Sprint Officially Commits to Releasing the HTC Snap

A new messaging-oriented smartphone from Sprint and HTC is already available at Best Buy and some Radio Shack locations, and this wireless carrier says the HTC Snap will be widely available in a few weeks.

Yesterday, Best Buy began listing this model on its website, and today it went on sale in some Radio Shack stores.

This afternoon, Sprint finally revealed its plan to put this device in its own stores, but not until June 21. The launch is reportedly being handled quietly to not distract attention away from the release of the Palm Pre.

The Snap is going for $150 to new Sprint customers, but is $170 for current subscribers. Naturally, getting these prices requires a two-year service contract. 

An Overview of the HTC Snap
This slim Windows phone has a strong focus on messaging. It is less than a half-inch thick (12 mm), yet includes a full keyboard with domed keys, 2.4-inch QVGA display, and Sprint's version has a trackball.

This model runs Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard on a 528 MHz processor, and has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as GPS, 2.0 megapixel camera, and microSD card slot.

HTC  is debuting the Inner Circle service in this device. This brings emails from a preselected group of people to the top of the user's inbox, enabling important messages to be acted upon immediately.

In addition, this smartphone comes with a suite of entertainment and productivity software, including a web browser, video player, Office suite, and much more. 

Source: InformationWeek, Phone Arena