Vodafone 555 Blue deals & review

HTC kicked off the trend with the Salsa and Chacha, and now Vodafone has its own branded Facebook phone too. These phones are designed with Facebook functionality as their core feature, making them ideal for Facebook fanatics. As Facebook is available on most modern smartphones, and even most not-so-smart phones, something trying to market itself as a "Facebook phone" should offer something a little bit extra for users of the social network.

For the HTC devices it was primarily a dedicated Facebook button on the phone´s exterior, and this is the same route that Vodafone has taken with the 555 Blue. The 555 Blue is more akin to the Chacha with its physical QWERTY keypad reminiscent of most BlackBerry handsets, and it is on this keypad that you will find the dedicated Facebook button. The button provides quick access to Facebook and also allows users to quickly share or like things when using the phone.

Unlike the HTC phones, and the Cloud Touch and Cloud Q Facebook phones from INQ, the Vodafone 555 Blue does not run on Google Android but instead comes with Vodafone´s proprietary operating system. So although users of the 555 Blue will benefit from the additional Facebook functionality they will not be able to use the other Android features found on the Chacha, Salsa, Touch and Q. Facebook really is the core feature of this phone.

Once you load up the device you will be required to sign into Facebook, so purchasing this phone if you do not use the social network is not particularly advisable. The 555 Blue is placed at the more affordable end of the market and so it is not expected to come with a wealth of features although a phone so heavily based around a web service would have benefitted enormously from either 3G or Wi-Fi support. Instead Facebook can be accessed through EDGE which will be sufficient for most Facebook endeavours.

Facebook information is integrated into the phone´s contact list, so you can view status updates and the like directly from the phone´s contacts. Notifications and status updates are also displayed on the phone´s homescreen, so you are always kept up to date. The 555 Blue also features a 2 megapixel camera and microSD memory expansion slot, and will be the cheapest Facebook phone available.