This is actually been at this price for about a month now, but it was news to us, so perhaps news to you.

If you're looking for a cheap and halfway decent Windows starter phone, the Snap is completely free at Best Buy (down from $149, then $99) with a 2-year contract. See our full review for a refresh.

We'd say the phone is about worth that with a 2 year contract and it's actually a fun device, especially if you slap WM6.5 on it before that official release comes down the road.

Hot on the heels of the Sprint Treo Pro's custom ROM comes one for the Sprint Snap, a device which I love and hate (hint: the KB drives me nuts).

As usual, credit goes to those mavericks at XDA.  Specifically jockyw2001, who did the HardSPL to unlock the ROM and ookba who brings a beautiful WM6.5 custom job with all sorts of goodies loaded up.

It's a pretty basic install:

1. Run HardSPL
2. Run SDA Application Unlock,
3. Install Custom ROM

So how is WM6.5 for Standard?  Pretty. It's zippy, looks nice and works.

Ookba has done a great job of cooking all sorts of customizations, including Titanium Weather (similar to NRG Weather), button configuration utility, HTC UI Tweaks, IE keymaps, HTC Comm Manager, Skyfire, Opera Mini, HTC's Unlock screen...basically it feels more like the Verizon Ozone now (except the KB).

After the jump are a few screenshots. Remember, it's always nice to tip or at least give a thanks to these folks for all the hard work!

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We've been pining for an over-the-air ability to update Windows Mobile firmware for quite some time now. From the introduction of Windows Update in WM6, which has never been used, to the promises of Windows Mobile 7, this feature has been on the cusp of being a reality for far too long.

Interestingly on the HTC Sprint Snap if you look under Settings --> Device Management, you can see a Firmware Update option that seems to actually be functioning. When launched there is "FUMO" in the title bar which stands for Firmware Update Managed Object as documented in the MSDN Center for Windows Mobile. Furthermore, it is checking in with a server, responding with "No firmware update is available" after a few seconds.

We know devices like the AT&T Epix can do these types of updates, but we haven't seen this feature from HTC,WM or Sprint yet (as far as we remember). 

Now the big question is will Sprint/HTC actually use this anytime in the future, perhaps for WM6.5 or just bug fixes? We bet on the latter due to the how the OTA system works.  Lets hope we can give it a go sometime.

The Snap (S511) by HTC is replacing the venerable Motorola Q9c on Sprint and is its low cost Windows Mobile messenger device ($149 with contract; $399 without). Running Windows Mobile Standard 6.1, the phone packs quite the punch in terms of specs and features HTC’s new offset QWERTY keyboard, meant to mimic a real desktop keyboard. 

After three weeks of using the device and putting it through the works, we have our verdict. Read on for our full-featured review!

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Forget the Palm Pre, never mind the iPhone 3GS, we've managed to get our mitts on the soon-to-be-released Sprint HTC Snap! (insert snicker) Sprint looks to be the first out the gate with this entry-level messenger device and it's made some changes from the GSM version that debuted only a few months ago.

Running Windows Mobile 6.1, the Sprint Snap (it actually keeps the HTC name) is replacing the venerable but problem-prone Motorola Q9c.

Wanna know all the deets, see some pics and get our first-impressions?  Read on for our exclusive mini-review!

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Yep, no denying it. That's the Sprint version of the HTC Snap, all right. Mr. Blurrycam strikes again as he picks up an early uboxing of the Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard phone, which we know to be coming to a couple of U.S. carriers now, and it's already on Best Buy's Web site.

If our previous leaked information holds up, the Snap should be on sale this coming Sunday, June 7. Get the rest of Mr. Blurrycam's work at the Boy Genius Report.

You can't pick one up in stores and it's not yet being shipped, but you can go ahead and drop $519.99 on the Sprint variant (the S511) of the HTC Snap at Best Buy's Web site. Of course, that's the off-contract price, and it should drop if you're willing to fork over a couple years of your cellular life.

Via BGR

We'll take a nugget of news whenever and however we can, and we're getting this one from our cousins over at PreCentral.net. They're poring over every possible source for a hint as to when the Pre will arrive, and their work is our gain.

Notice Line 2 in the photo above from SprintGurus. Why, hello there, HTC Snap! Looks like you'll be the S511 when you're rolling with Big Yellow. (It's expected to be the S522 on T-Mobile.) Coal over at SG also notes that the Snap is currently in testing with Sprint.

And that mention is all we've got. No word on price or a release date, though we're hearing possibly June, which would be in line with that leaked Sprint roadmap. No matter what, it'll be nice to see an Windows Mobile Standard phone hit Sprint, which has been cranking right along with the Treo 800w and Treo Pro.