Posts Tagged ‘Smart Phone’

Why I bought my HTC Snap

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

I have been slowly upgrading cellular phones over the years. Each time I purchase a new phone I always try to find one that not only has the features I need, but works well with the plan that I have and the carrier that I use. I have been with Sprint for almost 5 years now and I will say that I am pretty satisfied with their service. Yes, there are times when my signal drops unexpectedly, however that is about the worst thing that has happened so far.

A little over a month ago, I decided to upgrade my phone to an HTC Snap. I previously had a Samsung rant, which did the job, it just did not have the features that I was looking for. I was looking for a device that would act more like a computer rather than a phone. When I found the HTC Snap, I realized that this was the phone for me.

I was not necessarily looking for a touch phone, nor a phone that completely focused on games and video. I was looking for a good all around phone that did the job. I wanted a phone with Windows Mobile that would sync well with the Exchange server at work. I also needed a phone that would not raise my monthly bill. I was informed than many of the touch phones, blackberries, and other smart phones required an upgraded data plan. The HTC Snap did not. In fact I can do anything I want with my HTC Snap without having to pay more money per month.

The main feature I like about the snap is its simplicity for a smart phone. It looks very much like a palm or a blackberry, however it has a very simple user interface as well as a very ergonomic keyboard and buttons. Simplicity was key for this purchase. I needed a phone that would do everything, however stay simple. I did not need a touchscreen or a lot of bells and whistles, what I needed was a phone with a good battery and a phone that would be compatible with many other things. The phone has a 2.0 megapixel camera, however the pictures take very well and there is a zoom feature. I can also record video on the fly with this camera. At the moment I have a 4GB micro SD card, however it can take as much as 16 GB. That is small compared to some other phones, however a lot larger than all other phones that I have owned.

I really like the software on my HTC Snap. I can easily connect with Google Maps to find a location, I can easily get to Facebook, and I can use Internet Explorer as my default browser. Hopefully they will have a version of Firefox soon, if not already. I can remote desktop to my other windows machines, and I can open a variety of file types on the fly. This phone is great for playing music, or transferring files. I can easily connect to blue tooth devices, and I can send picture mail with ease.

There are so many things that this phone has to offer and I am learning more and more things about it on a daily basis. I hope that more phones come out that are simple yet advanced as this one. Sometimes it is all about convenience and I believe that HTC has provided this with the Snap.

The New Palm Pre has it all

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Dear Santa, what do I want for Christmas? A new Palm Pre. Why, because it just plain rocks. Not only does it have splendid graphics and 3G speeds, however it has some really cool features such as the ability to act as a wireless modem for laptops. This feature is great, especially since there are times that I just want to go to a park with my laptop and relax and do some work. Also, I could literally work from my boat if I had to, as long as there was cellular service on the lake. The idea of checking emails between casts sounds awesome, however I would probably never get anything done.

The new Palm Pre Smart Phone with GPS and a full querty  keyboard

The new Palm Pre with a full querty keyboard

Anyways, there are a lot of other features on this phone that make it worth while. I like the fact that it is a touchscreen phone yet has the full querty keyboard, because sometimes it is just a lot easier to type messages with actual keys. Also, this phone come with the Palm webOS operating system which integrates very well with Microsoft Exchange so that you acn get all of the necessary functionality, such as calendar, tasks, and contacts. There is also built in GPS in this device which is pretty much the standard on all phones, however you do not have to use a special service provided by your service provider to make this work. Basically it acts like hand held GPS device or one that you would purchase for your vehicle. Its a great way to save those hard to reach fishing spots, so you know where to go next time.

There are also a ton of very cool new applications available for this phone. It features chat, music, and all the other stuff you would basically need, however there are some very cool detailed applications available as well. I really like the Pandora application that lets your stream in FREE online music. Of course you will need a plan that has unlimited data, however if you work in a place that does not allow streaming music, then you can easily open up and play your favorite music from Pandora. There are also a few Weather applications that are available with high resolution graphics. This is great, especially if you are out on the Lake or out hiking your favorite local spot. You can see if a storm is coming or forecasts for the next few days. I really like this because if you are camping and you are debating on staying or leaving, this is a good way to tell if the way will subside or not. I know, why would you take a computer camping, well so you won’t get lost in the woods. Just use the navigational tool that has a compas built right in. Yes a compas that actually looks like a very nice high definition tool with your exact location.

Pal Pre's Navigation application and digital compass

Pal Pre's Navigation application and digital compass

This phone just seems to have it all. There are a number of things that I can talk about, like the high definition camera, or the large storage capacity, however that is becoming the standard for a lot of phones. I know what some of you may say, my iPhone can do all of this stuff? Yeah, but does your iPhone have Sprint service which is the most coverage in the US, I don’t think so!

If I was a good boy this year, maybe Santa might pay me a visit!