Koodo’s second HSPA device is a doozy. UK-based manufacturer INQ has a very unique branding style that they hope will appeal to teens and young adults. Along with their new $40 Stay Social Combo, the company plans to counter Chatr, WIND and Mobilicity before they heavily penetrate the market. With unlimited text, incoming calls, 7pm weekdays and 300 daytime minutes, plus unlimited Social (for BlackBerry) or 100MB (non-Blackberry smartphones), the price plan is fairly competitive.

The INQ Chat 3G is one of the phones that Koodo hopes to use to attract new and existing customers with, since it’s a superior phone to a lot of the discount competition. I had a chance to play with the phone today, sans SIM card, so I don’t know how it runs on Telus’ HSPA+ network, but the phone itself seems to be quite capable.

The keyboard sits below a non-touch screen, and feels quite a lot like a BlackBerry QWERTY, though a bit more rubbery. I could certainly touch-type on it, after only using it for a few minutes. The interface is quite simple, with a number of icons sitting on the lower portion of the screen, which you can flip through using the four-way directional pad. There are a number of buttons above the phone, and it feels a bit cluttered, but ultimately the buttons act as menu or confirmation keys.

Installed onto the phone are Twitter and Facebook clients, as well as email and messaging apps, all of which seem usable. The surprise of the day was seeing Opera 5 Mini installed on the phone, which, according to the Koodo rep, should operate quite similar to the BlackBerry version. The interface, from what I could see, was quite complete.

The box included with the INQ Chat 3G is considered a collectors’ item. The company has made 15 of them in assorted designs, and in the UK at least, the enterprise has taken off, with people trading them online and trying to collect all of them. The instruction manual, peppered with interesting illustrations and creative designs, seems more like a graphic novel than user manual, with sparse text and profuse slang. But it’s not me they’re aiming at, and I can definitely see the mass appeal.

Hopefully we’ll get to test out the phone more comprehensively in the coming weeks, but until then, enjoy the pics after the break!