Customer Reviews

T-Mobile MDA Smartphone (T-Mobile)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

When my Motorola A630 took an unexpected spin in my washing machine, I looked for another phone that had the things I liked about the A630 (the flip out qwerty keyboard) and also compensated for some of the things I didn't like about the A630 (the lack of real PDA functionality). So I found the treo. Since I was pretty happy with the T-Mobile service and they do not have the treo, I got the MDA.

There are some things that annoyed me about this unit right away, that I have since gotten used to. How you shift to the "symbol" keys (all the non-alphabetic characters, including numbers) is very non-inuitive and isn't in the "getting started" guide. You press the key in the very bottom left TWICE to stay on the symbol keys. There is no on-screen feedback that says what mode it is in (i.e. whether you are locked on alpha or symbol mode). When you are in symbol mode, you cannot use the backspace key.

Unlike the Palm devices and my A630, it does not change the mode based on the type of field you are on. For instance, say...you are entering a phone number (I know this is a really weird thing to add to a phone)...it does not switch you to symbol mode when you are on a phone field.

One more annoying thing, is that there is no keystroke you can program that will lock the device. You can obviously go to the "Today" screen and lock it from there, but I have not found a way to lock it using a program that can be assigned to one of the buttons.

Now that I've gotten through the annoyances...I must say I really dig this phone. I have it hooked up through the Wi-Fi network in my house and use it in T-Mobile's hotspots to get hi-speed internet access. The screen is pretty crisp and it syncs up well with Outlook using infra-red and USB.

It comes with a pretty good client for Yahoo Instant Messenger that I use. It also comes with access to AOL and some other client that I don't use.

The sound quality of the device is pretty good.

One more thing, if you are calling or messaging people that are not in your address book, using the buttons on the touch-screen to dial can be very difficult, and you might as well just use the stylus. Once you get everyone you call or message into your phone book this isn't such a big deal.

First of all, I think everyone who complains about this device not doing everything pefectly need to realize that there is no device that does everything top of the line. This device is going to appeal to folks who have a pocket PC and Cell, and wish to integrate the two. I fit this demographic, and I am very happy with it.

If you have never owned a pocket pc then I can understand why you would be complaining, pocket PC's are menu based, and the phone works like a PDA, so it's logical that it would take a little bit more work than it does to send a message on the sidekick. The sidekick is primarily made to send message duh! Also, EVERYONE that has ever owned a pocket PC knows that when you hit that X to close a program it doesn't release it from memory. All you do is go to the start > settings > memory > running programs > and hit stop all that frees up the memory that is being used. EVERY pocket pc ever made has been like that, that's where your lag is coming from. There is a program called handy task I think, it sits in the start bar and you hit it to close any resident memory apps you would like. Problem solved, if you can't deal with that then go back to another device and never buy a windows mobile or pocket PC, because it doesn't seem like that is going to change.

I purchased a 2 gig mini SD Card, and I loaded my Handmark Monopoly for Pocket PC onto the device and it runs flawlessly. I have also used DVD to Pocket PC to shrink movies down, I watched them on the MDA without any issues. I would recommend that you invest in a decent sized mini SD card (1 gig on ecost for $49.99), and store all of your programs and files on the card, you won't have any lag except when you slide open the keyboard and that's to be expected to an extent.

Bye, Bye Naysayers!!!!

It is a great phone only after you put a lot of effort to upgrade it. what I did:
1. purchase a screen protector to prevent scratch.
2. upgrade ROM to version 2.24. otherwise you will find it could take your phone up to 2 hours to register into network, where there is 5 bars of signal. and there is a lot of improvement with this ROM, like more stable OS and memory management, faster response, more custom settings, java, and the coolest, A2DP support, which allows you to listen stereo music via BT headphone.
3. disable the automatic upgrade timezone in your phone setting. it is enabled by default with the new ROM. but it doesn't work correctly: it always think I'm in IN while I'm actually in NY. so I was late in 3 days in last week.
4. install a free software to overclock the CPU. it works stably in 264MHz. the battery consumption in this speed is acceptable.
5. buy some cool things: I bot a 2GB mini SD, a BT GPS reciever, a BT steoro headphone. the headphone seems a must because the many of my friends complained when I used the mic with the phone.
6. install softwares. I installed iGuidance for map, iSilo to ebook, MDict for dictionary, listpro for data, Opera, TCPMP for media, Skype, Total Commander for system management, and several games like Age of Empire and Warfare.
7. asian language can be supported by copying font file and modifying the registry. but you'd better not change the reginal settings. some software won't run properly under asian locale.
8. you can call TMobile to cancel the $29.99 internet plan and replace with $5.99 TZone. you can still browse and check email with this plan.

CONs:
1. camera still not cool enough: only 1M pixel
2. CPU may be slow. its competitors all are equipped with >400MHz.

Update: TMobile just released their new version of firware 2.26

Great Phone, but poor reception is a killer

This phone, made by High Tech Computer Corporation in Taiwan is a fantastic marvel of technology with great features like built-in WiFi (and the ubiquitous Bluetooth). The ability to hack the registry and run third-party applications like Skype make this a formidable phone for anyone who travels overseas. Imagine making free Skype calls from a WiFi hotspot anywhere in the world!

Pros:
- Windows Mobile 5.0, once you get used to its overbearing and inexcusable flaws, is actually very useful and gets along well with the Microsoft suite of aps like Office.
- Large and easy to read display (takes up most of the phone).
- Easy to do a soft reset... at least compared to the Treo, which I had to take apart the stylus. This is important since you will be rebooting the phone often.
- Learn to use the "OK" and soft keys... they are your friend and will alleviate you trying to hit a tiny X target with your big finger.
- This is a "World Phone" GSM Quad Band... which is something other carries don't seem to understand... mainly due to their incompatible CDMA technology.
- "Push" messaging means you will find out about new emails when they arrive... in somewhat real-time. This applies to POP3, IMAP and corporate Exchange emails.

Cons:
- Programs never stop running. You must go into the Start/Settings/System/Memory/Running Programs and click Stop to stop a program. This eats up your memory very quickly, even though Bill Gates assure you that the applications only take up a little bit of memory. My problems are the applications that are not made by Microsoft... but then most of them have "exit" options.
- The device has slow response times. A lot of the time if you awaken the device and hit the start menu there will be a two second delay. Launching any application takes longer than it should... and this includes the camera. If you are like me, you want instant access to the camera to capture a moment. While there is a dedicated key on the side for the camera, it still must launch an application... which takes time. Everything takes longer than it should (or what I would expect).
- The side keys are on the edges of the phone... exactly where you put your fingers to hold the device. Instead of putting them together, they are distributed to each corner of the phone. This means that the Comm Manager will pop-up when you least expect it.
Paul's Tip: If you press and HOLD the Comm Manager button, you will toggle the vibrate/ring mode.
- If you enable WiFi and connect to a WAP, Internet Explorer will not switch over from GPRS. You must restart the phone for it to understand that you are now using Wifi. Remember, IE doesn't ever stop running. Also, WiFi does not shut itself off, needlessly draining your battery. One more thing... the default settings for Windows Mobile is to alert you every time it finds a new access point. In today's congested world, this is a curse.
- Some important features were disabled in the T-Mobile locked version of the phone... like 802.11g (the hardware supports it), the ability to know if the caps and Function (blue dot) keys are enabled (this is incredibly frustrating when typing in a password that you can't see what you are typing) and indications of whether you are on the high-speed EDGE or plain old GPRS network or not. Good news is that there are registry hacks for all these problems (requires you know what you are doing).
- Lack of a dedicated row of number keys (you need to hit "Blue-dot" then the number). The keyboard backlight times-out exactly when you need it to stay lit (how does it know?).
- Requires two-handed operation for anything beyond taking a phone call. This is important for anyone who previously owned a Treo or no phone at all.
- If you miss a call due to the inadequate ringer volume (or no signal), you will only be notified once that you missed the call and you have voicemail. After that... you are on your own to constantly check in with the phone to see if you missed a call/voicemail. There is no repeat notification. There is a check box for REPEAT in the notifications setup, but it is greyed out and not checkable... I have yet to figure this one out.
- The ringers included with the phone are lame. However, this is true with most phones. There is an easy (undocumented) way of placing MP3s into the ringers folder on the phone via USB cable.
- My particular unit has incredible reception problems. Trust me, I've done much "can you hear me now" research and I have a good understanding of the technology. There is no excuse for the constant anxiety I am living in due to the mysterious disappearing signal. I have developed a habit of CONSTANTLY waking up the phone to see if it is getting reception. It takes an INCREDIBLY long time for the phone to "find" service... agonizingly long... even though the phone had slamming full signal strength two minutes ago... it will take 5, 10 even over 30 minutes to find service again. Since I am panicked that I am missing an important call during this time, I have aged at least 6 months in the last week. Even shutting down the phone and restarting still takes an agonizingly long time to find service. As I write this sentence... I have no service... and it's not from a lack of coverage. My wife has a Motorola RAZR V3 and it takes mere seconds to start the phone and find service. I will be exchanging my phone in hopes that it is my particular phone, and not a common problem with all MDAs.
- If you have read this far, then you deserve to learn that Wikipedia is a great launching pad for more information about this phone, including the undocumented "fixes". Search for HTC Wizard.

This phone is exactly what I was looking for; a versatile and comprehensive all-in-one machine. For over three years I used a Treo 600 and was pretty happy with it's performance. It had it's definite shortcomings and synching problems but I could get done about 75% of the things that I needed/wanted to on the machine. Now, I can do 150% of the things I wanted to and I'm increasing my level of organization and efficiency and decreasing the amount of time doing so. With this phone, I don't need to rely on my primary pc as much.

First, let me describe my wish for an all-in-one and do know that I am a PC user:
- Synch w/MS Outlook Email
- Receive/Send POP Email (Gmail)
- Voice Dial & Conference Options
- Be Compatible w/ Franklin Covey PlanPlus Outlook Add-ins (Daily Record and Tasks)
- Be Compatible w/ MS Money 2004 Add-Ins (so I can manage finances for my family)
- Play Music & Synch w/ Desktop program
- Edit MS Office Documents (Word, Excel PowerPoint)
- Double as a Dictaphone
- Utilize IM
- Browse the Internet
- View all of this on a higher resolution screen
- Double as an alarm clock
- Utilize Medical programs
- Read Books

This device does all of this and while I had to load on some components, doing so was easy. A couple of times after loading the add-ins it asked me to disconnect from the computer and connect back again. After doing so I would sometimes get a synch error but all I had to do was disconnect it again, wait a minute and connect it. No problem after that. The only shortcoming that I've found is that Windows Media Player the primary audio program (makes sense). I prefer iTunes because of the download options and the way it organizes the music but I'll suck it up and go back to WMPlayer.

The speed of the device is pretty quick. If you're used to pushing a computer hard and demanding speed from it, you might be a little frustrated initially. At 200 Mhz it's still quick and does the job well but you can't push it hard like your pc. The lack of speed doesn't bother me so much because I'm in it for the organization and it's already saving me time and money. Plush, I'm not a heavy entertainment user (internet, music, photo/video) so the speed really works well for me.

After doing a lot of searching around I found that this device and the T-Mobile service were the right combination. 70 a month for minutes and unlimited HotSpot/Data Usage. This also means you can take your laptop to any HotSpot and connect as well. To do all of this through Cingular one would have to pay 40 dollars just to allow the phone to connect to a wireless network at a business and then you have to pay additionally to connect your laptop. That right there sealed the deal for me.

I could go on for a couple of hours about the various organizational techniques one could use by utilizing this phone but I won't bore you. Just know that if staying on top of your schedule, tasks and keeping focused upon your goals is important to you, this machine is perfect for you and with T-Mobile and Amazon, you save a bunch. Going straight through T-Mobile for this phone you have to spend 300-400 just to get it.

Additional links suggestions:
- For a miniSD card shop Amazon vs. BestBuy (35$ versus 80)
- For awesome screen protectors www.boxwave.com (T-Mobile MDA US - Vario version)
- For many free application downloads www.downloads.com
- Most thorough review of this device (search for "Qtek Imate Review" if the page doesn't show): www.geek.com/hwswrev/pda/wizard/index.htm

Update: Downgrade rating to 4 stars. . . still great device though.

I don't normally write reviews for products I purchase, but I feel compelled to write this because it was an [...] review that helped me make the final decision about purchasing this device. So in turn I would like to help all others who may be in the valley of decision.

Let me preface this review by stating prior to purchasing the MDA I was not a T-Mobile customer. I have had Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint and, based solely on what I had heard, considered T-Mobile to be inferior in terms of call quality and product offerings. I must also add that I currently own a Palm pda and prior to that used a BlackBerry.

After researching current smartphone offerings for sometime I almost did not purchase this phone due to the poor reviews on the net. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A BIG MISTAKE!!! Thank you M. Session for your review and the other positive reviews on Amazon.

As a pda this device is amazing. The keyboard blows away just about every other device on the market. I have HUGE fingers and I bite my nails off and I have no problems entering text through the keyboard or dialing phone numbers on the screen for that matter (for those who complain about entering numbers on the onscreen keypad).

I think the difference between being able to edit word and excel documents and not being able to edit them is important as I am constantly making small changes to and syncing word and excel files between my handheld and pc so score for the MDA over all those other devices that do not allow document editing.

Having owned a Palm for so many years I have to confess I am biased toward devices with a touch screen (it really makes using the internet to download directions or get a great last minute deal on a hotel so much easier!) so once again score (at least in my book) for the MDA over all those other devices without touch screens.

For those of you who live out of Outlook (like myself) the usual sync features between handheld and pc are all there. But that is to be expected.

As a phone I have been very pleasantly suprised. One of the chief complaints I read in numerous reviews (which almost caused me to pass up on this device) is that the call quality is terrible. However, I paired my MDA with the free Logitech bluetooth headset that is being offered and the call quality has been incredible!. . . much better than both Cingular and Sprint and almost as clear as Verizon (which as far as I'm concerned has hands down the best call quality EVER! But Verizon's customer service is awful and their pricing is getting farther and farther away from the average consumer like myself). I don't have problems maintaining a signal and T-Mobile's high speed network loads pages slightly faster than dial up. But hey if you are expecting the same speeds as you get on your pc when you are driving on the highway outside of the most metropolitan of areas then keep dreaming. It will be a number of years before even Verizon with its expanding 3G network is able to stretch a truly high speed connection across the country.

At home it took only a few minutes to connect my MDA to my wireless network where my it zipped along on the LAN connection.

Contacts application is excellent. If Palm ever makes a device with a keyboard the size of this one I will be the first one to get it, but until that time I'm sticking by my claim that this is by far the best thing on the market at its price!

I'm out of time so let me list a few of the most common complaints I read and briefly address them:

Complaint: On screen keypad for dialing is hard to dial on
Truth: I have large fingers and no nails and I LOVE the on screen dialing interface

Complaint: Call quality and voice quality is poor
Truth: At least where I am (dallas) and with my device the sound quality on the device is exceptional, however, I have suffered a few dropped calls and dead spots in the network.

Complaint: Programs load very slowly
Truth: Programs load at the normal speed for a pda. (If they aren't. . .here's a tip CLOSE ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT U STILL HAVE OPEN AND ARE NOT USING. . .)

Complaint: Keyboard is hard to use
Truth: You will be hard pressed to find a better keyboard. I have not!

Complaint: Internet connection is slow.
Truth: This is a smartphone, not your laptop hooked up to your company's T3 line. The connection speed is exactly what you would expect from a smartphone and it zips along at warp speed when connected to a hotspot or LAN.

Complaint: The calendar application leaves a lot to be desired.
Truth: I agree. The calendar application does the job but could be much better.

Complaint: The device sometimes launches applications without being prompted to.
Truth: I have found this to be true and I must admit it is a bit annoying at times.

I downgraded my rating because of the quirky, random program launching behavior and the network problems i have encountered on occaision while on the phone. Still an unbelievable steal for the price and the overall best pda I have seen so far!

One advise to all the buyers of this phone:

"First evaluate intelligently if you need this kind of a smart-phone or not"

Ok now about the phone itself.. I was using a nokia 7610(yeah the sexy looking beast!) for almost two years before i decided to switch over to this phone. I opted this phone and i think its great for ...

* Providing all the basic features of a phone in a PDA
* I am a software professional and find this to be a great have-it-all device!
* Helps you to be organised in all your work and the calender/task-list feature accentuate that!
* Helps you to be connected to your mail-boxes on the go! which was pretty seamless in this phone!
* The instant messaging is an added bonus to the above statement.
* The browsing experience is pretty decent although it has no support for Java-based website and i am working on that(as there is a work-around for that too).
* For numerous other reasons which i wil discover eventually.

Now about all the complains:

Although nothing in this world is perfect but sometimes ignorance can make it worse... This phone is not for people with IQ of < 80 .. lol .. just kidding for all the viable options which you need you just need to explore or look up on google! :)

** Auto check of email - someone in the reviews pointed out that there is no auto-send-and-receive; i agree with them .. but there are options in the advanced set-up where you can set a time say 5 mins or whatever you want for the device to check email automatically.

** Camera is not great - I dont care coz i use it more like a smart phone which meets all my needs although the picture quality is decent enuf. Please use a professional SLR if you really care about getting a great pic :P

** Stylus dependency - LOL i cannot write anything about this complain as its too funny. :P

** Battery life - set the back-light and auto off intelligently and you will see battery life increasing upto 5-10%! Also bluetooth(turn it off when not needed) and Wi-Fi usage impact battery up time.

** No memory card provided - Amazon is giving you this phone for free please spend 29 bucks and get a 1 GB mini-SD card (with SD adaptor). :)

I had some number swapping issues with T-mobile; but i sorted it out later; now all is set for me for the next two years(hopefully).

:)

After reading some online reviews i was a bit worried about it's performance, but now im glad i went ahead and bought the MDA. This smartphone is simply amazing to work with. I was getting some freeze ups like the reviews said and then i downloaded the latest T-Mobile firmware for the MDA and now it works very well and is very stable i.e no freeze-ups. I am glad i did a bit of research on different websites like howardforums and xda-developers and found tons of useful info about the MDA. There are some great applications for this smartphone that improve it's performance tremendously!

I found a neat program to improve the MDA's camera picture quality and now the MDA can take really clear pictures. Another application has made my MDA much faster by allowing it to overclock it's processor from the original 195Mhz all the way to 186Mhz! There is so much you can do with the MDA that makes you realise that it's worth the price and much better than the sidekick which looks like something from a Toys R Us store.

I can`t believe why so many people have so many complaints about such a great phone/pda. First off this is one of the most advanced pda smartphones available. It runs WM5, wi-fi, IE, and so much more. Its technology so obviously it is not always going to work perfectly, and what does? Some people just have false ideals.
One more thing, some people have posted that they cancelled their internet acct with t-mobile with no problem. There is a problem, one reason this phone is free is because you are getting the internet. If you read amazon's terms and conditions they reserve the right to charge the other 250 dollars if you change your billing amount to anything less than what was origanlly selected (i.e., internet package). Just something you may of wanted to consider.
BTW - I wrote this review using the thumbboard of my great MDA!

I have now had this phone for a week. I have had no problems with it at all. It has all the features i could want in a cell phone/pda. I have downloaded the Opera browser because Internet explorer doesnt let you have more than 1 window open at a time. The ringer on the phone is amazingly loud. Plus I just put a song from my pc as the ring tone. The clarity of the calls is amazing. That was a key concern when I was looking at the phone. I just thought they might concentrate more on the pocket pc part of the phone , than the actual phone itself. One reason I love this phone is it is quad-band. I had the SidekickII but it was only tri-band and didn't work in Maine where my parents live. This one works everywhere. The keyboard takes some adjusting, but it's usable once you get used to it.overall this is a great phone.