The handset market will soon have a new player in the form of INQ Mobile, a company that claims it will offer “social mobiles” that better reflect recent trends such as social networking, instant messaging, video sharing and Skype calling. The company’s public website offers scant detail on its plans, other than stating that it will be “launching soon.” However, various reports this week have begun to provide more information on INQ’s plans to go up against global giants such as Nokia, Samsung and Apple in the handset market.

Reuters reports the vendor is a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa, which operates 3G networks in about ten countries worldwide under the brand 3. The report adds that INQ will launch its first HSPA phone in the UK and Australia in time for year-end holiday shopping, before offering it to rival operators next year. Four more phones are already in deployment for next year with a price tag of less than US$200, INQ chief executive Frank Meehan told the news agency. Qualcomm will reportedly supply the chips, whilst production of the phones will be outsourced to Flextronics and Foxconn. Meanwhile, Wireless Week notes that INQ Mobile has spent two years creating a mobile phone platform designed for ease of use. For example, the device’s packaging will reportedly come with cards that list three steps to get Facebook set up.