T-Mobile MDA III trashed in press reviews in Europe
July 17, 2004 [Pocket PC phone] | By Edward J. R.
This phone will become available commercially in Europe in September 2004 but already now it is getting negative opinions from press publications, from journalists who are dissapointed that MDA III doesn't constitute significant improvement over predecessor - MDA II (aka XDA 2). So MDA III may have retractable full-QWERTY keyboard and built-in Wi-Fi:
... but it dissapoints! Here are highlights from various articles that depict MDA III in details:
- overall positive things in T-Mobile MDA III
- built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- retractable full-QWERTY keyboard
- tri-band phone - so that phnoning in USA is also possible
- built-in Blackberry client that implements e-mail push
- powered by latest software: Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Second Edition (it features among others orientaiton switching: horizontal and vertical)
- stronger battery (MDA III has 1490 mAh compared to 1200 mAh in MDA II)
- overall negative things in T-Mobile MDA III
- the same slow XScale CPU (400 MHz - the same as in MDA II, not one of contemporary processors, that have nowadays 520 or 624 MHz)
- only QVGA (240x320 pixels) display, not contemporary VGA (640x480 pixels)
- supports only GPRS, no UMTS
- keys in the keyboard are overly small and there is no clear pressure point
- weighs more than MDA II (MDA III weighs 210 g and MDA II weighs only 185 g)
- HTC (High Tech Computer Corp. from Taiwan) signed strategic agreement with RIM (Research in Motion Ltd.) in March 2003 to embed RIM push technology to Windows Devices. The T-Mobile MDA III Pocket PC phone is the first fruit of this cooperation between HTC and RIM.
Conclusion: if you already own MDA II (aka XDA II) then there is no big reason to update to MDA III - you can get both full-QWERTY keyboard and Wi-Fi as separate accessories. If you however are interested in buying new phone it may be well worth considering, but keep in mind that around the end of this year many cellular network operators are starting massive campaigns about introduction of 3G / UMTS cell phones and sevices, so within 3-4 months after purchase the T-Mobile MDA III may become already outdated as far as radio-interface is concerned. Shortly speaking: T-Mobile MDA III is too little, too late.
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