Three weeks ago, I received an SMS from Calvin of Calvin’s Hub that made me very, VERY happy!
“Ei, I just got your Chacha. When can you get it? Mainit init pa.”
So here I am, a very gleeful and ecstatic owner of an HTC Chacha! (Thanks so much, Calv!)
For those thinking of getting an HTC Chacha, here’s my review!
UN-BOXING
It came with a cute little hand bag 🙂
Love the Apple-like, minimalist packaging
Comes with your usual leaflets, quick start guide and warranties
The unit comes with the USB cable, earphones and USB adapter
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
POWER UP! I squealed with delight when the intro music started to play, haha! It’s so preeeetty.
Side by side with my iPod Touch and my old SE m600i
Comparing the thickness with my iPod Touch
Love the QWERTY keypad! Easy to press and comfortable even for people with fat fingers 😉
The white eggshell-like back is so smooth! The Chacha felt very slippery in my hands. Best to buy a case ASAP before you end up dropping it 😛
Power button, speaker and earphone jack.
Volume control and cable slot.
TECH SPECS
- Size: 114.4mm x 64.6mm x 10.7mm 4.5″ x 2.54″ x 0.42″
- Weight: 124 grams (4.37 ounces) with battery
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread with HTC Sense Platform
- 2.6 Inch TFT display, 480 x 320 pixels screen resolution
- 800MHz CPU speed
- 512MB ROM, 512MB RAM with microSD expansion slot
- 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash, VGA front camera
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
- HSDPA/WCDMA/Quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE Networks
- Comes in White, Black and Purple
THE GOOD
- Easy to set up. When you power up the phone, it will automatically link all your accounts, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, etc. You don’t even have to download any apps since the phone comes built in with HTC Sense. You can start using Twitter, Plurk and Facebook right away!
- Intuitive interface. Even the most tech-noob will be able to figure out this phone in seconds… okay, maybe an hour or two, realistically.
- Portable Wi-Fi Hotspot FTW!
- QWERTY keypads are love. I can totally understand Crackberry addicts now. The threaded SMS conversations just makes you want to keep on sending SMS! Plus the sound the keys make when you press them is so therapeutic. No, really! 😉
THE BAD
- The battery life SUCKS.
I was able to give the Chacha’s battery a stress test last week when the hubby was checked into the hospital for an appendectomy. I availed of Globe’s 5-day unlimited surfing (text SUPERSURF ON 220 to 8888) so I could be online via 3G using the Chacha.
Being on 3G/HSDPA will really drain your batt. From full charge, I only got around 6-8 hours of use (constant WhatsApp-ing). Being on Wi-Fi will give around 10-12 hours of use.
Haven’t really tried turning off both Wi-Fi and 3G, but I suppose with those features off, you can get around 20-24 hours of texting and calls.
- Removing the back panel to access the battery and the SIM card is a bitch!
This video will show you how to remove the back panel of the HTC Chacha. Don’t be fooled. It’s not as easy as it seems!
The back panel is so slippery and it’s attached so tightly! My thumbs kept sliding off and I kept getting paranoid about the pressure I was putting on the screen when I tried to remove the back panel. If you find the secret to removing the Chacha’s back panel easily, please let me know! (Haven’t tried the rubber glove technique yet)
- No iSync compatibility. On the upside, your Facebook contacts automatically get ported so if your Facebook friend has his mobile number listed on his account, you can easily send him an SMS, or give him a call even if he’s not on your phone’s address book.
- Some apps don’t fit too well on the tiny, tiny screen. Like with Viber, you have to hold the phone sideways to use it. Awkward.
- Experienced some slight performance lag, especially when you’ve opened up a lot of apps. But nothing a little Task Manager or restart can fix.
GEEK GIRL’S VERDICT
Even with the not-so stellar battery life, annoying back cover design and the fact that I still have not transferred my contacts because of no iSync support, I’m still loving the phone!
I got my Case-Mate Gelli Case for HTC Chacha! 🙂 Ordered it from Case-Mate SG and only costs me S$30, shipping included!
It is everything I want in a phone: stylish, can do basic calls and SMS, and enables me to easily share updates and photos on my social networks, whenever and wherever, with 3G and/or WiFi.
Blackberry users who are looking to switch to Android will find it easy to transition to this phone because of its QWERTY keypad, though you will probably miss the push email capabilities of a Blackberry.
If you’re looking for a mid-level priced Android phone, the HTC Chacha is a good choice. Just buy an extra battery, a car charger and/or extra charger to bring to your office.
HTC ChaCha retails at Php 15,500 for SMART prepaid plan, and is FREE with SMART’s Plan 1500 or Plan 1000. Plan 1500 comes with unlimited internet while Plan 1000 is capped at 100MB per month.
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