HTC has created what is quite possibly the best Windows Mobile 6.1 device ever conceived. With the HTC Ozone (known as the HTC Snap on Sprint), HTC has crammed a massive amount of function into a rather small amount of space.

Controls: 8/10

Let’s start with the most important part of a QWERTY device: the keyboard. The keyboard on the Ozone is, overall, awesome. After only a few minutes, I had become acclimated to it, and was banging out full-length emails and even a couple of blog posts within hours. The keys have a satisfying clicky feel to them, and have the perfect amount of travel and resistance. I would have preferred there to be a bit more spacing between each key, but as previously stated I got used to it fairly quickly. Folks with larger than average fingers may have trouble, but my fat digits have no problem.

The primary control device on the phone is a 4-way D-pad that surrounds a center button. The d-pad itself has a nice, tactile feel to it, and I have found no trouble navigating through the phone using it. I would have liked for the center button to have been SLIGHTLY thicker, but it still gets the job done. Flanking the 4-way d-pad are two rocker-style buttons that perform various functions (as displayed directly above them on the 2.4″ screen). On the right rocker button, pushing the button functions as a “back” command, while the bottom of the left rocker button takes you back to the home screen. Flanking the rocker button on the right is the End/Power button, and on the left is the Send/Microphone button. On the upper left-hand side of the phone are two volume buttons. On the bottom of the phone is the miniUSB port. There is no 3.5″ headphone jack, although this does not affect me as I don’t use my phone for music.

Overall, the controls on the Ozone function extremely well, although I would have liked to have seen a Blackberry-style trackball in place of the d-pad. My primary issue, however, is that the miniUSB is a propriety design instead of the standard miniUSB connection…despite the fact that the port itself IS a USB port! I know this was done so that you are required to buy a proprietary cable, but come on HTC…really? A non-standard miniUSB port?

Interface: 9/10

The Ozone uses a standard Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system without any fancy skins or flashy interfaces. I know that many people have gripes with Windows Mobile 6.1, but on the Ozone it positively sings. The Ozone’s Qualcomm 528 MHz processor combined with 128 MB of RAM keep things running silky smooth. Even with 15 applications running in the task manager, the interface and various applications run smoothly and remain stable. Touches such as IM-style threading for text messages and an attractive black default theme are great additions. Granted, it’s not as eye-humping as TouchFLO, or something similar…but it still works great and runs super smooth.

ActiveSync makes transferring files from your computer to the Ozone super simple, and the Ozone managed every Windows Mobile application I threw at it perfectly. Internet Explorer 6 leaves a bit to be desired, but it works well enough for basic browsing needs. Just about every complicated web page (Facebook, Netflix, Google Maps, etc.) either has its own Windows Mobile application, or a mobile version of it’s web page, so the browser’s lacking capabilities aren’t that big of a deal. The Ozone is capable of rendering full HTML web pages, however the 2.4″ screen is a bit too small to do so comfortably.

Features, extras, etc: 9/10

Extra bells and whistles are where the Ozone REALLY stands out. Supporting GSM Quad-band and CDMA Dual Band, along with GPRS/CDMA2000 1xRTT/EDGE/1xEV-DO rev.0/1xEV-DO rev.A , ensures that this phone will be useful pretty much anywhere in the world. The rated 4.83 hours of talk time and 324 hours of stand-by time ensure that your battery should last all day, even with frequent use. The screen, while only 320 X 240 resolution and 2.4″ diagonally in size, is quite nice looking. The low resolution is starting to show its age, but with the plain-Jane Windows Mobile interface, it’s difficult to tell unless you really look closely. The Ozone supports MicroSD/SDHC cards up to 16 GB in capacity, in addition to the 256MB of built-in flash memory. MPEG4, WMV, H.263 and H.264 are supported, as well as MP3, AAC, WMA, and WAV. Stereo Bluetooth 2.0 is included, and 802.11b/g WiFi is supported. Yes, you read that right: another Verizon phone with WiFi support.

The phone itself is 4.50 inches long, 2.50 inches wide, and only half an inch thick. Not the smallest phone, to be sure…but certainly small enough to fit in a pocket unobtrusively. It weighs in at 3.70 oz, or 105g. A little bit on the light side, but it still has enough heft to not feel fragile. The back is a grey plastic of some kind, and the front is a glossy black plastic that enjoys fingerprints, but not as much as a PSP. In some reviews I have read, the reviewers have remarked that it looks a bit cheap…but I think it looks well enough. It isn’t going to win any awards for best looking phone, to be sure…but it won’t win any for ugliest phone either. Again, function over form.

Overall: 9/10

If you are a looking for a phone that enables you to email on the go, text message comfortably, casually browse the Internet, and even put together blog posts, the HTC Ozone is a smart choice to go with. It’s easy to type on, has a beautiful, bright screen, and comes with minimalistic and perfectly appropriate ring tones for various alerts. Get it! You won’t regret it:-)