.3 operating system, an 800 MHz Processor and the acclaimed HTC Sense user interface. Sense UI has been further tweaked for ChaCha and Salsa for better Facebook integration like easy upload of pictures captured through the camera; a clock with a ticker stream of Facebook updates; and a calendar widget so you never miss your friends’ birthdays and events. You can also follow your special favourites and all their news with the Friend Stream widget.

Also available will be Facebook Chat widget, which allows users to group their friends together, and will notify the user if anyone comes online. It can also be used for live chats and for juggling between as many private conversations as the user wants.

While some Samsung Galaxy S I9000 users in India are still upgrading to Gingerbread 2.3.3, which was released some time back, yet another upgrade has been identified by SamFirmware which will upgrade devices to version 2.3.4.

The Gingerbread 2.3.4 update has been sent out as an upgrade shortly after a security flaw that allowed unauthorised access to user data was found in version 2.3.3 in May this year.

A major highlight of Gingerbread 2.3.4 is the inclusion of video chat over Gtalk, which was earlier hyped as one of the notable features of this upgrade.

When approached by ‘The Mobile Indian’, a Samsung India spokesperson said that there is an update scheduled for Galaxy S I9000 devices in the near future though the plan hasn’t been confirmed.

The upgrade is expected in the third quarter this year internationally, which means that Indian users can expect it in the fourth quarter (end of this year or early next year).

Now, there is more proof that the first Nokia Windows Phone 7 device will be like the N9 smartphone. A Chinese website has a video of a Nokia device running Windows Phone 7 (WP7), and the device looks exactly like the Nokia N9, the Meego based handset that was launched recently.

The difference between the two is that while the N9 is a button-less device, this WP7 device has an additional camera button.

The device is code named ‘Sea Ray’, as revealed by Steven Elop, chief executive officer of Nokia, and it is expected to be launched by this year end or in early 2012.

Going by the fact that this video was shot in a factory, it is likely that the device in the video is only a prototype, and it is likely that a lot of testing needs to be done before it goes for production.

Micromax has launched its latest Android device, the A70, which comes with a capacitive touch screen and a dual camera.

The A70 comes with a 3.2” TFT HVGA capacitive touch screen with 65K colour display, having a Resolution of 320×480 pixels. It runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and is powered by a 600 MHz processor. Besides, it is equipped with a 5.0 Megapixel primary camera and a VGA secondary camera.

The A70 is a 3G enabled device which supports download speeds upto 7.2 Mbps and upload speed upto 3.6 Mbps. The phone is also compatible with multiple audio/video formats and its Office Suite Viewer ensures you that your work never suffers, even if you are on the go. The phone also boasts a gravity sensor and a Proximity Sensor for better web browsing experience.

The device also comes with some preloaded applications like Moneycontrol Markets, Ebuddy, Opera Mini, MiRoamer- Mobile radio, Saavn, Mosho, Mundu Live TV, Facebook and Whatsapp.

There’s also Micromax App store (M! &#151 apps) for all other requirements. The A70 has an Internal Memory of 160 MB and is expandable upto 32 GB.

A70 is available at an attractive price of Rs 8,999.

HTC Corporation today announced the launch of the HTC ChaCha smartphone in India in association with the Tata Docomo.

The sleek and feature-packed smartphone combines a 2.6-inch touch screen, which provides 480 x 320 resolutions, with a full QWERTY keypad.

“Featuring a dedicated Facebook button and one-touch Facebook access, the HTC ChaCha aims to make it simpler and convenient for its users to share and connect through their favourite social networking site,” said Faisal Siddiqui, Country Manager, HTC India.

“We are extremely pleased to launch the HTC ChaCha in India with Tata Docomo, and are positive that this social smartphone will garner a favourable response from Indian mobile phone users,” he added.

HTC ChaCha supports a high speed HSPDA network, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB connectivity, a 3.5 mm audio jack, music player, video player, G sensor, digital compass, proximity and ambient light sensor and a 1250 mAh battery. The HTC ChaCha comes with a 5-megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash, and a VGA front-facing camera.

The device is driven by Android 2.3 operating system, an 800 MHz Processor and the acclaimed HTC Sense user interface. The user interface has been tweaked for ChaCha for better Facebook integration like easy upload of pictures captured through the camera; a clock with a ticker stream of Facebook updates; and a calendar widget so you never miss your friends’ birthdays and events. You can also follow your special favourites and all their news with the Friend Stream widget.

Its Facebook Chat widget allows users to group their friends together, and notifies them if anyone comes online. It can also be used for live chats and for juggling between as many private conversations as the user wants.

Under the bundle offer, Tata Docomo 3G prepaid customers can avail 3GB free data valid for a period of 90 days whereas 1GB free data is offered free each month to postpaid customers across all 3G circles valid for 90 days. All 3G customers will also get three hour of free Mobile TV that includes data access charges valid for 90 days.

While Tata Docomo 2G prepaid customers can avail 3GB free data and 300 Tata to Tata local calling valid for a period of 90 days whereas 1GB free data and 100 minutes Tata to Tata calling is offered free each month for 3 months to postpaid customers across all 2G circles.

The new HTC ChaCha will be available for Rs 15,990 at all authorized HTC resellers across the country.