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INQ Mobile

(Credit: INQ Mobile)

The idea of a “social networking phone” seems redundant at first — don’t all phones have an ability to connect to a social network of some kind? But INQ Mobile, a company based in the U.K., claims that it is the first to really bring social networks in the form of Facebook, MySpace, et al. to those of us who prefer to have regular affordable phones. INQ’s argument is that most handsets with dedicated Facebook and Skype applications have so far been of the smart phone variety, and thus out of touch from the mainstream. But with the INQ1, as it’s called, these social networking applications are now available in a simple and affordable phone.

Indeed, as we played around with a sample model at a CES press event yesterday, we could go directly to Facebook with a single push of a button from the device’s home screen. Facebook and other similar applications are laid out along the bottom row of the home screen, allowing for simple and direct access. The INQ1 comes with Facebook, Skype, Yahoo, Google, eBay, and Windows Messenger built-in, but since it also supports Java and BREW, you’re able to add other applications like MySpace. The phone’s contacts list is closely integrated with these applications, allowing you to see the online presence of all your contacts directly from the address book. For example, as you scroll down your contacts list, you can see the person’s Facebook online status, Skype availability, and IM status. And then you can just choose whichever way you wish to contact him or her.

The hardware itself is decent but nothing out of the ordinary. It has a nice display and a slider form factor. It also has a 3.2-megapixel camera, and once you take a picture, you can immediately upload it to Facebook, MySpace, or whichever site you want. The INQ1 also has a music player, which you can then connect to last.fm right out of the box, allowing you listen to your favorite streaming music. Of course it also has stereo Bluetooth, text messaging, and a speakerphone.

INQ slides open

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)

The way it works is that you’re prompted to enter in your login and password the first time, and from then on, you’ll always be connected. We asked the INQ1 rep about security concerns, and he said that it does prompt you to enter the password every once in awhile. That said, the surest way to prevent a security breach is that in case your phone is stolen, is to just change the password on the site itself.

So the big question is, is it affordable? INQ said that for now, the handset will go for 79 pounds, and right now the handset is only available in the U.K. and Australia. The company is shopping around for U.S. providers at the moment, and hopes to expand its partnership to other European carriers this year as well. We’re not too sure how this will sell in the U.S., but perhaps its simplicity and ease of use will appeal to some.

See more here:
INQ claims to be the world’s first social mobile

3D designers looking to sell their creations have a new place to do so with Shapeways. The site, which launched back in July of last year as part of Royal Philips Electronics’ Lifestyle Incubator formerly acted only as a virtual 3D printing service. Designers could use the service to print out a single design, or a large batch without leaving their house.

Now the service does the dirty work of packaging and shipping out what it creates to people who buy designed items. 3D designers simply put together which items they want in their shop, set the prices, then direct potential purchasers there. Meanwhile Shapeways gets a small cut based on its end of the production and shipping.

This might be quite appealing for small-time designers who want to sell their creations without having to set up a shipping operation out of the garage. The company is also taking care of the customer service, which keeps designers from having to worry about customer e-mail and phone calls.

This new storefront system goes head to head with Ponoko, which also offers a printing and shipping service for user-designed goods. Where the two differ is that Shapeways can let purchasers tweak a design before ordering, something that gives them a higher level of control over what they’re buying.

One designer storefront worth checking out is Woody’s Minifig Shop, which supplies tiny costume add-ons for LEGO characters:

Designers can sell their goods without worrying about production or shipping using Shapeways new store system. The items with the pink shopping cart on them mean they are available for purchase.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

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Shapeways gives 3D designers a place to sell

(Credit: Burger King)

Facebook’s developer platform has been used for a zillion marketing campaigns so far, but this one is actually dead-on hilarious. Fast-food chain Burger King has created “Whopper Sacrifice,” a Facebook app that will give you a coupon for a free Whopper hamburger if you delete ten people from your friends list.

Burger King has put out some interesting campaigns as of late (cf. “Whopper Virgin,” “Subservient Chicken”) but this one piques our interest because of how gleefully it pokes fun at our social-networking obsessions. “Now is the time to put your fair-weather Web friendships to the test,” the Whopper Sacrifice site explains. “Install Whopper Sacrifice on your Facebook profile, and we’ll reward you with a free flame-broiled Whopper when you sacrifice ten of your friends.

The funniest part: The “sacrifices” show up in your activity feed. So it’ll say, for example, “Caroline sacrificed Josh Lowensohn for a free Whopper.” Unfortunately, you can’t delete your whole friends list and eat free (however unhealthily) for a week. The promotion is limited to one coupon per Facebook account.

My Facebook friends had better appreciate the fact that I made a New Year’s resolution to cut out red meat. Hint, hint.

Excerpted from:
Burger King: Delete 10 Facebook friends, get a free Whopper

(Credit: Burger King)

Facebook’s developer platform has been used for a zillion marketing campaigns so far, but this one is actually dead-on hilarious.

Fast-food chain Burger King has created “Whopper Sacrifice,” a Facebook app that will give you a coupon for a free hamburger if you delete 10 people from your friends list.

Burger King has put out some interesting campaigns as of late (”Whopper Virgin,” “Subservient Chicken”), but this one piques our interest because of how gleefully it pokes fun at our social-networking obsessions. “Now is the time to put your fair-weather Web friendships to the test,” the Whopper Sacrifice site explains. “Install Whopper Sacrifice on your Facebook profile, and we’ll reward you with a free flame-broiled Whopper when you sacrifice ten of your friends.

The funniest part: The “sacrifices” show up in your activity feed. So it’ll say, for example, “Caroline sacrificed Josh Lowensohn for a free Whopper.” Unfortunately, you can’t delete your whole friends list and eat free (however unhealthily) for a week. The promotion is limited to one coupon per Facebook account.

My Facebook friends had better appreciate the fact that I made a New Year’s resolution to cut out red meat. Hint, hint.

Delete 10 Facebook friends, get a free Whopper

Using the best resources across the Web to find and interview for a new job is a big key to success. There are some sites that claim to offer the best service, but in reality, they offer generic help to unique people–not much help at all. There are some services that do a much better job of scouring the Web to help you find the perfect job.

Indeed

Although it competes with much larger sites like CareerBuilder and Monster.com, Indeed is one of the best job search sites on the Web.

With the help of a simple layout–two search fields and nothing else–Indeed makes it easy to search for a job in any given area. Indeed sets itself apart by allowing users to search online job listings, newspapers, and other job boards, but it also provides salary information, forums to connect people of similar interests, and a job trends search field that provides solid insight into the state of any industry.

I used Indeed to search for jobs in fields ranging from accounting to law and it worked well. It even did a fine job of finding obscure positions like volleyball instructors and piano lesson tutors. In fact, I found that Indeed had more job listings than its major competitors in most of the searches I performed. Combine all that with a great design, and it quickly becomes clear that Indeed is a great place to start when searching for a job.

JobSerf

If you don’t want to do the heavy lifting of finding a job and you don’t mind dropping $49 to $78 per month to have someone else do it for you, JobSerf might be a perfect solution.

JobSerf provides personalized job searching by taking your resume and cover letter and submitting them to employers on your behalf. The company claims that its sole purpose is to save you time in your job hunting and free you up for “networking, interviewing, or working.” It even masks its IP address to fool HR and recruiters into believing the resume and cover letter were sent from your computer.

Though I’m not convinced it’s always best to let someone else engage prospective employers in a discussion about your qualifications, it’s an ideal solution for the busiest among us who don’t have the time, energy, or know-how to find jobs online.

LinkUp

Did you know that 70 percent of all available jobs are only listed on the respective employer’s Web site? That’s what LinkUp claims and it’s also the secret behind its business model.

Unlike Indeed and JobSerf, which take a look at published job listings, LinkUp continually monitors company Web sites to catalog all their job openings. Once a person searches for jobs by keyword, LinkUp delivers the pages that contain the open job listings on the respective company’s site. But because it doesn’t crawl online job boards, it should be noted that the number of search results it returns tends to be low. In fact, after searching for accounting jobs in New York City, the service returned about 2,600 results–almost 2,000 fewer than Indeed. That said, LinkUp claims the difference is due to its elimination of duplicate, old, and fake job listings that are commonplace on competing sites. Based on my searches, I tend to agree.

Realmatch

Instead of allowing visitors to simply search for jobs without providing any other service, Realmatch connects employers to prospective employees in a fashion that’s similar to online dating sites.

From the site’s home page, users are given the option of searching for a certain job in a variety of major areas across the U.S. Once complete, Realmatch requires the user to sign up and gives them the option of uploading a resume. Meanwhile, employers are able to upload job listings for free.

Once prospective employees and employers are finished uploading their information, Realmatch delivers employers a listing of possible candidates that match their requirements and gives employees a listing of jobs that match their skill-set. Users can then decide to apply for that position, modify their preferences, or leave their profiles active until a suitable position is identified.

The major issue facing Realmatch is the relatively small number of employers that have signed up for the service. At this time, it’s only populated by a handful of notable companies, since few employers are willing to pay the service just to contact prospective employees.

Looking for a new job? Start here