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T-Mobile inexplicably brings back MDA

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 5th 2007 @ 11:10AM

So, we imagine it went something like this: some dude at T-Mobile USA's headquarters was crawling through the attic. Maybe he was looking for some classic Jamie Lee Curtis promo shots to throw up on eBay, maybe he was seeking out a replacement battery for his trusty Ericsson T68; the purpose of his adventure is pretty irrelevant. Anyway, he stumbles upon this giant flippin' stash of dusty MDAs. You know, HTC Wizards -- the things T-Mobile sold back in the day before the Wing reigned supreme. What's a company to do? They can't rightfully dump 'em in the local landfill, it just wouldn't be right. May as well sell the whole lot off for a song ($79.99 apiece, to be exact) on the corporate website! If you simply must get in on this circa-2005 action, we might recommend you do it soonly 'cause there's really no telling how long these relics are going to be available the second time around.

[Thanks, Cesar G.]

HTC self-brands retro Panda as P6300

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 6th 2007 @ 5:04PM

If you're still hung up on 2.5G data and Windows Mobile 5... well, first, we recommend you consult a professional. Failing that, though, check out HTC's P6300, the self-branded version of the throwback "Panda" that looks straight outta 2004 and has a feature set to match: tri-band EDGE data, Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone Edition, and SD / MMC slot. Mercifully, internal Flash is a more 2007-ish 256MB, and the WiFi and 3.5-inch QVGA display certainly helps round this one out. You can already grab this one on O2 as the Xda Argon, but it looks like folks elsewhere should be able to pick it up now too -- if you're into that sort of thing.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

Sprint Mogul review roundup

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 18th 2007 @ 3:36PM

We thought the Sprint Mogul was a little bit of alright, but do the 'nets agree? By and large, yeah, it seems the bottom line is that this is the must-have upgrade for PPC-6700 owners. Mobile Tech Review points out that an MMS client is notably missing and picture quality on the 2 megapixel camera could be better, but hey, it's still an improvement over the Apache's 1.3 megapixel unit. Boy Genius Report found that the ridges on the phone's posterior were a little funky, too; just like the Mogul's crazy bright yellow UI, it's probably an acquired taste.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

Read - Gear Diary ("...leaps and bounds above the PPC-6700 that it replaces...")
Read - Boy Genius Report ("...the device is a pleasure to use...")
Read - Phone Scoop ("... flashier design, updated operating and higher resolution camera...")
Read - My iTablet (3.75 / 5 stars, "...a worthy upgrade from the PPC-6700...")
Read - Mobile Tech Review (4 / 5 stars, "A very strong offering from Sprint, and a worthy, if not overdue, successor to the PPC-6700")

Hands-on with the Sprint Mogul by HTC

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 18th 2007 @ 2:49AM

Known as the Titan, the PPC-6800, and the XV6800 in its various forms, Sprint's Mogul from HTC represents arguably the most anticipated piece of CDMA hardware so far this year. Why? Well, for starters, its direct predecessor -- the PPC-6700 "Apache" -- isn't getting any younger. Don't get us wrong, the PPC-6700 was a well-loved device that held its own for a good long while, but let's be honest: aerial antennas and Windows Mobile 5 are getting a little passé (to put it lightly). We've had the good fortune to be able to spend a few quality minutes with a production Mogul this weekend, so let's have a closer look, shall we?

Gallery: Hands-on with the Sprint Mogul by HTC

Continue reading Hands-on with the Sprint Mogul by HTC

Mio GPS-enabled A702 sees light of day

by Sean Cooper posted Jun 15th 2007 @ 1:47PM

The Mio A702 -- the replacement for the tweaked-looking Mio A701 Digi-Walker -- was unveiled amid much fanfare and smiling people in fancy outfits. Upgrade details include a bump to Windows Mobile 6 Pro, a 3.2 megapixel camera, MicroSD slot, and a jog wheel for speedy navigation. Connectivity also sees a bit of upgrading with the inclusion of WiFi (was lacking in the A701), Bluetooth, and we can only hope that the radio front reveals quad-band GSM with a few HSDPA frequencies thrown in for good measure. Official specs were not on the table at the unveiling, so expect an update post as soon as we hear more.

[Via Slashphone]

Gigabyte follows up g-Smart i300 with i350

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 10th 2007 @ 7:50PM

Shown recently at Taiwan's Computex shindig, the g-Smart i350 appears to be the most incremental of upgrades to its i300 predecessor, especially in light of the fact that the i300's been signed up to get a Windows Mobile 6 upgrade. Both rock a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g, and integrated GPS, so it seems like the biggest boost for the i350 might be the move from a 2.4 inch QVGA to 2.6 inch VGA display (okay, we admit, that's a pretty big difference) and the addition of a fourth band of GSM support. We're not sure we're feeling the handset's sparkly white exterior, but we suspect it's one of those things you have to see in person before passing judgment.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

Slide deck surfaces for Sprint's HTC Mogul

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 4th 2007 @ 4:29PM

We admit it's nowhere near as cool as a PPC-6800 / Mogul launch (which as far as we can tell is still months away), but hey, we'll take what we can get. This slide deck -- or perhaps "decklet" is a better term, seeing how it's only two slides -- found its way onto PDAPhoneHome.com with a couple large, lovely pictures of what promises to be Sprint's flagship smart device when it finally hits stores. The launch delay has been attributed to the decision to drop Windows Mobile 6 Professional on it right out of the gate rather than offer an upgrade down the road, a theory that seems to be validated by the obvious presence of Microsoft's latest release in the pics. Otherwise, the specs on the second slide are pretty much what we expected: EV-DO rev. A upgradeability, a 416MHz core, 256MB onboard storage, and 64MB RAM.

[Thanks, Brad]

Evidence grows for imminent T-Mobile Wing launch

by Chris Ziegler posted May 21st 2007 @ 7:31PM

We're not sure if it's the newfound presence of the Wing on T-Mobile's support site or the ever-growing throng of individuals reporting that customer service agents and in-store reps are touting May 22 as the launch date, but something tells us that tomorrow's starting to look pretty good for getting some Windows Mobile 6 Professional love. Seeing how T-Mobile is without a Pocket PC phone option right now, the Wing's arrival isn't just welcome -- it's necessary -- and as 2.5G Pocket PCs go, the Wing's a doozy. The slim case and soft-touch finish alone are enough to make Wizard owners shed a tear, but the real prize is likely Windows Mobile 6 Professional and a revised, spring-loaded keyboard with a more traditional numeric layout. Get your pocketbooks ready, ladies and gentlemen.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

More shots of the HTC Elf

by Chris Ziegler posted May 18th 2007 @ 4:54AM

Again, we really can't stress enough how appropriate the name "Elf" is here. HTC's latest QWERTY-less Windows Mobile 6 Professional device seems as though it could've dropped right off a spaceship, looking distinctly un-HTC -- and that could be a good or a bad thing, depending on who you ask. Click on for views from every conceivable angle, including some alongside the Artemis, one of our favorite HTC devices of recent memory.

T-Mobile Wing gets unboxed

by Chris Ziegler posted May 11th 2007 @ 6:16PM

MyMobile911 has somehow managed to acquire a "production package" of T-Mobile's upcoming Windows Mobile 6-equipped Wing, and perhaps the most interesting news here is that it is, in fact, called the "Wing." Previous reports had suggested that execs weren't happy with the name, but hey, they could call it "Poo" for all we care -- the fact that retail packaging is in the wild suggests that a release could very well be imminent. The box's contents turn out to be pretty standard fare: a charger, stereo headset, cables, software, and a handful of manuals, though one gem is the audio/charging dongle that appears to let you juice the battery and rock out at the same time. With the MDA axed from the lineup, T-Mobile's Pocket PC-less shelves are looking a wee bit bare; Wing, you can't possible get here soon enough.

[Thanks, Wally S.]

Sprint PPC-6800 delayed until fall?

by Chris Ziegler posted May 9th 2007 @ 5:00PM

A May launch for Sprint's variant of the HTC Titan sounded too good to be true, and indeed, it just might be. We've now heard from enough individuals to give some credence to a rumor that the PPC-6800 has been pulled back into the shop to get reworked for an October release just weeks before it was supposed to hit store shelves. The reason? Well, it's a pretty good one, it turns out; Sprint allegedly wants to take the time to do the launch up right by launching its flagship Pocket PC with Windows Mobile 6 and EV-DO Rev. A out of the gate. Now to be fair, we see no reason why they couldn't go ahead and launch it with Windows Mobile 5 and EV-DO Rev. 0 on the original timetable and push out an upgrade come this fall, but we've been through too many launch delays at this point to be too surprised or disappointed by the news.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC P3450 "Elf" in the wild

by Chris Ziegler posted May 8th 2007 @ 7:02PM

HTC's 2007 plan is starting to play itself out, and the latest device to make a cameo is this here lovely looking (but only so-so spec'd) "Elf" in HTC-branded P3450 guise. Guts include a rather anemic OMAP850 putting along at 201MHz, 128MB of ROM, 64MB of RAM, microSD expansion, a 2 megapixel cam, Bluetooth 2.0, and quadband GSM plus UMTS (though it's not clear whether there are any American 3G bands kicking around in there). The big draw here -- besides the presence of Windows Mobile 6, of course -- seems to be a shell that clocks in at a rather svelte 14 millimeters. If this all pans out, expect an official introduction in the next couple months.

[Via Slashphone]

E-TEN's glofiish X500+ gets official

by Chris Ziegler posted May 8th 2007 @ 10:35AM

First, the good news: the glofiish X500+ takes the original X500's thin formula and packs in a glorious VGA display. Now, the bad: 3G data is still nowhere to be found. We suppose we'll have to wait for the upcoming X800 to sup the sweet nectar of HSDPA from an E-TEN device, but in the meantime, it seems the X500+ is a worthy upgrade its predecessor thanks to a stylish new black casing, Windows Mobile 6 Professional, and, of course, the aforementioned 640 x 480 touchscreen. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but we can probably guess "a lot" and "not here."

[Via the::unwired]

Gigabyte g-Smart i300 to get Windows Mobile 6

by Chris Ziegler posted May 7th 2007 @ 10:26AM

Not to suggest many among our readership have one of these suckers, but for the few (and proud) who do, rejoice. The g-Smart i300 is now slated to get an upgrade from Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone Edition to Windows Mobile 6 Professional, though the translated press release doesn't seem to offer details on exactly how or when the upgrade will go down. Forgetting for a moment the sickly GPRS data speeds, the i300 offers up decent specs with a 520MHz PXA270 core, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi, GPS, and a full 256MB of internal Flash with miniSD expansion. Look for the Windows Mobile 6-enabled version of the i300 to launch first in Taiwan with a follow-on launch in Turkey, of all places.

[Via the::unwired]

O2 gets HTC Panda as "Xda Argon"

by Chris Ziegler posted May 2nd 2007 @ 11:26AM

If this wasn't actually on O2's website, we'd think it was just a late (really late) April Fool's joke; alas, it now seems that the HTC Panda is the real deal in all its throwback glory. Looking pretty much like an HTC Himalaya or Alpine, the Panda reminds us of everything that was great about 2004 -- and thankfully, O2 has decided in its infinite wisdom to pick up the device as the "Xda Argon." Don't get your hopes up for modernized guts, though -- those are throwback, too, with EDGE data and Windows Mobile 5 leading the charge. On the other hand, Bluetooth, WiFi, a 2 megapixel camera, and a gloriously large 3.5 inch display all help make the Panda's case for a place in the sentimental Pocket PC user's pocket. Get it now on O2 for as little as... well, nothing, depending on the contract you select.

[Via the::unwired]