Product Name: HTC Snap
Price: £293.25
Supplied by: Clove
Reviewer: Shaun McGill

In The Box

HTC Snap, Battery, USB Cable, Stereo Headset, AC Adaptor, Documentation Kit, Application Disc, Getting Started CD, Quick Start Guide, Warranty Information.

You know what to expect by now from HTC in a mid-range device and it is all here. There is nothing too exciting and nothing missing. Let’s move on.

Design

I had a play with a Snap a couple of days ago and was blown away by the design and general usability of the device, but a longer play has led me to feel slightly less enthusiastic. The screen looks small in comparison to the keyboard and there is a lack of personality to the entire look. Don’t get me wrong, this smartphone is a smart looking cookie, but it screams business from every plastic pore.

The materials used and the colours for the keys, metal middle section and back are perfectly in tune with each other and this makes for a pleasing to the eye device which will not grab undue attention.

It feels good in the hand and is light at only 120 grams. The rubber like coating on the back ensures good grip and the overall effect is one of truly portable power squeezed into a near perfect sized package. Everything appears to work from the trackball, to the sublime keyboard through to the navigation keys above the main keyboard. It is a real pick up and play unit which makes you feel at home within minutes.

Besides the relatively small screen (2.4”) it is hard to fault any part of the design, and I am deliberately not comparing it to the BlackBerry Curve 8900i or Nokia E71 at this point. I am also not looking at the individual features in this part.

Initial Thoughts

The Snap does not bring out passion when you first use it, but rather a sense of competence that it will do what you need very well. It has a smart design, as referenced above, but this design is built for practicality above all else. It feels like a slim slab of technology which is primarily aimed at the business market, but there are some entertainment features in the mix for good measure.

Setting it up was a breeze and as with any other HTC device, all of the connection settings are taken care of automatically. Within a few minutes my Exchange account was set up and my most needed data was bang up to date ready to be used.

I haven’t used Windows Mobile Standard for a couple of years now and going back to it was not like going back to an old friend. Time has moved quickly in the smartphone world and this particular OS feels dated, and quite cramped on the small screen. Almost every part of the OS and the included applications look unfriendly and this seems at odds with the care that has been put into the hardware. There are many third party applications which help, but more on those in part two.

It is super quick, as would be expected from this OS, and the inclusion of a 528Mhz processor and 192MB of RAM is ample to keep things ticking along nicely. The battery is rated at 1500mAh and this is again very big for the OS- I have been using the device for 8 hours so far and the battery meter is still on the 4th bar out of four.

It’s a good start for the Snap, but maybe not as good as I was expecting. Part two will detail the individual features and I will take a longer look at the software onboard.

Highlights

4 Row QWERTY Keyboard
528MHz Processor for fast and efficient application and task handling
HSDPA connectivity for ultra-fast connection to the internet when away from a wireless hot spot or a desktop PC.
GPS receiver for street level navigation (Software required)
Bluetooth
WiFi
2 Megapixel Camera
MicroSDHC Card Slot

Available from Clove for £293.25 + VAT