Is Vodafone set to launch a Facebook phone?

Vodafone may be launching its own Facebook phone, according to leaked photos distributed on the internet this week.

Tech website Unwired View claims to have been sent a photo of the phone, with the photo then making its way around the various tech news sites on the web.
The phone represents an effort to bring mobile social networking to those on a budget. It is not a smartphone: rather, it looks fairly similar to a BlackBerry or, as Tech Radar commented, an HTC ChaCha.

One large clue at to the aims of the phone comes in the shape of a dedicated Facebook button alongside its QWERTY keyboard.

The phone is not Vodafone-branded as yet.

The mystery phone would seem to respond to research findings re the use of certain handsets by younger and budget handsets: BlackBerrys are the most popular handset in this demographic at the moment, mainly thanks to their free BBM functionality.

Many of those in the industry are struck by Vodafone’s decision to eschew Android in favour of non-smartphone functionality.

The lookalike HTC ChaCha, meanwhile, is an eagerly awaited Android phone that is just about to launch fully onto market with an impressive 800Mhz processor as well as a dedicated Facebook button.

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