Reviving a breed of Windows Mobile handhelds long thought extinct, the palmtop-style T-Mobile MDA Pro is the large 3G communicator that could. A review by Jørgen Sundgot.
Review summary of the T-Mobile MDA Pro:
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 Although the T-Mobile MDA Pro is something of a colossus, there is no denying its wealth of functionality, power and versatility. Document management and data entry both excel due to the spacious display and thumbboard, while outstanding connectivity combines with comprehensive out-of-box synchronization options and good battery life to render it an excellent business phone. Release: September 2005. Price: $430.
Pros: Connectivity options abound; powerful; outstanding thumbboard; persistent memory
Cons: On the verge of being too large; connectivity issues; short on memory; unpolished software
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Full T-Mobile MDA Pro Review:
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It's been a long, long while since we last saw a Windows Mobile based palmtop - many years, in fact - and to our great dismay, we might add. As the world switched its attention to handhelds and smartphones, palmtops suffered a steep decline in interbest; no wonder, since their feature sets languished and engineers did little to reduce their considerable girth. Strange is it then, how things can suddenly turn around - of which T-Mobile's new palmtop communicator, the MDA Pro, is excellent proof.
Super-size me: a true story
At 128 x 81 x 25 mm and a 285 g, the T-Mobile MDA Pro easily trumps even heavyweights such as Nokia's 9500 Communicator, yet remains surprisingly pocket friendly. Borrowing a page from the world of tablet convertibles, the device not only opens to become a clamshell; its screen half also swivels 180 degrees and closes to allow for tablet mode operation, with phone functionality not only preserved in both of these modes but also when closed.
Buttons sprout from every corner of the MDA Pro, allowing for quick access to important functions. It takes a bit of practice to open the device in clamshell mode without accidentally pressing one or two of them, but apart from this we're as pleased with the buttons as we are with the sturdy, angular stylus; the large, dual alert LEDs and the front-mounted Infrared port. On the note of audio, we find - expectedly tinny - dual stereo speakers mounted in front, as well as a 3.5 mm earphone jack mounted in back - a bit impractical for pocket use.
The 1.3 Megapixel camera on the back of the MDA Pro takes decent pictures, but does not quite measure up to the likes of recent handsets; still, it trumps any other communicator on the market, although we have to say that the LED flash is more of a gimmick than anything else.
Finally, a proper thumbboard
Opening the MDA Pro is something of a revelation. Granted, the 3.6-inch transflective TFT screen with VGA resolution is a first for Windows Mobile communicators, performing superbly indoors as well as quite good outdoors - yet must is trumped by Nokia's recent communicators in the latter mentioned scenario. The thumbboard, however, with its comfortably large and bevelled keys, is absolutely superb and - to our astonishment - doesn't take a back seat to that of the highly acclaimed Nokia 9300 Communicator.
Dedicated keys for navigating the interface in a less stylus-intensive manner abound, and given the rework of the user interface in Windows Mobile 5.0 we also find two soft keys for this express purpose. The lack of a Ctrl key disappoints us, however, as certain functions such as copying, pasting and deleting objects could have been performed in far swifter manners than through context menus. Similarly, German users of the device may very well be disappointed in the lack of dedicated for certain German special characters.
Tactile feedback is excellent, and audible feedback for once just right - which also goes for the five-way navigational pad flanking the screen on its right side. We're also pleased by the well-working light sensor which activates the backlight of the thumbboard, but less so by the easily-dispersing bright orange colour of said backlight. Finally, a 0.3 MP camera is also found to the right of the screen, suitable only for its main purpose: enabling video calling.
Rolling up the sleeves
From the perspective of processing power, the MDA Pro can propel just about any application at swift speeds courtesy of its 520 MHz Intel processor. Disappointingly, however, although the device relies solely on non-volatile memory and as such negates the risk of data loss present in past Windows Mobile devices, only 48 MB is available for running programs whereas 44 MB is available for storage. In leighman's terms: expect to make good use of the SD Card slot.
Where the MDA Pro really shines, however, is in terms of connectivity. Not only equipped with tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz and GPRS Class 10, the communicator is also the first Windows Mobile device to support 3G in the shape of WCDMA 2100 MHz - also known as UMTS. Unfortunately, the selection of Bluetooth profiles is limited, but Wi-Fi 802.11b compensates with solid security support whereas more traditional forms of connectivity include Infrared and USB 2.0 - the latter of which also supports USB charging; genius. Should that not be enough, there's also an SDIO capable SD/MMC card slot which is certain to come in handy for memory expansion.
Performance for all of the above proved very good indeed, although 3G transfer rates weren't among the very fastest we've seen. Signal reception and audio quality proved similarly good, although the MDA Pro exhibited slight microphone issues during our testing, resulting in low volume on the receiving end. Video call quality, on the other hand, was impeccable, and we were particularly impressed by the ability to carry out a call whilst simultaneously surfing the net over a 3G connection.
With all of these connecivity options and powerful specifications, it wouldn't be unnatural for the MDA Pro to exhibit lackluster battery life - but in fact, it fared quite well. Claimed talk times and standby times of 8 hours and 11 days respectively are greatly exaggerated; in our tests, the device required charging every two days with average use. Needless to say, extensive use of 3G or Wi-Fi connectivity would impact this average severely.
A case of the emperor's new clothes?
As the first device to make it to market powered by Windows Mobile 5.0, the MDA Pro has both praise and criticism coming to it. With the addition of soft keys to the user interface, one-handed navigation has now been vastly improved across the board. Pocket Internet Explorer has gained a new full screen mode and a progress bar, although we detest the fact that any link or button which activates the browser will always initiate loading of T-Mobile's dedicated microbrowser site. Also, the new Office Mobile suite has not only received sorely needed feature upgrades but also a new member in PowerPoint Mobile - yet roundtrip support remains poor.
Similarly, the Connection Manager remains an unintuitive mess, and the removal of Wi-Fi synchronization support from ActiveSync 4.0 - required for Windows Mobile 5.0 devices - does not at all please us. Exchange users, on the other hand, will be pleased to learn that Tasks synchronization is now possible with Exchange servers running Service Pack 2 or higher. Also, the Contacts and Inbox applications have received visual makeovers, and now present data more legibly.
Other oddities include the loudspeaker not automatically engaging when the device is used for calls in clamshell mode, and similarly the device unintuitively failing to reanimate from standby mode if closed for too long. Thankfully, at least the display automatically reorientates itself depending on which mode the display is placed in. Lastly, it should also be noted that speaker dependent voice dialing is included, and even works with Bluetooth headsets - a highly welcome addition even though we would have preferred speaker independency.
Availability
The T-Mobile MDA Pro is at the time of press available exclusively from mobile network operator T-Mobile in Germany, selling for €430 with a two-year service agreement, or €750 EUR in a SIM unlocked version with no service agreement.
Price and availability
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