HTC Ozone

The HTC Ozone is Verizon Wireless' answer to Sprint's HTC Snap. Though its design is slightly different, it offers many of the same features and is positioned toward the same group of messaging-savvy users. In a great move, Verizon added Wi-Fi and dual-mode CDMA/GSM support, but we missed support for HTC's Inner Circle feature.

Size and weight:

The Ozone measures 4.5 by 2.5 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.7 ounces; that's half an ounce lighter than the Snap.

Network and connectivity:

It runs on the 800/1900 MHz CDMA frequencies and is compatible with the EV-DO 3G data network when on the Verizon network in the US; in international territories, it's compatible with 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks.

Memory and Display:

It has a internal memory of 256MB ROM/128MB RAM. MicroSD memory expansion to 16 GB. The HTC Ozone has a 2.4-inch screen (320 x 240-pixel resolution) that sits above a 5-way navigation rocker and standard send/end keys. The full QWERTY keyboard is ergonomically designed with extra-large domed keys and responsive tactile feedback to make typing emails and text messages fast, accurate and comfortable.

Camera and Video:

One thing that usually is sub-par in most phones I test is the camera. Even the iPhone 3G doesn’t have the best camera. Surprisingly, the HTC Ozone really scored in this area. It’s a 2 megapixel camera but in my tests it seemed to look even better than that. I can only imagine it’s because it features a decent auto-focus, which even managed to focus on a cereal box in my tests. That same camera also shoots video, too.

Entertainment Features:

Music and video on the HTC Ozone are handled by the Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player is an ugly app that can hardly handle today's media libraries. It does a poor job finding and organizing music, and offers few playback options or sound quality controls. In fact, it wasn't even good at displaying our album artwork. Though the HTC Ozone can play music directly from the homescreen, this was hardly an improvement, as serious music browsing requiring delving into WMP, and this was never a pleasant or intuitive experience. In addition, HTC's aversion to standard 3.5mm headphone jacks continues with the HTC Ozone. The phone ships with a generous adapter that offers expansion for 3.5mm, 2.5mm and even USB headphones, and HTC also includes a set of the latter style of earbuds. Still, most users would prefer a simple standard headphone port so you don't have to remember an adapter every time you leave the house.

It should be obvious at this point: I really like the Ozone. I could violently shake the other carriers for not getting this version. It has all the radios you'll need, great design, nice KB, looks sharp (when doesn't black and green look good together in technology?) and the phone JUST WORKS. WM Standard is a very reliable OS and is so easy to work with. Because of that, it is nice to see it melded with such great hardware from HTC and their added software tweaks.