[February 10, 2010] Philadelphia Daily News Jonathan Takiff column: Jonathan Takiff: Full menu of apps not to your taste? Then have a Snac Tweet Feb 10, 2010 (Philadelphia Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- THE GIZMO: A Snac attack. GETTING APP HAPPY: Are you tired of all the talk of "apps" (applications) for the iPhone to do everything from tracking ball games to keeping up with Facebook friends? Wish you could get some of that fun stuff on your more conventional, not-so-smart phone? You're in good company. Even this year, it's estimated that only about 7 percent of the 165 million phones to be sold in the United States will be iPhones. Add in the other mobile phones that run on a serious operating system (Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android, BlackBerry, Linux varieties), and we're still talking about only 25 percent of consumers buying a so-called smart phone that can run those apps -- and that requires a pretty expensive (like, $30 a month) data plan. Now, for the rest of us, there's an alternative to apps called "Snacs." These are free, instantly accessible programs that run on the phone that's already in your pocket if you're a customer of Sprint, T-Mobile or AT&T and have upgraded (but who hasn't?) in the past couple of years to a so-called "feature phone." (Snacs also run on a bunch of smartphones, including BlackBerrys and Androids, but not in closed-system iPhones, unless you "jailbreak" it.) By definition, a feature phone has a decent amount of memory and a nicer, more readable screen. Some displays are as big and touch-friendly as a fancy smart phone's. But feature phones cost a whole lot less (some are even free) and only require only a $5- to $10-a-month data plan to bring home the Snacs. SNAC ATTACK: Developed by mobile communications veteran Mark Caron, a New Jersey guy and former CEO of Omnipoint Communications (swallowed by T-Mobile) and MobileSpring/Ztango (a ringtones pioneer now part of Real Networks), Snac is moving out of the beta-test phase and ready for mainstream feasting. Snac scoops up and presents a bunch of the apps "that people actually use on a regular basis -- offering them access to things like news and weather, Twitter and Facebook, Google Calender and MySpace," Caron told me. "You hear about the iPhone having 140,000 apps . . . but when push comes to shove, most people only really use three or four regularly," the developer said. "And Snac serves them to you faster, with fewer clicks and much less taxing of the phone system or your data plan." Snac offers up its treats as an array of icons on a home page that looks similar to an iPhone dashboard. But look closer and you'll see that the Snacs are not static symbols but mini-billboards, regularly updating the local temperature, game scores, stock prices, news headlines and such. Click or tap (if you have a touch screen) on one and the Snac opens to reveal more info. To read the full story at a news site, tap again at the bottom of the screen. "The request comes up instantly because our service is always streaming in the background and caching to the phone, storing its updates to the phone's memory," said Caron. "Apple won't let you do that kind of multitasking on the iPhones." Nor will the iPad, which has been a source of much grieving since its recent introduction. At the moment, Snac supports about 300 models, including non-smart phones that run Java programming language and smart phones that run Windows Mobile, the BlackBerry OS and Symbian phones, with a version two OS coming out shortly. BRINGING IN BREW, TOO? If negotiations go as hoped, Snac also will pop up this year on phones that run Qualcomm's BREW MP cellphone operating system, likewise designed to bring smartphone functionality to lower-priced phones. And a good thing, too. Verizon uses a version of BREW on feature phones. AT&T has said it will adopt Brew MP for all its new, quick-messaging phones (those with hard or virtual QWERTY keyboards), with first models coming out this summer. Both Samsung and LG have announced plans to make Brew MP phones. GETTING THERE: Go direct and load your phone with just the sites you want (including virtually every RSS feed) by visiting the www.Mysnac.com Web site. Some heavier Snacs like Facebook will also need to be configured on the PC with passwords. LET'S TALK ABOUT IT: Join my schmooze online from noon to 1 p.m. today. Go to philly.com/ hotbutton. We'll talk about Snac, and you can share your favorite apps, too. Mark Caron says he'll pop in for the conversation. E-mail Jonathan Takiff at takiffj@ phillynews.com. To see more of the Philadelphia Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.philly.com/dailynews. Copyright (c) 2010, Philadelphia Daily News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]