The HTC Snap

The HTC Snap is one of the new phones in Microsoft’s line of business-oriented, low-cost, Windows Mobile smartphones, and although it has a quick and easy performance, it doesn’t really do much to stand out among the multitudes of new smartphones that have been released this year.

For starters, the Snap’s design is not too much to talk about. It’s made out a slab of black plastic that has a somewhat cheap feel, and measures 4.5 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches (HWD). It features a 2.4-inch LCD screen with the usual 320 x 240 resolution and an LED backlight. The QWERTY keyboard isn’t too bad with its curved four rows of raised keys, although they do make a very distinct click when pressed.

Concerning calls and reception, the Snap does pretty well. The quality of calls is good with the well-balanced pitch in the earpiece and wind rejection for the mic. The Snap has great reception with an EV-DO signal, and the speakerphone also does great and has plenty of volume.

When it comes to e-mail on the Snap, the phone can utilize Microsoft’s Direct Push E-mail and syncs with Microsoft Outlook and Exchange Server. A cool feature that can be considered very helpful with searching through e-mails would be HTC’s Inner Circle feature. This allows the user to select a contact from their address book and consolidate all the e-mails from that contact all into one spot. The Snap cannot create Microsoft Word and Excel documents but it can view and edit them, and it cannot edit Powerpoint presentations but can display them.

Internet Explorer Mobile 6 is what the Snap uses for its web browsing. It includes zoom support and a mouse cursors. If users of the Snap purchase Sprint’s Simply Everything plan they are able to access TeleNav-powered Sprint Navigation, live Sprint TV, and Sprint’s NASCAR and NFL Mobile Live portal.

The camera on the Snap is certainly not anything to really talk about. It’s not awful, but it’s definitely not special. It features a common 2-megapixel sensor, which means that most of the pictures you take will be too soft and not have enough contrast. The smartphone has no flash and no autofocus to assist with the blurriness or contrast, so pictures are really just about average.

Sprint is offering the HTC Snap for $149.99 (with a two-year service contract and mail-in rebates.) This phone isn’t bad, but it’s most certainly not a fantastic option when you consider all the other smartphones available for about the same price. If your looking for a great, reliable smartphone that caters to all your business needs, I personally would say that you should look in a different direction.

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Available Today August 5 2009

The highly anticipated T-Mobile myTouch 3G with Google is now available at T-Mobile retail stores as well as partner locations an online. T-Mobile is going all out to promote the new myTouch by having aerial skydivers, each dressed as a unique individual to reflect the individuality of the myTouch customer, parachute out of a plane in synchronized formations over San Francisco.

According to Chief Marketing Officer Denny Marie Post, "myTouch 3G can be personalized to wholly reflect your individuality, pride and passion, making it 100% you. We'll help this come to life from the get-go at our retail stores, where unique sample personas will be displayed to illustrate some of the many customization options. Also, our skilled myTouch 3G Retail champions will learn about our customer's interests and needs to make sure they're suited to make their myTouch unlike any other."

The myTouch 3G has a sleek and lightweight look and feel to it. In addition to that, there is a number of different accessories and pre-designed shell patterns that you can add to your myTouch which also lets you individualize accessories as well. And if you want to take it even further you can even personally design your own shell. This is accomplished by uploading a personal photo, graphic design, or by selecting shapes, logos, shapes or icons. The list of accessories is very large and includes things like gel skins and device cases to wrist straps and covers. If you go online you can find 5 different accessory packs this month. These packs vary from a music pack that includes speakers and a bonus promotional card for Amazon MP3 downloads to a fitness pack which comes with a fitness belt and arm band. even the inside of the myTouch is customizable by allowing you to customize the entire theme with all new wallpapers, icons and widgets all of which can be added directly to your myTouch from the home screen. Android market has thousands of different apps which give you further customization options.

T-Mobile has also launched a brand new application called AppPack. AppPack gives you a sample of some of the better apps out there. For the launch today, the AppPack has these free applications:

Sherpa - Learns your likes and dislikes through user feedback and behavior. Then it prioritizes recommended retailers, restaurants and attractions.

imeem Mobile - streams customized music based on your tastes. Recommends new songs, artists and albums based on your favorite songs.

WorldTour - Puts live webcams from around the world on your home screen.

Phonebook - An upgraded and more personalized phonebook for Android.

Movies by Flixster - Movie reviews with a little something extra. Through Facebook integration you can find friends who want to see the same movie or read reviews from your friends who have already seen it.

There are also 3 T-Mobile apps: T-Mobile My Account, T-Mobile Visual Voicemail and T-Mobile Mobile Backup.

There are also many other popular phone features on the myTouch like ones that come from T-Mobile's partnership with Google. You can get one touch access to things like Google Search by voice, Google Maps with Street View, Picasa and YouTube.

Designed by HTC, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G will be available at all T-Mobile retail stores nationwide. The myTouch is going to run you $200 with the signing of a two-year contract. Don' live next to a T-Mobile store? Don't worry, you can also get your myTouch online at www.T-MobilemyTouch.com. The myTouch is only available in 3 different colors: black, white and merlot.

Navigon Offers Money Saving GPS Application

I recently wrote a blog review about the iPhone 3g S and I mentioned many of the pros and cons. In todays economy it is important to do your homework with technology to make sure that you are not only getting a good deal and are aware of the services attatched; for example the GPS application on the iPhone 3g and 3gs. AT&T offers it’s own navigation software subscription at 9.99 a month but until Aug 15th Navigon is offering their new GPS application for $69.99.

Navigon taking advantage of the waiting time for TomTom to keep their promise to deliver a GPS application for the new iPhones Navigon beat them to the punch with a 1.29GB. Mobile navigator program contains comprehensive NAVTEQ maps of North America and it loads from the phone and not online, and even though it does take up a chunk of your phone’s storage it is a money saver because there are no reoccurring charges.

Navigon's app includes Reality View Pro, Lane Assistant Pro, Speed Assistant and Day & Night Mode. You can establish a Home address, setup favorite addresses, access nearby POIs and get from point A to point B via voice guided, turn-by-turn directions. The app can also utilize the iPhone's accelerometer, switching from horizontal to vertical mode as soon as you flip the phone. Multitouch zooming also works.

Navicon’s app works really well but every new technology has its pros and cons so we have mentioned the good… now its time for the bad. I would have to say the biggest con would have to be there are no real-time traffic updates. Other things to mention are you do need to have your car charger because the program does run the battery down rather quickly. Also, without the support of some background applications every phone call you receive will take your nav offline and exits you from your route.

Top 8 Business Smartphones for Under $100

It has recently become surprisingly easy to find an incredibly helpful and functional smartphone that will cater to all your business needs for a very reasonable price. You no longer have to pan out anymore than $100 to have an amazing phone with every feature you could possibly imagine. Here's a quick rundown of the smartphones, sorted by provider, that are considered the best possible options available for under $100.

Sprint

BlackBerry Curve 8330
$49.99 (with two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate)
Yeah this BlackBerry isn't RIM's newest smartphone, with the release of the Curve 8900, but that doesn't take away from all the great features of the Curve 8330. With the built-in GPS, push e-mail, and fantastic voice quality this BlackBerry just can't be beat for the price tag.

T-Mobile

BlackBerry Curve 8320
$74.99 (with two-year contract)
This smartphone has a wonderful mixture of features and power, and the newly lowered price just tops it all off. Another appealing aspect to consider with this phone is T-Mobile's unlimited Wi-Fi calling capabilities that they offer for a mere $9.99/month.

T-Mobile Dash
$49.99 (with two-year contract)
Now the Dash is certainly considered old and compared to a lot of other smartphones it can thought slow at times, but to posses a phone with the ability to run Windows Mobile 6 and offers all normal Microsoft-related features for such a low price gives reason to look past the sluggishness.

AT&T

Nokia E71x
$99.99 (with two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate)
The E71x is an awesome looking phone. The design is perfect. Add to its attractiveness a powerful Web browser, built-in Office document editing, and Microsoft Exchange support and you have one heck of a phone.

Apple iPhone 3G
$99.99 (with two-year contract)
This smartphone features fantastic Microsoft Exchange connectivity that allows you to sync calendars, contacts, and e-mails with your corporate server. Also with all the amazing applications offered with the iPhone 3G this certainly is hard phone to pass up.

Samsung Jack SGH-i637
$99.99 (with two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate)
The Jack is a slick chic phone that instantly catches your eye. Beyond looks, it also features an impressive mix of 3G and Wi-Fi radio, great voice quality, and Windows Mobile messaging. The Jack is a great smartphone for consumers who don't like the iPhone to look into.

Verizon Wireless

Blackberry Curve 8330
$49.99 (with two year contract)
This BlackBerry is also offered by Sprint as I mentioned above. With Verizon however, this smartphone does not include an IM client or mobile TV support, but you also don't have to deal with the $100 mail-in rebate that you would have if you went with Sprint as your provider. So really it just depends on what application you want for your phone.

HTC Ozone
$49.99 (with two-year contract)
The Ozone has plenty of attractive application and features. The highlights would include its CDMA and GSM compatibility and its Windows Mobile abilities. Package it with Verizon's dependable network and your business needs are sure to be met.

The Blackberry Bold 9000

The BlackBerry Bold 9000 is one of Research in Motion's latest 3G smartphones to hit the market. The Bold sports a sleek design, very sharp display, and high speed connectivity but is lacking other areas such as call quality and its camera's image quality. Although the phone presents a very enticing offer it's drawbacks may prevent you from justifying the high price tag. Here's what we have to say about the Blackberry Bold 9000.

The BlackBerry Bold is easily one of the most stylish BlackBerries yet and comes with a removable black leather cover which gives the phone a sophisticated look and is very comfortable to hold. The cover can also be customized with an optional blue, brown, green, gray or red to give it a more personalized feel. The Bold is also roughly the same size as the BlackBerry Curve 8300 with dimensions of 4.5 inches by 2.6 inches by .55 inches and weighs about equal to an iPhone at 4.8 ounces. The phone has curved corners and a glossy face but unfortunately lacks a touch screen that have become so ingrained in the world of smart phones.

The bold does come with a full QWERTY keyboard and various corporate e-mail and infrastructure characteristics that BlackBerry is known for. The keyboard itself is has been revamped in the Bold model with sculpted keys to minimize finger slippage and enhance usability. The Bold also has a superior battery life and provides over 7 hours and 50 minutes of talk time, which is longer than any other 3G phone I've seen. The BlackBerry operating system was revamped as well giving the interface in version 4.6 a looking cleaner and more attractive look. The new OS features background wallpapers and a customizable application view known as the Ribbon.

The phone itself also has an excellent display. Images and video look absolutely spectacular on the Bold's 480 X 320 VGA display which supports over 65,000 colors, twice as many as the BlackBerry Curve. In terms of performance, the BlackBerry Bold's display matches that of the iPhone's resolution and has great video playback with little to no pixelation or blurring. However the camera on the phone has much to be desired. The 2 megapixel camera has some advanced features including digital zoom and flash but many users report the flash being to bright causing indoor pictures to look grainy or overexposed. The camera also has very few megapixels for such an expensive phone and seems to be lacking on some features such as a self timer, which is non-existant.

The BlackBerry Bold has also had some reports on poor call quality. On several occasions calls made to other mobile devices consistently suffered from a background hiss and many times the voices on the other line sounded far away, as if they were talking to their phone from 5 feet away. People who have received calls from the BlackBerry Bold also reported hearing a lot of background noise and somewhat of a distortion in the voice.

The BlackBerry Bold undoubtedly delivers high-speed browsing and strong messaging capabilities and a definite step up in functionality and form from existing BlackBerry models, but some faults hinder its potential to compete with other well-known smartphones such as the iPhone and the T-mobile G1. With such a high price tag it will be hard to grab a consumers attention.

Verizon's Waterproof Flip Phone

How many more incredible features can be engineered for a cell phone? I’m not sure, but Verizon Wireless’ newest development has most certainly caught my eye. They have just recently released what has to be their best new camera phone, and it just happens to be waterproof. How absolutely awesome is that? For a person that texts even when they’re in the shower or at the pool, the release of the Verizon’s Casio Exilim C721 was fantastic news!

The Exilim is pretty good-looking for a flip phone. It’s a little big, measuring 4 x 2 x .08 inches and weighing 4.5 ounces, but the features make up for the slight bulk. When flipped open, you can examine the 2.3-inch screen that features 320 x 240-pixel display and swivels a full 180 degrees.

The Exilim is truly water resistant and meets all required military standards for shock and vibration. The phone can be dropped three feet deep into water and can be dropped safely from a height of about four feet above the water. Although with the swivel screen it is not a super tough phone, the Exilim really is completely water proof.

Verizon’s Exilim is the only U.S. carrier-model phone to feature a camera with optical zoom. The optical zoom works flawlessly and can even be utilized in video mode. The phone also has a LED flash that is considerably brighter than most other camera phones. So the fact that this phone can also take pictures underwater is just the icing on the cake.

The Exilim also features the ability to sync music with Rhapsody and connect to Verizon’s V Cast Video provider. It supports Verizon’s VZ Navigator GPS program and can be used as a modem on Verizon’s EV-DO Rev A network.

This phone starts a $279.99 with a Verizon contract. Although this fact makes the Exilim Verizon’s most expensive non-smartphone, with all the cool features it definitely makes it worth it. The amazing camera and the incredible fact that the phone is impervious to water makes the higher price tag seem justified to me.

Overheating iPhones

In response to the reports of iPhones overheating, whether these reports are true or not, Apple has disclosed that the iPhone 3G and 3G S have been equipped with a temperature warning screen.

Although these reports are most likely small in number, Apple still wishes to appease their consumers. It has been reported that some iPhones were so overheated that they changed from their original white color to a pinkish tone.

As a precaution, Apple has issued a warning that to most average iPhone customers should be pretty obvious. Users are advised to make sure there iPhone is not in an environment that exceeds 113 degrees Fahrenheit, including their car. Apple also warns consumers that applications such as playing music or utilizing the GPS systems feature in direct sunlight could increase the possibilities of overheating.

Using the iPhone in an environment where the temperature is over 95 degrees Fahrenheit can trigger the phone’s temperature warning. Apple warns that in this condition of high or low temperature problems, the iPhone’s battery life may be temporarily shortened or the device could possibly temporarily quit functioning properly.

On the flip side, Apple also stated that the iPhone 3G or 3G S should not be kept anywhere where the temperature could drop below -4 degrees Fahrenheit and should not be utilized in a temperature below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

If the iPhone is exposed to either of these extreme conditions, the temperature warning screen will most likely appear and the iPhone could experience a variety of problems. The phone could stop charging, the display may be dim, or you could experience problems with a weak signal.

With extreme heat this summer in various areas of the country, iPhone owners should take precautions so that nothing happens to their phone. Apple says that if you do experience an overheating problem, you should let your iPhone cool down before utilizing it again. So the moral of the story is to simply be smart. Don’t abandon your iPhone in any extreme temperature situations and you and your phone will be just fine.