Processor

Both the HTC Snap (also known as the T-Mobile Dash 3G) and the Samsung Jack sport a 528MHz processor which provides a wealth of power for general tasks. Despite the fast processor, I have noticed some lag on the HTC Snap. Especially on opening the start menu after a fresh reboot. It’s a good 4-5 seconds waiting for the start menu to populate. It draws the windows almost instantly, but it takes a while to show the available programs. Advantage – Jack

Battery Life

According to the T-Mobile website, the Dash 3G should get up to 5 hours of talk time and up to 9 days on standby. Comparing that to Samsung’s website for the Jack, which says you can expect up to 7 hours of talk time and up to 12 days on standby. The difference in these 2 times is pretty interesting when the Dash 3G actually has a larger 1500mAh battery compared to a 1480mAh battery on the Jack. With a smaller battery, the Jack can last up to 3 days longer on standby and talk for 2 hours more. Advantage – Jack

Memory

Overall, I’m pretty disappointed that the memory on Windows Mobile Standard devices is still so limited compared to what is available on Professional devices. The Samsung Jack has 256MB RAM and 256MB ROM, while the HTC Snap has 192MB RAM and 256MB ROM. Personally, these devices should be coming with a gig or two of memory. Both of these devices are well short of the memory they should be loaded with given today’s memory prices and availability. The difference here is only 64MB, but when you have a quarter of what you should have, every little byte counts. Advantage – Jack

External Memory

Given that these devices are so limited in regards to the amount of storage they have onboard, external memory capacity becomes very important. In this regards, the HTC device is listed as supporting up to 32GB MicroSD cards. The Samsung Jack can only handle 16GB MicroSD cards. The largest MicroSD card I have is 16GB, so I’m not able to test these claims. We’ll have to go forward based on the information provided from the manufacturer. Advantage – Snap

Size

When it comes to size, the difference between these two devices is almost nothing. The Snap is 0.19 inches longer, 0.02 inches wider, and 0.03 inches less in depth than the Jack. The Jack may be a thicker phone, but the Snap is a longer device. (Jack – 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.5 / Snap – 4.59 x 2.42 x 0.47) The differences here are minimal. Advantage – Tie – Jack / Snap

Weight

Weight is important on any mobile device. Nobody wants to feel like they’re carrying a lead weight in their pocket. In much the same fashion as size, the weight is very similar between these devices. The Snap comes in at 4.23 ounces, while the Jack comes in at 3.5 Smart. That’s a difference of 0.27 between these popular devices. It’s not something that most people would notice. In fact, because of the shape and feel of each device, many people have misjudged the weight of each unit and guessed that the Snap was a lighter device. Advantage – Tie – Jack / Snap

Camera

Samsung has been working really hard to pack a nice camera into their smartphones, and the Jack is no exception – It sports a 3.2 megapixel camera. Compare that to the 2.0 megapixel camera found on the Snap. I’m sure there’s a cost savings and space savings associated with a 2.0 megapixel camera versus a 3.2 camera, but you can’t ignore what the competition is doing. The Snap should have at least a 3 megapixel camera in my opinion. Advantage – Jack

Charge / Sync Port

Proprietary ports are nothing short of a pain. Who really wants to buy all new accessories every time they switch phones? Samsung has talked about changing their use of proprietary ports in the future, but right now, the Jack is sporting Samsung’s proprietary connector. HTC, on the other hand, is using a standard miniUSB port for charging and synchronizing the device. If you have an existing USB car charger, or a spare wall charger, you won’t have to buy anything extra if you were to switch to the Snap. Advantage – Snap

Navigation

Trackball versus a d-pad. This really comes down to personal preference and how you use the device. The thing I like about a d-pad is that you can press and hold the up direction and the device will continue to scroll up through the list of items. With a trackball it’s a lot more thumb action to keep things scrolling. The trackball is difficult to use when you are trying to make a small movement or selection. Advantage – Jack

The winner of the showdown is the Samsung Jack with a score of 7 to 4. Now, to be clear, I don’t think you can go wrong with either of these devices. It’s best to make an informed decision about which device best suits your needs.

I think that HTC has done a pretty good job on the Snap, but they really need to place the bar higher and try to do more than the competition. It’s great to see them back making messenger style devices, but they should be pushing the limits and coming up with new devices that out spec the competition. Let’s see some Windows Mobile Standard devices with 4Gig of memory, larger resolution screens, faster processors, and better cameras. You’ve proven that you can lead the market on the Windows Mobile Professional side. Now let’s see you do that on Standard.

There’s a couple things I noticed right away. First, the scroll speed on the trackball by default, is slower than I would have liked. I changed it from Normal to Fast and that made it more responsive. The other thing that caught my attention is the mouse pointer that appears when you open IE Mobile. I changed the speed of the trackball for IE as well, but still found the trackball to be very unresponsive in IE Mobile. Once you learn that the trackball doesn’t support diagonal motion, you start to get better response out of it. At that point, two swipes would get me all the way across the screen.

HTC has done away with the JOGGR scroll bar that can be found on the original Dash / Excalibur. The only buttons found on the side of the device is the volume up and down switch. Otherwise, the top, bottom, and sides are free from quick action buttons. On the right side of the device, towards the top, you will find a little door that has HTC’s special power/sync/headset port.

The offset keys on the QWERTY keyboard are a pleasure to type on and have a good feel to them. I’m not sold on the location of the number pad on the keyboard. Because the keyboard is offset, the number pad doesn’t line up in the regular manner. It’s not the end of the world, but if I’m not looking at the device and I’m trying to dial, the numbers aren’t where I expect to find them. It will take a little getting use to.

One thing you may notice with the above picture, is the metallic paint job. The Snap has red and green sparkle to it. It’s hard to see, but it does give the device a nice twinkle when you look at it.

Under the battery door, you’ll find a spot for your SIM and MicroSD card. The SIM can’t be inserted or removed without removing the battery. There’s a small little switch that you need to flick up and this isn’t possible with the battery inserted into the device. There doesn’t appear to be any thing to prevent the MicroSD card from being removed.

Overall, I think that HTC has done a real solid job on this device. The trackball makes a wonderful addition for faster navigation and browsing. If you get a chance, it’s worth taking a look at this new Smartphone from HTC.

The question is, does HTC still have it? Is this new Standard edition device enough to win back the market which they once owned? Or does Samsung and Motorola (to a lesser degree) still have the market on messenger devices cornered? The Excalibur was my device of choice for a short time. I then switched to Samsung’s BlackJack line of devices and haven’t looked back because HTC just didn’t have the features that I was looking for.

All that should be changing with the release of HTC’s Snap smartphone. Remo Knops from Mobility Minded has got his hands on the new Snap smartphone and posted a detailed review of the device. Take a chance to read his review and let us know your thoughts on the Snap. Is this too little too late from HTC or is it just what the doctor ordered?

This past week HTC announced their all new smartphone called the HTC Snap. The device seems to be getting a fair amount of buzz since it was announced. HTC was showing it off to everyone at CTIA this week and now there are a number of video’s appearing online showing the Snap in action. In particular, there are three video’s that I wanted to link to. The first video, shown above, by MobileBurn.com shows Eric Lin from HTC explaining how the new InnerCircle functionality works. The next video is from HTC and it’s more of a promo piece that shows off the Snap. The final video is from SoloPalmari.com and it shows the Snap playing a video. The playback is pretty smooth and effortless.

The more I see of this device, the more I want one. Come on HTC, hurry up and get the North American version released.

The HTC Snap features a 528Mhz processor, 256MB ROM / 192MB RAM, a 2.4 inch QVGA screen (320×240), a 2.0 megapixel camera, Jog ball, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and with a 1500 mAh battery that claims up to 8 hours of talk time or 15.8 days on standby. There will be a 3G version available for Europe and North America. The European version is expected to be available during the second quarter of 2009, with the North American version hitting the streets in the summer.

There’s still a lot of information that we don’t know at this time. I have spent some time looking at the attached pictures, and I noticed a couple of interesting things. 1) there’s a messenger key on the keyboard – I’m not sure if this means it will be pre-loaded with MSN Messenger, or if it’s meant to launch a different application. It seems to indicate that HTC is serious about making this a killer messenger device.

2) The power button has been moved to the End key. Typically HTC likes to have their own power button and they use the End key for locking the keypad. Locking has been moved to the Q key. If you look closely around the sides of the device, you may notice that there doesn’t appear to be anything except volume buttons and power jacks. It’s a very clean design.

3) The camera button is a Function key away. So to launch the camera, you need to press the function key, then the messenger button. I’m guessing that HTC has determined that people using this device are not heavy into using the camera. That’s not what I expected, but it’s not a really big deal to me either way.

My initial thoughts on this device is – WOW. HTC has done a really nice job on this device. They’ve spent some time making sure that they built a rock solid, feature rich messenger focused device. I can’t wait until I can get my hands on this device and put it through some paces.

The full press release along with some more pictures can be found after the break.

LAS VEGAS – April 1, 2009 – HTC Corporation today debuted its newest QWERTY smartphone, the HTC Snap™. Designed with a set of features selected to deliver everything customers need without overwhelming them with things they don’t, the HTC Snap makes it easier than ever to stay in contact with life’s most important people.

A recent study conducted by Harris Interactive® and commissioned by HTC* found that 44% of US adults are often overwhelmed by the amount of email they receive, and over half (55%) of US adults prioritize five or fewer people with whom they communicate via email. In response to these issues, HTC’s innovative Inner Circle feature allows HTC Snap users to press a dedicated Inner Circle key to bring emails from a preselected group of people to the top of their inbox, enabling important messages to be acted upon immediately.

“Recognizing that people are being overwhelmed by an avalanche of email, the HTC Snap introduces Inner Circle, an HTC innovation that makes it easy for people to prioritize messages from the most important people in their lives at the press of a button,” said John Wang, Chief Marketing Officer, HTC Corporation. “The HTC Snap represents the latest step in HTC’s mission to create a range of innovative smartphones, each with specific benefits designed to both surprise and delight our customers.”

With a slim, sleek profile designed to fit perfectly in the hand, the HTC Snap measures less than a half-inch thick (12 mm), yet it can deliver up to eight and a half hours of talk time with the standard 1500mAh battery. The full QWERTY keyboard is ergonomically designed with extra-large domed keys and responsive tactile feedback to make typing emails and text messages fast, accurate and comfortable. High-speed 3G HSPA connectivity makes it quick and easy to send pictures to friends, access favorite social networking sites, or download large files while on the go.

The HTC Snap is powerful enough for experienced business users looking for an affordable, straightforward choice for remotely synchronizing email, calendar and contacts with their Microsoft Exchange server. However, the flexible Microsoft Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard platform allows the HTC Snap to also be simple enough for first-time smartphone users wanting to keep their family life organized.

The HTC Snap is expected to be available in select channels during the second quarter of 2009, rolling out in markets around the world throughout the second half of the year. Additionally, an unlocked version supporting HSDPA at 850/1900MHz for the US market will be made available under the name HTC S522 during the summer.