T-Mobile MDA Compact III

I had been with Orange for six years but this was the phone that finally tempted me to leave - I haven't be disappointed.

First here are the general specs of the phone:

* Dimensions - 58 x 108 x 16.3 millimetres
* Weight - 127 grams (battery included)
* Operating System - Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC Phone Edition
* CPU - Texas Instruments OMAP 850 @ 201MHz
* Memory - 128Mb ROM
...240 x 320
* Networks - GSM 850MHz, GSM 900MHz, GSM 1800MHz, GSM 1900MHz
* Connections - Mini USB / Bluetooth 2.0 / GPRS
* SiRF Star III GPS
* 2 Megapixel camera
* FM radio

To borrow a phrase - this just isn't any normal phone, this is a Pocket PC phone. It runs Microsofts Windows Mobile 5 software and brings tons of applications, programmes and games to your phone - including very usuable mini versions ... more

I had been with Orange for six years but this was the phone that finally tempted me to leave - I haven't be disappointed.

First here are the general specs of the phone:

• Dimensions - 58 x 108 x 16.3 millimetres
• Weight - 127 grams (battery included)
• Operating System - Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC Phone Edition
• CPU - Texas Instruments OMAP 850 @ 201MHz
• Memory - 128Mb ROM
• MicroSD Memory Card Slot
• Resolution - 240 x 320
• Networks - GSM 850MHz, GSM 900MHz, GSM 1800MHz, GSM 1900MHz
• Connections - Mini USB / Bluetooth 2.0 / GPRS
• SiRF Star III GPS
• 2 Megapixel camera
• FM radio

To borrow a phrase - this just isn't any normal phone, this is a Pocket PC phone. It runs Microsofts Windows Mobile 5 software and brings tons of applications, programmes and games to your phone - including very usuable mini versions of many of the Office suite (Word, Excel etc).

The phone itself is branded as T-Mobiles own MDA range. It is however produced by the up-and-coming HTC, who also create the SPV range of Orange phones, Vodafone's Jam range and 02's XDAs!

Input

90% of the interaction with the phone is carried out using a stylus (similar to a Nintendo DS) that slots neatly into the bottom right of the phone when not in use. You use the stylus to prod the screnn and select items. For text input you can even write directly onto the screen and with some practice this can be very a very efficient way of working.

For those times when a stylus isn't appropriate there are two other navigation methods. First, and most usefully, there is the scroll wheel which works a lot like theiPod interface - where spinning clockwise moves the selector downwards, and vice versa. This works very well, although it does perhaps feel a bit flimsy at times.

Secondly there is also a mini trackball which can be selected to work a mouse pointer like a PC. To be honest this is a bit of a gimmick and sees very little use. A nice try at something innovative on a phone though.

There are also a number of quick access buttons that are also user configuarable. There are your usual answer/reject call buttons, a Start Menu button, a web'n'walk internet button, an OK button and a GPS button.

GPS?

Yes! This phone comes with a built in GPS receiver, meaning you can use the phone as fully fledged sat nav system! This was the selling point for me and when I bought the phone I had CoPilot Live! 6 thrown into my deal for free. (You could bet TomTom or other packages too).

The GPS system works incredibly smoothly and has saved me the expense of buying a separate unit. It's also safer as you are much less likely to leave it your car and have the windows smashed. If there was to be any gripe with the GPS it would be that it sometimes takes several minutes to find the satellites it needs to work. However once it gets them it works flawlessly.

Memory

As mentioned the phone runs Windows Mobile 5. this means the phone is ready to play music and videos out of the box using Windows Media Player. Videos and Music require a lot of space so, as you would expect, the phone has expandable memory in the form of aMicroSD slot. MicroSD cards are relatively new, and it might be a disappointment for some people that they can't use there existing normal sized SD Cards. As the name suggest MicoSD cards are absolutely tiny, yet can still come in capacities of 2Gb . However normal SD cards aren't still incredibly small, they are cheaper, and can hold more data, so overall i would have preferred to have seen them as the media. Also the card slot is located under the battery, so you have to turn your phone off to swap the memory out - a bit annoying.

Camera

The phone is equipped with a 2MP camera. It's not the greatest camera in the world but it's capable of capturing decent stills in good light, plus video too.

Internet

The only thing that stops this phone being a classic is the fact that it is equipped with neither WiFi of 3g connections. This is a massive shame especially with T-Mobiles great Web'n'Walk flat rate options. However the GPRS does a decent job, and checking football scores is a breeze. It also allows you to check email, plus you get Live traffic updates viaCoPiltot Live so you sat nav is doubly powerful.

Build

The phone feels plenty solid enough, and it's survived a few tumbles without blinking. There has been some minor damage around the stylus silo - but nothing to detract from every day use. The casing is fairly scratch resistant but I would suggest you use the clear plastic screen protector to stop stylus related damage.

It also looks very smart, not too flashy in an understated gun metal grey finish.

Overall

I've been using Pocket PC style phones for close to 3 years now and this is the best one I've had so far. I chose this phone primarily for the GPS and I haven't been made to rue the decision. If you absolutely have to have 3G and/orWiFi then I could understand looking elsewhere, but overall I don't think there are many phones on the market that offer a better price to performance ratio.

Highly recommended. 

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