Vodafone Blue 555: The Facebook Phone That Came Too Late

Here’s a classic case of a missed opportunity if there ever was one: the Vodafone 555 Blue is, if you’ll pardon the term, a dumbphone with a Facebook button. It’s simple (no fancypants OS here), has a decent-looking keyboard, and it’s got just enough connectivity to keep your average FB junkie from getting the shakes.

But is such a phone practical in today’s market? Alas, the 555 Blue is overshadowed by such handhelds as the HTC Status/ChaCha and Salsa, honest-to-goodness Android smartphones that take the same concept and flesh it out with better hardware. The 555, with its 2.4-inch display and 200 MHz processor, looks downright flimsy in comparison. Why purchase a phone like this when it requires a data plan, and even the cheapest smartphones out there have access to Facebook apps?

Think back a bit though — judging by the hardware, the phone seems about two years old. Think of the impact, dumbphone or not, it would’ve been back then. Even then it wouldn’t match up to a smartphone, but considering it wouldn’t have nearly as many value smartphones to compete, it suddenly begins to look a bit better in comparison. A bit more novel. Maybe even, dare I say, cool?

Probably not. But given that it’s completely outclassed by all of its rivals, the 555 Blue is almost certainly too little too late.