Designed with consumers in mind, T-Mobile's new Windows Mobile 6 smartphone features MyFaves and Wi-Fi. Will it inspire a whole new crowd of smartphone fans?
Review summary of the T-Mobile Wing:
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 We think the Wing is one of the most appealing Windows Mobile smartphones yet, even more appealing that the slim slabs like the BlackJack and the Motorola Q. The keys are more comfortable, the screen is much larger, and the entire design feels solid and easy to hold. There were some performance issues, and Windows Mobile 6 is still a nascent Windows OS, but T-Mobile has added a few perks of their own, not the least of which is a good MyFaves implementation and plenty of e-mail presets for the smartphone neophytes. We can only wish for 3G networking, which is the most glaring omission from T-Mobile's lineup, but otherwise we think this phone is a contender. Release: May 2007. Price: $350.
Pros: Attractive design. Nice new tweaks to Windows Mobile. Comfortable keypad. Good performance as a Web browser. Preloaded e-mail settings.
Cons: Wi-Fi doesn't replace slower EDGE networking. System still a bit buggy, we had quite a few crashes. Still lots of menus in WM6.
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Full T-Mobile Wing Review:
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Design - Very good
Can we call a smartphone luscious? From Taiwanese Windows Mobile powerhouse HTC, the T-Mobile Wing shares obvious design cues with other WinMo QWERTY sliders, such as the T-Mobile MDA and the Cingular 8525. Still, the rich blue soft touch paint job makes the device much more inviting, less industrial. And the smooth keys, each rounded to their own hump, are very inviting to the touch. The soft keys were well-placed, but a bit small, but otherwise we have no complaints. The five-way button is deeply recessed and easy to use and the slide clicks into place when it opens and closes.
The interface is Windows Mobile 6, which looks so much like Windows Mobile 5 that you would be forgiven for mistaking the two, but WM6 is definitely an evolutionary improvement. The screen is a huge 2.8-inches, and though the color depth is only 65,000 colors on this QVGA display, we hardly noticed any problems. The interface lags a bit switching between landscape and portrait modes, but it always gets there eventually.
Messaging – Excellent
The T-Mobile Wing is a formidable messaging tool, thanks mostly to advances in Windows Mobile 6. The Windows Mobile 6 e-mail client got an impressive update, and it now supports HTML e-mails. In our tests, we found layout to be impressively accurate, even resized for the smaller screen. Messaging gets plenty of new shortcuts as well, including one-key flagging, deletion, and message downloading. SMS messaging is now threaded, as it has been on the Palm OS for some time. In our character counting tests, we were astounded to see that the phone can fit a full 160-character message as a preview in the pop-up window that announces the message's delivery. Also, new to WM6, messages can now be searched as easily as your phone book, with live, while-you-type searching that finds specific e-mails in your inbox.
T-Mobile has streamlined the e-mail setup process if you're not using corporate e-mail as well, including many pre-loaded settings for popular services. The process was somewhat reminiscent of what we recently experienced on Helio's Ocean, which is a compliment to T-Mobile's adept handling of Windows Mobile. The Wing recognizes most e-mail services and will setup your e-mail account once you enter your address and password.
Windows Mobile 6
The Wing marked our first experience with Windows Mobile 6, and we came away pleasantly surprised. Though the OS is clearly a Windows baby, a few steps have been taken to fix some of our previous concerns. Foremost, we like the application switcher, which drops down from the upper right corner, and lets you know which programs are hogging your memory. A convenient radio box lets you close unwanted apps. Second, we liked the new smartfilter search feature, which offers live, while-you-type searching in a number of apps. Previously only a feature of the phone book, now e-mail messages and media files can be searched live. The calendar remains mostly the same, except for a clever timeline across the top that shows your scheduled blocks for a given day.
All in all, Windows Mobile 6 is an incremental upgrade, but it undeniably takes an acceptable operating system and makes it good. Even without the OS upgrade, we were still fans of the mobile versions of Microsoft Office, as well as the easy synchronization, which the Wing retains.
Features – Very good
In addition to all the amenities of Windows Mobile, T-Mobile has added a few features of their own. First, dominating the Today screen when you startup the device, is MyFaves. MyFaves has proven very popular for T-Mobile, which recently attributed some positive financial reports to the service's popularity. MyFaves on a touch screen works well, and the buttons are big enough for a fingertip. T-Mobile has also simplified some of the e-mail setup process for users opting for a service other than ActiveSync Exchange. As the device is being aimed at consumers entering the smartphone market, this is a smart move, and the e-mail setup was well-automated and intuitive. We got our Gmail up and running in no time, without having to enter in any port numbers, as some other POP3 clients require.
On the hardware side, the Wing, like the T-Mobile Dash, features Wi-Fi, but no 3G since the carrier lacks anything faster than EDGE. We don't mind this setup, though we prefer the opposite, having 3G but not Wi-Fi. If you happen to live near a Starbucks (ha!) or a Kinkos, T-Mobile has an inclusive data plan that gives you Hotspot access at T-Mobile Wi-Fi zones, but we think the $30 per month is a bit steep. Though Wi-Fi access is a nice perk, the lack of 3G or any 3G multimedia services means you're paying a lot for Web browsing without any additional content value.
Performance – Good
The only time we saw a real hit to the Wing's performance was switching between landscape and portrait mode, which can take a couple of seconds. Still, it never crashed during this process. The phone did crash a few other times, however. Once while we were trying to close programs from the app switcher. Another time while downloading images to fill in an HTML e-mail. In all, we had about five crashes during our five day test, a couple of which required a hard restart. Of course, Windows Mobile is still new, so we expect a service update, and then another, any time.
Otherwise, performance was good. Web pages loaded quickly over Wi-Fi, less so over EDGE, but still loaded completely. No flash, yet, so don't expect YouTube or other video sites. Windows Mobile 6 does have an improved control panel for tethered modem support, but we wouldn't rely on this connection too much, with the slower EDGE network.
Calling – Excellent
The T-Mobile Wing makes calls that sound good, and features an impressive suite of calling aids. The address book on Windows Mobile is now easily the best in its class, with quick, live searching and access from everywhere you need it, whether from the Today screen, the dialing pad, or even the "To:" field on messages. We found the dialing pad to be easy to use in portrait mode, but a bit small in landscape, which is fine because in this mode the keyboard is open, and we could go directly to contacts. The phone has Bluetooth for hands free, a good speakerphone, and speaker-independent voice dialing.
Price and availability
The T-Mobile Wing is available from T-Mobile for $350 with a contract agreement and an instant discount of $100. A mail-in rebate of $50 is available, when signing up for a qualifying plan.
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