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"A Superb Phone and Organizer" on by UMDoc
Pros: EXCELLENT call quality, tons of cool features, nice form factor/feel, crisp slider, clear screen, WM6
Cons: Sometimes a little slow/laggy, Camera not so great
Summary: Let me begin with how I acquired this great phone. Last week, my old Motorola V330's screen stopped working so I went to the T-mobile store to see about getting a new phone. I had owned the phone for quite some time and was delighted to hear that my contract was up, meaning I could get another phone at the cheaper 2-year contract price. As a medical student, I wanted to find a phone with a good organizer and Internet/e-mail capabilities.
I looked at the Blackberry 8800 and T-mobile Dash but wasn't really impressed with either of them. The store still had a MDA on display, but I didn't pay it much attention because upon first glance I thought it was too big/bulky. The sales rep suggested the Dash (he owned one) but I really didn't like the wide (although slim) form factor. The Blackberry 8800 started looking really good, but I was disappointed with the very crowded keypad. The ball wheel was very cool, though.
The rep then said that a new version of the MDA was coming out next week (5/22). He explained it had a touchscreen, slide out keypad, WM 6, 2 MP camera, etc. As a gadget lover, I knew this would definitely be worth the wait.
Skip to today...I called and they had 10 in stock. I went to the store and got my first glimpse at this little beauty. The body has a similar texture/color as my Moto V330 with a deep blue color and a nice rubbery yet hard finish. I started playing with it and pretty much fell in love with all the features. This is the first phone that I have bought without testing the call quality while in the store (probably because I was so excited at how cool the phone is!) but I'm delighted to report that the call quality is SUPERB! You really have to give it a try for yourself, but it is like talking on a land-line. Crystal clear quality (unlike my girlfriend's Moto Razor which has all types of faint buzzes and whistles in the background when making a call) and voices sound extremely natural both receiving and transmitting.
The phone comes with a pretty nice leather sideways saddle case and a clear film to protect the screen. I would like to see something that the phone would fit in with a flip top cover so it could be kept inside the case at all times. A stylus (+ one extra) tucks neatly in the body. The software is fantastic but sometimes is a little bit slow on loading. It takes about a second for the screen to transition to widescreen once the keypad is slid out. One thing I was worried about is that I would always have to put the phone in “lock mode” with its touch screen, but with a tap of the power button, the screen turns off and all the buttons become inoperable (but the phone is still on and able to receive calls). Pressing the power key again immediately turns the phone back on…a great feature.
The phone has a “virtual” keypad, so dialing without looking at the phone is pretty challenging. But it still retains all normal features, like speed dial, voice dial, etc.
Software includes Microsoft word, excel, and powerpoint. You can both type notes or write them freehand and it will save the notes in your handwriting/doodling. I can load on TV shows that I recorded on my MCE computer and watch them on the phone with no problems. The “Transcriber” is particularly impressive as it converts what you write anywhere on the screen to text where the cursor is located. I find myself just using this feature instead of sliding out the keypad…but I’m sure with some practice typing with the keypad will probably prove faster than this transcribing method. The Wi-Fi is also great and allows for fast web browsing. The organizer is excellent and is very intuitive.
The camera leaves something to be desired…it has a slight delay after pressing the shutter button, which makes it easy to blur the picture. When the images do take, they are pretty clear and crisp.
This review is extremely nearsighted as I’ve only had the phone for one day…I can’t really comment on the long term durability and I’m sure more problems/nuisances will arise. But so far, it seems like a keeper. Perhaps some of you seasoned “smartphoners” may not be as impressed as I am, but with this as my first Smartphone, I am totally blown away!! -
"Great upgrade for t-mobile customers" on by sokanomx
Pros: touch screen, live search, windows live, ease of use, device construction
Cons: lag when switching landscape, lag between programs, voice command
Summary: I upgraded to a wing from a Sidekick 2, so you have to know that Ive been looking for a smartphone for a little while. That being said, the T-mobile Wing is my first smartphone and I really like it. I have been using this unit for a bout 2weeks, and havent had any problems that patience couldnt handle. I use this phone everyday for so many tasks, caledar, notes, email and AIM. I used these same things on my SK2 but was hoping for better integration of these onto a phone, particularly the calendar. the ability for me to sync with my office computers is a plus, syncing to my Apple laptop at home, not so much.
The wing fits nicely in a hand, the rubbery sides make it easy to grip and hold, and the quality of my phone conversations has greatly improved. When i was researching phones one of my main concearns with the wing was lack of internal GPS, I get lost. Windows live search paired with GPS is probably my perfect solution but even without the GPS reciever I can still use the live search program wonderfully. Finding Jamaican food in the bay has never been easier. Overall if you are on T-mobile and in need of a new device without breaking contract. I suggest the wing. When T-mobile goes 3G eventually they may get phones as fast as the Cingular 8525 but the wing feels sturdier, smaller and looks cooler in blue than that silver machine anyways. I say wing all the way. oh and thanks to all the reviewers for making my research easier. -
"I love the new hardware, but there is needed improvement in the software." on by Hoiberg
Pros: Nice new HTC designed hardware, new layout adds better functionality and feel.
Cons: This device needs more memory, specifically Program Memory; software has some issues that need to be addressed as well.
Summary: he new hardware is refreshing and good (minus the memory issue).
For MDA Users upgrading, you will get used to the layout change and feel. Contrary to many of the reviews about buttons being too small or to fragile, that is not the case, all the buttons on the sides and front of the device are solid and work as they should. Many reviewers seem to not understand that a button on the side of a PDA that is easily pushed is NOT a good thing, they need to be designed to be intentionally pushed, which on the Wing they are. I never once accidentally bumped a button on my Wing; I do however do it frequently on my MDA.
All-in-all, a good improvement over the MDA.
There are 5 Software issues that I have found that need to be addressed; I will touch on them briefly:
vCard and vCalendar Application do not function properly.
No way of easily getting to Contacts from Phone Application.
In the Calendar Application the Edit button has been replaced with a Grayed out Reply button (non-functioning), now to edit an appointment, you have to select Menu, and then Edit.
Camera constantly fails to start due to not enough available Program Memory.
Device runs out of available Program memory throughout the day. After a Reset, the Wing has ~10MB of Program Memory available, but by the evening, it’s down to 3.5MB (even after closing all Applications that may have been open). It doesn't recover the Program memory from closed Applications. The Camera will not open at 2MB or 1MB resolution below 3.5MB of available Program Memory, if the device drops below 2.75MB of Program Memory, you need to reset it. Other Applications won't open at this point.
I'm personally sending mine back to T-Mobile and moving my SIM card back to my MDA.
It was nice to try it out, but I cannot function as efficiently as I can on my MDA. -
"Really Wanted to Love This Phone" on by ngregory00
Pros: QWERTY keyboard, Outlook compatibility, rubberized grip
Cons: Low onboard memory, slow processor, crashed frequently
Summary: I really wanted to love this phone but, unfortunately, the misses FAR outweigh the hits.
I'd been waiting to purchase the HTC Wing since the day it went on sale at T-Mobile but I had to wait for my Verizon contract to expire. It seemed to have all the features I was looking for -- full QWERTY keyboard, Outlook compatibility, touch screen, bluetooth capability, on and on -- all within a stylish, rubberized package. What more could I want, right?
Well I owned the phone for an entire four days and I can't say I got even an HOUR of enjoyment out of it. It performed the basic functions -- placing calls and sending text messages -- admirably well. But when it came to accessing email and / or the internet, the phone became no more than a $300 rubberized door stop.
On Thursday I stopped by the T-Mobile store. The rep mistakenly signed me up for the $20 / month Blackberry plan (my fault for not questioning him on that). So all my attempts to access the web met with zero success. I stopped by a different T-Mobile store on Friday only to be told that I'd need to switch to the $30 / month T-Mobile data plan (a $10 / month price increase) instead. But they told me it might take an entire 48 HOURS for the upgraded data plan to kick in so I wouldn't be able to access the web until possibly Sunday. Great!
Once the new plan finally kicked in (Sunday) I tried to access one of the T-Zone favorites (CNN) that was already pre-bookmarked into the browser. The page was about 75% loaded before it totally stalled out. I eventually got a warning stating that some script was preventing my page from loading and if the script was not aborted, my phone might crash altogether. So I hit abort and reloaded just to have the phone grind to a complete halt.
Restart #1.
Once the phone rebooted, I decided to give up on CNN and tried to access Google instead. The browser actually started to load the page faster this time but just before it finished rendering, the browser closed out. I tried reopening the browser and went to Google again. Same outcome.
Restart #2.
I reloaded the browser and tried Google for the third time. No such dice.
Restart #3.
This restart / reload / re-crash sequence occurred exactly four times before I finally decided to return the phone altogether.
My simplified opinion: this phone is running way too monstrous an OS to come packaged with such a woefully small amount of memory. Couple that with a sluggish processor and you've got a recipe for disaster. Unless you've got the patience to deal with frequent stalls, constant crashes and regular reboots, it's probably a good idea to pass on the HTC Wing. -
"Over-priced & Undersupported" on by rhon228
Pros: Looks good, initially appears to work
Cons: Does not work, sluggish and frequently freezes, very pricey
Summary: Let me first say, I am partial to PDA phones with QWERTY keyboards and touch screen interface. I have owned several with the most recent being the MDA. I was more than satisfied with the MDA but love new technology. The hype surrounding the Wing lured me into the store on the first morning of its initial release and found me shelling out $400 dollars to be one of the first to say I own this piece of crap. T-Mobile admits this is one of their high-end phones and I have spent countless hours on the phone with tech support trying to remedy the problems I have experienced with this phone. These problems included frequent freezes, sluggish processor response, dropped calls, Ring tones playing over Bluetooth during entire conversation, calls dropped while using the Bluetooth, Instant messenger interface locking the phone, memory leaks, frequently having to reconnect to sync with laptop, and camera not able to start unless phone is rebooted. After having the first phone replaced and having the technicians make me reset the phone over and over, T-Mobiles customer service department offered to “allow me the chance” to give them more money in order to get a replacement phone and suggested I sell this piece of crap to another unsuspecting chump on EBAY. Needless to say I am following the old adage of telling everybody not the buy this phone! Save yourself the disappointment and live through my experience.
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