Jørgen Sundgot gets down to business with T-Mobile's new SDA, finding a raft of enterprise-friendly features cleverly concealed behind the exterior of a music phone.
Review summary of the T-Mobile SDA:
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 A tad schizophrenic by design, T-Mobile's SDA at first glance looks like a music phone, yet quickly reveals its business prowess through the inclusion of quad-band GSM; Wi-Fi; and excellent synchronization, groupware support and Office/Acrobat file format viewers. Sadly, however, the absence of 3G and a somewhat cramped keypad hamper other attributes such as a lovely high-resolution screen and Windows Mobile 5.0, but the only area in which it falls noticeably short is music; not for lack of good software, but simply for poor audio output. Release: February 2006. Price: $150.
Pros: Sizzlingly sharp screen; Wi-Fi; good battery life; Windows Mobile 5.0
Cons: Lacks 3G; keypad issues; lacks Office viewers; poor music quality
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Full T-Mobile SDA Review:
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While T-Mobile's first own-brand business phone for the US market, the MDA, took aim at power users in need of editing as well as viewing e-mails, Office files and the likes, the SDA takes a different approach. Equipped with a keypad as opposed to a thumbboard, any serious editing is out of the question unless a keyboard accessory is thrown into the mix - and it also takes a shine to music. The question is: is it any good at either?
Looking a little chubby there
At 4.8 x 1.8 x 0.7 inches and 3.7 oz, the T-Mobile SDA is a near-identical match for its European counterpart, the SDA II, with regard to size - except for a rather Quasimodian hump on the top of the handset. With a similar colour scheme and somewhat bulky appearances, it contains a 65K colour QVGA display which is a pleasure to behold in all of its crisp and bright 240 x 320 pixel glory - yet is neither the brightest nor most high resolution we've seen, which is an honour bestowed upon Nokia's N90.
Unfortunately, the remainder of the front of the handset isn't quite up to par. Although the keypad features comfortably large keys, they have an annoying partial bevel and are too clicky - and the inclusion of three large music and one large T-Mobile button above the numerical keys at the expanse of annoyingly small soft, home and back keys. Furthermore, the joystick is a tad on the short side, but we do favour the dedicated volume buttons and buttons for quick access to the Comm Manager and integrated camera.
Speaking of cameras, the 1.3 Megapixel variety found in the SDA is an entirely mediocre affair - although at least its lens is slightly recessed, which should prevent it from getting scratched in the first 5 seconds of use.
Wi-Fi yes, 3G... not so much
Sporting quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz and EDGE for semi-high speed data connectivity, the 3G-lacking SDA lags woefully behind competitors such as the larger and more capable Palm Treo 700w despite an otherwise adequate connectivity setup represented by Infrared, Bluetooth and USB 1.1. Scoring a US first for this particular breed of Windows Mobile devices, however, the SDA includes Wi-Fi 802.11b connectivity, which performed very well indeed during testing.
We're also pleased to see that USB charging is present, while the inclusion of a 2.5 mm earphone jack and a bundled handsfree kit provide more options to those not inclined to keep track of Bluetooth headsets. As a music phone, however, the SDA is a rather average stab; audio quality is so-so, and the lack of an included 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm conversion dongle is disappointing. Voice and speakerphone performance proved quite good, though.
Moving to performance, the SDA to is among the fastest smartphones we've used, some of which likely stems from the switch to Windows Mobile 5.0. As one of few Windows Mobile handsets, it actually keeps up with rapid-fire, multi-tap text input without losing presses along the way. Also, battery life is very good and falls in the three-day range.
As for memory, the miniSD card expansion slot of the SDA should come in quite handy as it allows for the somewhat limited 32 MB of onboard memory to be expanded up to 1 GB - but placing the card slot behind the battery is very Nokia anno 2000.
Show me the music
Unlike its European counterpart, the SDA runs Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone Edition, offering a refreshed user interface with icon based navigation as well as a boatload of changes under the hood. Best suited for viewing as opposed to editing of data, other slight updates include improved visuals in several applications such as Pocket Inbox and Pocket Contacts, with the latter now also being able to synchronize contact photos with Outlook on the desktop.
A more unfortunate aspect is the incompatibility with applications designed for previous smartphones with a screen resolution of 176 x 220 pixels; these will not run on the SDA, but history indicates this won't be a problem for long. T-Mobile has also done a good job in anticipating the needs of business users through including document viewers for Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word formats, as well as one for the popular Adobe Acrobat. Pocket Windows Media Player 10, meanwhile, delivers the goods in the music department - it's a shame it's hampered by poor audio output.
Lastly, there's also support for all of the four major instant messaging services and a nifty little task manager - and of course the standard portfolio of Windows Mobile PIM and messaging applications, complete with excellent desktop synchronization and groupware support for Microsoft Exchange.
Availability
The T-Mobile SDA is available exclusively from carrier T-Mobile in the US at the time of press, selling from $300 USD with service agreement.
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