Introducing the HTC Snap

The Snap (or S521 to give it its model number) is the latest PDA from HTC. Running Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard edition (ie Smartphone rather than Pocket PC), the Snap is the successor to the incredibly popular Excalibur (S620) and has a similar form factor, but at only 12mm thick and 61.5mm wide, it is a very sleek device indeed. The rest of the specs are similarly impressive:

Technical Specifications

• Model – S521
• Processor – Qualcomm MSM 7225, 528Mhz
• Memory – ROM: 256MB, RAM: 192MB
• Dimensions – 116.5 x 61.5 x 12.0 mm (LxWxT)
• Weight – 120 grams with battery
• Display – 2.4-inch TFT LCD with LED backlight and QVGA resolution
• Network
  • HSDPA / WCDMA - 900 / 2100 MHz - Up to 7.2Mbps downlink speed
  • Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE - 850/900/1800/1900 MHz - (Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent)
• Device control – Trackball with Enter button
• Keyboard – 4-row QWERTY keyboard
• GPS – Internal GPS antenna
• Connectivity
  • Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
  • WiFi IEEE 802.11 b/g
  • HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
• Camera – 2.0 megapixel color camera with fixed focus
• Audio supported formats – AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR, AWB, QCP, MP3, WMA, WAV, MIDI
• Video supported formats – WMV, ASF, MP4, 3GP, 3G2, M4V, AVI
• Battery
  • Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery:
  • Capacity - 1,500 mAh
  • Talk time - Up to 300 minutes for WCDMA / Up to 510 minutes for GSM
  • Standby time - Up to 480 hours for WCDMA / Up to 380 hours for GSM
    (the above are subject to network and phone usage)
• Expansion slot – microSD memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
• AC Adapter – Voltage range / frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60Hz DC output: 5V and 1A

What's in the box?

The Snap comes with the usual accessories you'd expect from HTC:

• Charger
• USB connection cable
• Hands-free kit
• User Guide CD
• ActiveSync / Outlook CD

Getting Started

When powered on the for first time, the Snap automatically, and correctly, detected the network I'm using from the SIM card, in this case a BT Mobile SIM, and prompted me to let it install the required Internet, WAP, SMS and MMS settings itself:

Following a quick reboot my device was then ready to connect to the Internet and send and receive text and picture messages.

Keyboard

I tend to get easily frustrated by smaller PDAs having quite large fingers, but the keyboard on the Snap is very responsive and easy to use for such a small form factor. Continuing the comparison between the Snap and the Excalibur, I'm showing my age a little, but think of the keyboard on the ZX Spectrum 128 as opposed to that of the original Spectrum.
Gone is the Joggr slide key of the Excalibur, which you will either have loved or despised with a passion!
A new feature to the Snap is the Inner Circle button which I will look at in a moment.
While I'm talking about inputs, it is perhaps a shame that the Snap does not have a separate headphone jack - the headset connecting to the single USB port, meaning that the headset cannot be used while the device is being charged, unless you opt for a Bluetooth headset.

Applications

Running Windows Mobile 6.1, the Snap has all the usual Microsoft applications you'd expect, including Office Mobile - viewers for Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint documents:

But it is the HTC-developed applications that make the Snap stand out. Emphasis has clearly been placed on the multimedia capabilities of the device: Within the Programs list is a folder called "Multimedia" containing a number of new applications:

The Album applications allows you to quickly and easily view thumbnails of the image files stored on the device as well as browse the photographs taken with the 2.0 megapixel camera:

From this application images can be set as the default home screen background, can be sent to friends via email or MMS, or can be displayed as a slideshow:

The Audio Manager application allows you to manage the sound files on the device, organising tracks by genre and arranging them into playlists:

GPS

The Snap has an integrated GPS antenna and comes with both Google Maps and QuickGPS preinstalled:

Enabling you to use the device with any compatible satellite navigation application whilst driving as well as any "geo-tagging" application compatible with the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system.

Camera

The integrated 2.0 megapixel camera can be used to capture still images or record video footage at up to 352x288 resolution.
The camera application has a number of preset effects you can use to make images look more 'artistic'.
Using online services you can capture an image of a presentation, for example, upload the image and have it converted into a PDF file, which can then be emailed back to the office.

Inner Circle

Inner Circle is a new feature to the Snap that allows you to add specific contacts to your "Inner Circle" and have emails and text messages automatically prioritised from those contacts. The Inner Circle application is launched either from the Programs folder, or directly from the keyboard by pressing the new Inner Circle button in the lower right hand corner:

The application will only work once you have at least one email account successfully configured and will display a list of those contacts that you have received email from:

Select the contacts that you want to be part of your Inner Circle and add them. Email messages from those contacts only will then be displayed:

Selecting the All Email option will return you to the default Inbox view.

Internet Explorer

The HTC Snap boasts the latest version of Internet Explorer Mobile which provides advanced web site rendering, ensuring the complicated web sites are displayed on the mobile device as close to the original as possible.
A 'mobile browsing' view automatically re-sizes text columns and images so that you only need to scroll up and down to view the whole web page rather than also left ro right. The view can be returned to normal at the touch of a button. The view can also be 'zoomed' in and out via the menu.

Summary

The latest offering from HTC makes keeping on top of your 'digital life' literally, a snap! Manage email, text and picture messages quickly and easily, never miss an appointment or lose a telephone number. Using Microsoft Direct Push technology your device can be updated automatically from the corporate Exchange server over the air.
A portable digital camera, video recorder and music player, the Snap is your consumer gadget as well as your essential business tool.
Slim, sleek and competitively-priced, the Snap also won't be making a dent in your pocket.

Contact Brightpoint today for more information - +44 870 849 0225