The Sprint Mogul's update couldn't come at a better time, as the device is running in a crowded field of HTC QWERTY-slider contenders, including the recent Verizon Wireless XV6800 and the AT&T Tilt. The updated Mogul definitely represents a step forward in this market for Sprint. Besides the Sprint Music store and GPS navigation, we were very impressed by the tethered modem speeds, which bested even our fastest PC Card modem, let alone the other phone's in its class. The phone is still limited where Windows Mobile stumbles, in its media player and Web browsing, and it suffers the same graphics issues as other HTC sliders. Release: June 2007. Price: $400.
Pros: Fastest tethered modem we've seen. Best-in-class address book integration. GPS for Sprint Navigator service.
Cons: Call quality could be better. We'd like more IM clients.
Poor
Mediocre
73% GOOD
Very good
Excellent
Full review of the HTC Mogul:
Design – Very good
We've come to like HTC's slide-out keyboard designs, they all feel very sturdy and well made, with nice, comfortable keyboards, and the Mogul is no exception. With the exception of the flimsy back cover, the phone feels solid.
On the Mogul, everything gets a button. There is a dedicated key for: e-mail, Internet Explorer, the start menu, voice dialing, the camera, the comm manager and Wi-Fi, which gets a dedicated on-off switch. For navigation, the Mogul has a five-way hat switch as well as a clickwheel. At first the buttons seemed overwhelming, but we found the Wi-Fi switch and a few other buttons especially convenient. Of course, the wealth of buttons only goes to show that Windows Mobile, even the newest version 6, has a long way to go to be as convenient and one-handed as Palm OS or RIM's BlackBerry interface.
Interface design - Good
It's hard to give so much credit for a simple drop down menu, but the Task Manager that HTC has added to the Mogul is really a necessary addition to Windows Mobile. WinMo has a nasty habit of letting programs remain open and clog the device's memory, and the Task Manager basically gives you a list of open programs and an easy way to close the ones you aren't using. Of course, better application management would mean that the Task Manager isn't necessary, but at least HTC and Sprint are going to lengths to improve the experience.
Calling – Good
The Mogul has all of the calling features we like to see, but the implementation of these let us down. The phone features Bluetooth, conference calling and voice dialing, but instead of speaker-independent voice dialing you have to record voice tags. The speakerphone was very weak, unusable outdoors with any background noise. Call quality was okay when reception was good, but 30 miles out of Manhattan, in New Jersey, reception dropped to a single bar, and we heard plenty of static fade in and out during calls.
Contacts handling with Windows Mobile is second to none, and the phone has numerous, intelligent ways to help you find contacts quickly. Our favorite Windows Mobile 6 feature is the call history log, which links your call history to your contacts so you can look up a person and see when you've spoken to them.
Battery life on the phone was also impressive; we got just over six hours of talk time in a single call, even while the phone showed a couple bars of EV-DO reception. This is about twice what Sprint claims, and more than many smartphones.
Messaging – Very good
Aside from the lack of an IM client for AIM and Yahoo users, the Mogul handles messaging as well as any phone we've seen, even BlackBerry devices. Windows Live gives you MSN messaging, but other than that you'll have to go third-party for IM. E-mail was very easy to setup. If you don't use Outlook or an Exchange server, the Mogul will take your e-mail address and search online for all the nitty-gritty setup info you need. In fact, our Gmail accounts took less time to get up and running than our standard Outlook accounts.
All messaging is linked to the contact list for live, while-you-type searching from the "To:" field, a feature that every smartphone maker should have stolen by now. The keyboard was comfortable for messaging, though we wish HTC would have taken our favorite feature from the T-Mobile Dash, another phone the company designed. On the Dash, when you hold a key, the alt-symbol above it is selected. On the Mogul, holding a key repeats the letter choice, like on a desktop, but we think repeating a keystroke is a useless feature for smartphones.
Scheduling and productivity – Very good
Overall, the phone handled Windows Mobile 6 pretty good, though performance was still lagging, especially when open applications slowed things to a halt. At one point, we found literally a dozen open apps that had no open windows, and Microsoft needs to change the way applications are opened and exited. Sliding out the keyboard, we noticed plenty of lag as the screen switched.
Though the calendar app could be prettier, it's hard to argue with its seamless integration with Outlook. The new calendar ribbon in WM6 makes appointments a little easier to view at a glance, but we'd like something easier on the eyes, maybe with more colors and a drop-shadow here and there.
For productivity, you get Office Mobile, which is very good for Word, good for Excel and just okay for PowerPoint. Beyond the standard Windows Mobile 6 experience, Sprint hasn't brought anything new to this party.
Laptop sidekick - Excellent
Sprint recently upgraded the ROM on the HTC Mogul, giving it access to the faster EV-DO Rev. A network, as opposed to the Rev. 0 on the older software. We were expecting a boost in upload speeds, but we weren't prepared for the significant boost we saw in downloads as well. While our original test unit achieved speeds in the 700Kbps range, the Rev. A upgraded device we tested regularly achieved downloads at 1.2Mbps, and topped out at an impressive 1.5Mbps. This is an increase of more than 100%, at its best moments, and the Mogul has become the fastest tethered modem we've used. In fact, even our AT&T HSUPA PC Card modem couldn't keep up, though AT&T claims theirs is the fastest network in the U.S. Upload speeds also got a shot in the arm, and we saw regular uploads read 150Kbps, which is quite respectable for a tethered modem.
Music - Very good
The Mogul now has access to the Sprint music store. It was a strange omission from the original software package, and we're pleased to see the music store make its way to smartphones, where music files are easier to manage thanks to regular synchronizing with a desktop. Though the interface isn't as clean and quick as Apple's iTunes store on the iPhone, the selection of music and pricing is still competitive. Plus, we were already please by the Mogul's A2DP for stereo Bluetooth headsets, so having the music store on board is simply another bonus, especially considering the upgraded download speeds.
Navigation - Very good
We were pleased with the Mogul's navigation performance using Sprint Navigator, which is powered by TeleNav. The default 3D view was very smooth, and the GPS sensor reacted quickly to find us on the road. It wasn't quite sensitive enough to pick us up inside, but we had no problem once we were under open sky, and we almost never drive in the office. The faster networking speeds clearly helped the navigation software, which opened up a map of our route quicker than most devices that rely on a server for maps.
Room for improvement?
Even though Sprint has answered some of our earlier complaints with the Mogul update, there are still a few issues we wouldn't mind seeing sorted out. Though HTC's sliders are very well built, they are infamous for lagging graphics capabilities, and the Mogul couldn't keep up switching its screen orientation as we opened and closed the slide. We'd also like to see more instant messaging options built in, instead of settling for just MSN Live. While we're adding software, how about the Opera browser instead of Internet Explorer, as well?
Price and availability
The HTC Mogul is available from Sprint for $400 with a contract agreement. A mail-in rebate of $100 is available when signing up for a qualifying plan.
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