INQ vs Android

INQ Mobile has surprised us by announcing that the Hutchison Whampoa-owned company will make phones on the Google Android OS.

INQ Mobile is known for

building phones with tight integration and incorporating services, first with Skype and now with Facebook, Twitter and other social nets. The phones tend to be lower-end and are often free on contract. Carriers like them because they encourage data usage among users in the lower tier.

Speaking at the GigaOm Mobilize 2009 conference, INQ CEO Frank Meehan admitted the company had also looked at other operating systems, including Windows Mobile and Palm’s WebOS, but said:

“We came to the conclusion that aside from licensing Palm WebOS, which is a fairly difficult thing to do, Google Android was really most suited for our plans with touch-screen devices for its modern OS that was built from the ground up with Internet connectivity in mind.”

“We will do some pretty cool things with Android” and that they are focusing on non-standard form factors with focus on “wrap-around and flexible screens.”

The need of adopting Android is to penetrate into US market. The phone will be launched in the States next year and aimed at “the $79-99-199” on two-year-contract range; INQ believes the sector is ripe for low-cost smart phones. The device is also expected to hit the UK market by the end of next year.

INQ Mobile has also set its sight on wireless providers in the US. Throwing down the gauntlet to competitors, Meehan said: ‘We can beat Nokia and Sony Ericsson and Motorola at this … we’re small, we’re nimble, and we’re fast.’