Connectivity and powerful specifications signify T-Mobile's new MDA III communicator: Editor-in-Chief Jørgen Sundgot takes a closer look at this thumbboard-toting device.
T-Mobile MDA U.S. version review summary
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T-Mobile MDA
Score: 83% When: February 2006 (T-Mobile) Worth: $250 - $400 What: Business phones, T-Mobile phones
The T-Mobile MDA is the little communicator that could. Granted, it's void of fancy features such as high-resolution screens and 3G, but it manages to strike a fine balance between having just enough of the ones that really matter and size. Highlights include a first-rate thumbboard, near all-encompassing connecvitity and excellent battery life, whereas modest performance and limited memory should make power users think twice before purchasing the MDA. Everyone else, however, are likely to find themselves superbly pleased. More...
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T-Mobile MDA III review
As one of the pioneers in the Windows Mobile-powered communicator business, it's usually worth paying attention when T-Mobile launches new additions to its now-venerable line of MDAs. Previous models have been smash hits, and having done well with both the MDA I and II, the curtains are now opened for the MDA III, to be available in German and U.S. editions.
Design
Highly reminiscent of the MDA II in shape and form factor, the 125 x 72 x 19 mm, 210 g MDA III quickly makes it evident that looks can be deceiving. With a silvery finish like that of its predecessors, the MDA III immediately delivers a pleasant surprise as the front half of the device slides up to reveal a full QWERTY thumbboard - a level of functionality previously requiring the attachment of a cumbersome accessory.
In spite of this devious plot to draw attention away from the screen, however, the 16-bit colour display of the IIs still manages to shine in its own right: it's crisp, clear, far more than adequately bright and offers good viewing both in- and outdoors. The display is flanked by an array of buttons, including two above for accessing Calendar and Contacts applications as well as four below to access the Start menu, open the Messaging and Internet Explorer applications and a clever Ok button for simplified one-handed navigation.
Below these again, we find one of the best five-way navigational pad we've ever seen, flanked by send and receive buttons for phone calls. The left side of the device conceals buttons for making voice recordings, activating the camera and a volume up/down rocker, placed just above the Infrared port. The power on/off button is placed on top of the device, right next to the SDIO/MMC Card expansion slot - and like all the others, it offers excellent tactile feedback.
Other highlights include the 2.5 mm handsfree kit jack placed to the left on top of the device, which is protected by one of the lesser annoying rubber inserts we've seen, as well as the 0.3 Megapixel camera lens in the upper right corner of the back of the device - complete with adjacent vanity mirror. On a less positive note, friction striping was found to occur during testing as a result of frequent use of the thumbboard sliding mechanism, representing a slight, yet relatively unnoticeable, cosmetic mishap.
A loudspeaker is obviously also required for a communicator device, and the MDA III provides a good quality one placed centered above its display. Sound quality was quite good both when used in standard mode and in handsfree mode - although not any better than that of its predecessor, the MDA II.
Connectivity
Welcome to wireless Nirvana: the MDA III offers quad-band GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz with GPRS Class 8 and 10, Blueooth and Wi-Fi 802.11b. Signal reception for all three radios proved on average very good, and T-Mobile thankfully decided to include a new Bluetooth stack rather than the profile-anemic atrocity found in the MDA II. Profiles abound, and for Wi-Fi the MDA III supports both WEP and WPA, as well as 802.1x for added security - a boon for both enterprise users and security-conscious consumers.
For those who wish to extend functionality beyond what's already under the hood, the IIs also offers an SDIO capable SD/MMC Card expansion slot, and does double duty as a dial-up modem either via serial or USB connections courtesy of the bottom connector. Topping a positive impression off, this can also be carried out via Bluetooth, and this time around in a far more user friendly manner than the experience offered by the MDA II.
Specifications
The only area in which the MDA III doesn't keep up with the latest and greatest is processor speed. Despite utilizing a 400 MHz processor rather than the 520 and 624 MHz varieties which are now finding their way into high-end Pocket PCs, however, the MDA III performs very well indeed. Add 107 MB of user-available RAM and 43 MB of non-volatile memory to the mix, and the III looks better by the minute.
Battery life is another positive trait of the III: despite having gained another wireless radio and support for one more GSM band, it performs as well as its predecessor - if not better. In our tests, the device proved capable of playing back audio continuously for in excess of 6.5 hours, which is quite a feat considering the GSM radio was left on.
Software
Snappier and better-looking than ever before, the MDA III runs the Second Edition of Microsoft's Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC platform. Although there are no major improvements, small updates and fixes abound, improving the overall impression - although still, the vital Connection Manager interface remains counterintuitive. Fortunately, the MDA III offers an auto-configure process which at least makes initial setup a no-brainer.
As per usual, T-Mobile has done a bit to customize the Today screen interface of the MDA III, but does not go as far as competitor O2, which offers a dedicated application providing an alternative interface to various network services. Rather, the thumbboard of the MDA III offers a key which takes users directly to the T-Zones offering from T-Mobile in Pocket Internet Explorer, proving less intrusive - yet also a tad less useful.
Worse is it then, that T-Mobile has made a deliberate decision to not include arrow key functionality for the thumbboard, negating any possibility of quick navigation within text entered should for instance an errant entry be discovered. In fact, this frequently requires either a fingernail tap or pulling out the stylus, since a number of applications treat up/down presses of the navigational pad as page up/down presses. Needless to say, this is cumbersome at best considering how a cramped thumbboard is a mis-tap waiting to happen.
Still, there are positive aspects of the software bundle, such as a gather-all Wireless Manager utility which should come in handy for non-power users, as well as a fully adequate Enroller application for use with 802.11x-enabled Wi-Fi networks and a MIDlet manager. As with the MDA II, there are also Camera and Album applications, both of which remain excellent pieces of software.
In addition to these more system-relevant applications, T-Mobile has also included viewers from Westtek's ClearVue suite for Acrobat Reader (PDF) and Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT) files, as well as KSE TrueFax 2.0 which could come in handy for business users. And, as a final touch, a ZIP utility is also included for handling e-mail attachments which have been compressed - or sending compressed ones, if bandwidth conservation is of importance.
Availability
The T-Mobile MDA III is at the time of writing exclusively available to customers of mobile network operator T-Mobile in Germany, selling for approximately $650 USD with subscription.
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