- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 165 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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37 out of 37 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Tradeoff: More PDA then phone"
Pros: Multiple connectivity options; Good email and browsing experience; Many application choices
Cons: Phone performance is average; Battery life; Bulky; Onscreen phone keypad is unweildy
Summary: The t-mobile MDA is a device that will beg you to ask the question: "Do you need good voice and phone performance or do you need data connectivity and mobile applications". If your answer leans toward phone performance, choose the smaller sister device, the SDA. If you need applications and data connectivity, with fair (to poor, occassionally) phone performance, the MDA will probably be a good fit. Either way, you will not be able to get both from this device.
I beta tested the MDA and have subsequently bought the production model. I am pleased that T-mobile implemented some of the more egregious problems with the beta units (wifi configuration being the primary) and have rolled out a stable product. Overall the unit performs well and requires far less soft resets then I remember.
The heart of the MDA is its multiple connectivity options including the t-mobile EDGE network, wifi and bluetooth. This gives the user a virtually constant connection to both private and public networks and makes the included browsing and web applications worthwhile. The connectivity is somewhat seamless and usually switching from edge to wifi is as simple as turning the wifi on (generally you will want to keep the wifi off as it drains the battery). On those occasions where you need to do some advanced IP configurations you can input custom detail for the connection (IP address, gateway, dns, etc). I do wish they included the ability to save different network profiles, but you can download the IP dashboard application from omegaone to take care of this.
Bluetooh connectivity is good and easy to configure. I paired the Thinkoutside Stowaway bluetooth keyboard and a bluespoon bluetooth headset with no problems. Especially convenient is the ability to voice dial the phone from the paired bluetooth headset.
The MDA is a good PDA and mobile computing platform. All the usual office applications (outlook, word, excel, powerpoint) are miniturized and optimized for the unit. A plethora of other applications are also available for free or for sale. Overall the Windows Mobile 5 OS is (finally) a stable and efficient platform. The only low point is the included IE browser. It is slow and has trouble with some sites. Best to download an alternative browser such as Opera for mobile or the new minmo firefox browser.
The included keyboard is sufficient for limited pecking and a significant bonus over the T9/numeric keypad game you play with smartphones. Key feel is good and there is sufficient room for your fingers. The backlighting is a muted blue and is not as effective as the strong Palm backlight. If you are going to do any serious typing on this unit, I would recommend the Stowaway bluetooth keyboard I mentioned above.
The screen is large and bright but can be difficult to see in strong, direct sunlight. The layout will rotate automatically between portrait and landscape when you slide the keyboard out.
Button layout on the unit is good. There are four application buttons on the front of the unit along with a four way nav pad (with center action button) and two keys for activating/deactivating the phone. Small buttons on either side provide access to the connectivity configuration screen, the voice recorder and the photo applications. A single power button is on top.
The memory and speed on the unit is good. While you may look at the low processor speed and be alarmed, it is actually quite peppy for most applications and should serve most people well. Memory is sufficient and is much better managed then in the beta unit I had. Storage expansion is a practical necessity and can be made by mini-sd card. One drawback is that the mini-sd slot is on top of the unit is a spring loaded alcove. It is easy to accidentally pop the card out with the right pressure and I have lost a card this way. Perhaps a little clear tape would prevent such an accident.
Now for the one drawback...the phone performance. This unit is no where near the phone that the sister SDA unit is. It has less range and more dropouts and the sound quality is adequate at best. The unit itself has a bulky feel when you try to use it as a headset and necessitates the use of a good bluetooth headset. The speakerphone is average quality and needs a quiet room to be used. If you are looking for a good phone, look elsewhere.
Battery life is OK conidering the size of the unit and all of its connectivity. Standby of a couple of days and talk time of 4 hours is a good estimate in my experience. If you kickup the unit with a wifi and bluetooth connection and some agressive browsing your battery will drain much more quickly. A spare battery is recommended.
Overall I think that this is a good unit for the data centric crowd who also need an occassional phone. In my experience it can substitute for a basic laptop 80 to 85% of the time for the mundane browsing, email chores. However if your business relies on a good phone, you may want to look elsewhere, such as the SDA unit.
- 3 replies to this review
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I agree, with the review, with one small caveat. Perhaps it is my home area, but the phone service that I have with the MDA has been good for the most part. If there is a failing, it might be inside of large buildings, but this is often times a problem for many phones. I have been able to use my MDA while passing through areas while on the road, where I lost service with my old Motorola P280. Maybe the service has improved in those areas?
I found that the absence of hard numeric keys took some getting used to, but since I have started using Voice Command, it is much more convenient.
One superb value; I lost my most recent contact information in my Outlook Contacts on my office computer. My backup was not up to date, & the crash I experienced was horrific. I was able to restore all my contact information by uploading from my MDA, to my great relief. Made the money spent for the MDA a much better value. -
I completely agree with Bairda's assessment regarding the poor functionality of the MDA as a phone. The reception strength is half what my Motorola V 188 phone is. In addition, the phone touch screen functionality is poorly designed. The buttons are small and it's easy to unintentionally redial the last number.
What's more, as a PDA, I find the functionality very poor. There is no easy way to search the entire MDA memory for a key name or key number. One must go through a multi step process by going to "programs" and then checking individual file types!
I'm turning in my MDA and going back to my Sony Clie. -
OK, I used to have a Treo so the comparison is tough. (It was a beautiful PDA / e-mail gadget ? but as a phone it was so bad I had to give it up.)
Now, to the MDA. To summarize: It?s awful. The Product Marketing Manager has not done his/her job.
Here?s an example: I go to a meeting and I want to switch to silent. With e.g. Treo you just flip the switch and then you can SEE that it is in silent mode. With the MDA you first switch on, then sign in, then use a switch on the side. However, it is a rocker-type switch so you cannot see from the position if the phone is on silent so you tend to forget to turn the ringer on again after the meeting.
I use GoodLink which worked beautifully with the Treo, but it?s a different story here. There are no dedicated buttons for address book or calendar or notes.
No escape key or any other way of getting out of the dead ends that you end up in frequently.
I?m no stranger to gadgets but I still haven?t even figured out how to do SMS on the MDA. You cannot retrieve the number from address book ? at least I haven?t figured it out.
It just doesn?t work. I wonder why T-Mobile is plugging a half-baked product.
