Hasta La Gadget!

HTC’s new Windows Mobile smart phone, the Snap, looks a lot like a follow-up to the well-regarded T-Mobile Dash. So I was surprised when the Snap’s spec sheet and press release showed it as incompatible with T-Mobile’s network specs.

Have no fear, HTC’s Eric Lin told me. The Snap we see today isn’t the only version of the Snap that will ever exist. HTC is always willing to work with carrier partners on devices, he says.

In English, that means that if T-Mobile wants a Snap, HTC will make it so. Here’s hoping that T-Mobile is ordering a bunch right now.

I got a bit of cultural education at the CTIA 2009 show today, and I wanted to share it with you.

Over at the Fujitsu booth, they were showing off a bunch of stylish, waterproof phones. For some reason, the Japanese love waterproof phones. Sanyo has waterproof phones. Casio, as far as I know, invented the waterproof phone. So why are waterproof phones so popular in Japan?

“We like bath time,” the Fujitsu guy explained. I later had this story backed up by someone from Casio.

Apparently, in Japan, folks spend a lot of time in the bath. Japanese bathtubs are much deeper and larger than American tubs, and they’re more conducive to lounging around. Japanese folks swear by the health benefits of long, hot, frequent baths. Also, in a crowded society, the bath is one place you can get perfect privacy, and some peace and quiet.

Dovetailing dreamingly with the company’s SDK announcement today, Palm’s chosen CTIA to show off a round of third-party apps for the Pre, and the good news is that they’re definitely dispelling some doubts we had about the robustness of webOS’ development platform and its ability to deliver compelling software. We were emphatically reminded that everything here is strictly for the sake of preview — it’s all beta, just like the Pre itself — but that being said, it all looked smooth and relatively crash-free (as best as we could gather anyhow without giving it a more ruthless hands-on beating of our own).

First off, we saw a NASCAR app, perfect for die-hard fans (but really, even more perfect for Sprint’s track record of sponsoring NASCAR events) that culls video highlights, driver profiles, and more. Next, we were treated to a brief look at the Pre’s Google Maps implementation, Pandora, Amazon’s music store, and FlightView, a trick little flight status app that every frequent traveler will likely want loaded. We also saw a Pre version of the Sprint TV player — a staple service on most of Sprint’s devices — proving that the Pre has the stones to handle multimedia within its development framework. Video was just a little bit choppy, but they’re not making any claims that this is final, optimized code at this point. The best part of the whole demo, perhaps, is Pandora’s notification implementation, which brings up a mini-player by tapping on the “P” visible at the bottom of any Pre screen; from here, you can play / pause, rank tracks up and down, and see a full track name, all without leaving the comfort of whatever app you might be in. Try that on an iPhone, eh? Follow the break for video!

Continue reading Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What the Snap lacks in flair, it makes up for in sheer, unadulterated function — and having an utterly awesome keyboard certainly helps in that regard. It’s easy to pass off HTC’s latest portrait QWERTY handset as a bit frumpy from photographs, but trust us when we say that it’s totally passable in person (some might even call it insanely attractive) — think of it as the anti-8900, if you will. Pictured on the Snap above is the configuration screen for Inner Circle, which HTC also introduced this week. There’s really not much to it — you can add email addresses from your address book or from incoming emails, and when Inner Circle is enabled, only emails from those contacts will be visible in the Snap’s unified account-agnostic inbox. It’s a great idea for shutting out the electronic noise most of us experience in our day-to-day lives, and we’re hoping this little feature finds its way to HTC’s full WinMo lineup going forward. Follow the break for a video tour of the phone (and pay close attention, Yanks, ’cause it’ll be coming your way as the S522 in the next few months).

Continue reading HTC Snap hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

HTC Snap hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ban the wires! They tangle, they dangle, they’re just plain irritating. Today at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas, Jabra introduced two audio products that help you cut the cords. The Jabra HALO is a sleek black stereo Bluetooth headset for listening to music or answering calls. If your phone supports A2DP stereo Bluetooth, this lightweight (3 ounce) headset is a perfect option. Zirene Power Bass gives your music some extra oomph. When you get a call, your music fades out, and the company’s Noise Blackout technology ensures you’ll hear each other perfectly. The HALO folds up for easy storage and even has a corded option for devices that don’t offer stereo Bluetooth. It will sell for $129.99 in May.

Second, Jabra is introducing the SP200 speakerphone, a simple one-button device that can clip to your car’s visor or can be used in the home for conference calling. It promises excellent call quality and uses DSP technology to reduce background noise. The SP200 goes on sale this month for $59.99.