HTC Malaysia has officially announced its new reduced retail pricing for HTC Wildfire S, HTC Chacha, HTC Salsa and the HTC Sensation.

The HTC Wildfire S which previously retails at RM1,099 is now priced at RM899, which is a RM200 reduction. Meanwhile, the 2 Facebook oriented devices, HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa are sold at RM799 and RM999 respectively. When announced, the ChaCha was going for RM1,099 and the Salsa at RM1,499.

The HTC Sensation meanwhile is still at RM1,799 as reported earlier this month. The reduction took place right before the HTC Sensation XE was announced at RM1,999.

Overall, the reduction of price is welcomed as there are plenty of decent 1GHz Android devices hitting below the RM1,500 mark such as the Sony Ericsson Xperia ray, LG Optimus Black and Samsung Galaxy S Plus.

When it comes to entry level Android devices, HTC isn’t really known for offering devices below the RM1000 mark. With this new revision, hopefully they will make waves with the entry level users. In the coming months, we are expecting more decent Android devices with lower pricing to enter the market which may make it tough for HTC in this segment. The next lowest entry device from HTC would be the HTC Explorer which is slated for Q4 this year.

	HTC, Mobile Devices
	HTC, HTC Chacha, HTC Chacha Malaysia, HTC ChaCha Price, HTC Salsa, HTC Salsa Malaysia, HTC Salsa Price, HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation Malaysia, htc sensation price, HTC Wildfire S, HTC Wildfire S Malaysia, HTC Wildfire S Price

HTC has officially announced the HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa in Malaysia which aims to offer greater Facebook experience. Running on the latest Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense UI, both Chacha and Salsa also comes with a dedicated Facebook button prominently placed at the front. This makes sharing on Facebook easy with a press on the button, be it status update, photos or even the title of the song that you’re listening to.

When HTC ChaCha and Salsa was announced at MWC, both devices had 600MHz processors. Today HTC has upgraded both to 800MHz and it comes with 512MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM.

The ChaCha has a full QWERTY keyboard with a 2.6″ touch screen with 480×320 resolution while the Salsa is a full length touch screen device with a 3.4″ display supporting 480×320 resolution as well. Both has 5MP camera at the back and a VGA camera in the front. In terms of connectivity, the rest are pretty much the same with your usual Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with hotspot capabilities and microSD expansion.

The HTC ChaCha is available in 3 colours – Modern White, Phantom Black and Amethyst Purple, and it is priced at RM1,099. Maxis will also be offering this on contract beginning early July which is just a few weeks away. Meanwhile the HTC Salsa which is available in Blue will be priced at RM1,499. Both devices are available at all authorised HTC resellers. Earlier on, the HTC Salsa had an early appearance through DiGi’s FB contest.

Full press release after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

	Android, HTC, Maxis, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS, Players on the Field
	Android, DiGi HTC Salsa, Facebook, Facebook phone, HTC, HTC Chacha, HTC Chacha Malaysia, HTC Facebook phone, HTC Salsa, HTC Salsa Malaysia, Maxis, Maxis HTC Chacha, Social Networking

Earlier on, HTC has announced 2 Facebook phones, the HTC Salsa and HTC Chacha. Now, it appears that one of them is already here in Malaysia but offered as a contest prize for DiGi’s FB SMS Contest to promote its Facebook SMS Alert and Update service.

Just a recap on the device, the HTC Salsa is an Android device with a dedicated Facebook button at the front. Being a Facebook-centric device, the Salsa is expected to have Facebook deeply integrated into the OS which we think is already a standard in most HTC devices. You can read up more on these Facebook devices in our previous post here.

If you’re interested in winning one, all you need to do is subscribe to DiGi’s FB SMS Service from now until 31st July and send at least 3 FB updates. To subscribe, just sms “FB” to 2325. They are giving away 2 units each week throughout the contest period. According to their FAQ, the winner is picked based on the top 2 users with the most FB status sent for that week.

For more info on the contest, visit DiGi’s FB SMS Contest.

	Android, DiGi, HTC, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS, Players on the Field
	DiGi, digi facebook, Facebook, Facebook SMS Alert, Facebook SMS Service, HTC, HTC Salsa, HTC Salsa Malaysia, Social Networking

Also announced by HTC at MWC are 2 Facebook phones – HTC Salsa and HTC Chacha that comes with a distinctive Facebook button at the front. Both devices are running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread with customised HTC Sense.

Earlier it was speculated that this could be a Facebook phone. Although it can be called as one, it actually isn’t an official device but more of smart phone with deeper Facebook social integration. From the video of Mark Zuckerberg shown at MWC, HTC is just one of the few phone makers that took the initiative to put more social features into the core of the device.

So what’s the difference between the two? The HTC Salsa is a full touchscreen device while the HTC Chacha has a full QWERTY keyboard at the bottom for those who desire a more tactile feel to their input. Apart from the physical appearance, both Salsa and Chacha are actually identical in terms of hardware.

Both runs on a 600MHz processor that comes with 512MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM which is expandable via microSD. In terms of screen, the Salsa measures at 3.4″ while the Chacha at 2.6″ with both capable of displaying a respectable 480×320. Both has a VGA camera in front and a 5.0MP auto focus camera with flash at the back.

Since it runs on Android, what makes it any different from the other HTC phones? Apart from the direct Facebook button, HTC has also created customised Facebook widgets and features which makes Facebook the focal point of the device. This is obviously not a phone for those who doesn’t have a Facebook account.

Check out more videos and images after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

	Android, HTC, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS
	Android, Facebook, Facebook phone, HTC, HTC Chacha, HTC Chacha Malaysia, HTC Facebook phone, HTC Salsa, HTC Salsa Malaysia, Social Networking