T-Mobile MDA Vario II

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NOTICE: The T-Mobile Vario II is a rebranding of a generic handheld created by HTC. The Vario II is in a family of the HTC Hermes. If you want more reviews on this device I recommend searching for not only the MDA Vario II but for the HTC Hermes 300 =)

Packaging and un-boxing
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The MDA Vario II comes inside a rather square looking box which, along with its removable ...
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Full marks to T-Mobile for its packaging. To be honest I'm sure you could have dropped this box a few times on the way home and still have a perfectly functioning device when you got it out and turned on - not that I tried that though!

First Impressions of the hardware
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In one sentence I was absolutely gob smacked by the quality of the device. You'll be able to see instantly ... more

For a good while I've been searching for the ideal mobile phone replacement. My current, (yet now replaced), Samsung D600 had more than served its purpose over the last 16 months or so and with myself being someone who enjoys getting a hold of the latest technology the MDA Vario II seemed an ideal choice....

... so I bought one!

Beforehand I had a Pocket PC of my own; an HP iPaq 2210 which ran Windows Mobile 2003 Premium Edition. The main purpose for wanting one of these was so I could have a computer with me at all times; whether I needed to write a quick document, compose an email, make a note of an appointment in my calendar or perhaps maybe to relax with a quick game... the downside to the 2210 was it had no true internet. It did have Bluetooth but no Wifi so any email I wrote was only sent once docked with my PC. I had to carry a seperate device around for making calls too. The MDA Vario II promised to combine the two with a more up to date model, newer version of Windows Mobile and - something I loved - an integrated QWERTY style keyboard.

So.... with the introduction out of the way, let us begin!

NOTICE: The T-Mobile Vario II is a rebranding of a generic handheld created by HTC. The Vario II is in a family of the HTC Hermes. If you want more reviews on this device I recommend searching for not only the MDA Vario II but for the HTC Hermes 300 =)

Packaging and un-boxing
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The MDA Vario II comes inside a rather square looking box which, along with its removable cardboard sleeve, reminded me of an old 4th Generation iPod box. With the cardboard sleeve removed I was able to swing open two little 'doors' which revealed three compartments. Two compartments, (one in each door), were covered up by a cardboard lid whereas the middle presented the Vario II in all it's glory. It took a little bit of a struggle, but I was able to get the Vario from its box - it did take a little effort so be careful. Behind each of the 'doors' are the various accessories such as the case, hands free kit, charger cable, mini USB cable and the accompanying documentation.

Full marks to T-Mobile for its packaging. To be honest I'm sure you could have dropped this box a few times on the way home and still have a perfectly functioning device when you got it out and turned on - not that I tried that though!

First Impressions of the hardware
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In one sentence I was absolutely gob smacked by the quality of the device. You'll be able to see instantly that this phone is thicker than most mobiles, but you got to remember that this is also a hand held computer with an integrated hardware keyboard too. It's not TOO big mind - in fact for me I found its size extremely decent. It's not too heavy but it's heavy enough so you can get a grip of it and know it's there.

With the keyboard closed, the phone has a number of buttons available on the front. At the very top you are given two buttons; one which handles email and the other opens Internet Explorer. (On the Vario II the button image has been changed to reflect T-Mobiles Web 'n' Walk feature but it does the same thing)

Between these buttons are the status LED's which will change depending on what features you have on or off - for example the Bluetooth radio, the Wifi etc.

Beneath the screen is where you'll find 6 more buttons and a very good d-pad. The top two buttons are referred to as 'Soft-keys' and can be easily customized to launch whatever feature or program you want on your phone. Below these two buttons are the green and red phone icons. These buttons accept and hang up the call you're currently within. If you're not inside a call, the green button will open the phone interface allowing you to dial a number or search for a contact in which to ring.

The bottom two buttons are branded with the Windows logo and an 'ok' image. At any time you can press the Windows key to drop down the Start menu and the 'ok button should be fairly self explanatory.

On the side of the phone you have some more buttons, so let us begin on the top right side and work around clockwise. The top right has two buttons. One, recessed, power button and another button which opens the Communication Manager. (More on that later).

The bottom right has just the one button which loads the Camera application. Again, more on this later.

On the bottom right corner of the phone you'll find the Stylus' home. Its perfectly rounded edge makes it sit flush with the device seamlessly and is easy enough to get out when you need it. You do also get a spare stylus in the box should you lose this one though.

On the very bottom you'll see the Mini-USB interface where you'll end up connecting your hands free kit, your charger cable and the - supplied - mini usb cable which connects your phone to your PC. Something to note however is ALL these accessories utilize this one socket so you'll not be able to charge your phone when using the headset and visa versa. Synchronizing the phone with your PC will also require you to disconnect your head set or charger cable so you cannot really multi task with accessories here.

The bottom also has the Infra-red receiver/transmitter and the latch for the back lid that reveals your battery and SIM card holder. On the bottom left side you'll find an expansion card slot which takes Transflash/MicroSD cards and two more buttons up the top. One of the buttons opens the 'Voice Speed Dial' application. This is a product that lets you use your voice to do a number of things with your phone; from calling friends to carrying out various tasks. I'll cover this more later on. You also get a second 'ok' button here plus a jog wheel. Let me tell you right here, right now that this jog wheel is amazing. You can spin this to move up and down any document, any web page, your contacts list .... and you can even press it in to confirm a selection. It's a great addition and I'm sure you'll love it.

The whole device is smooth and has no sharp, square edges. The back of the phone has a surface which enhances your grip and yet its really comfortable. You'll also find the camera lens (2 Megapixels), the flash and the self portrait mirror here also. Interestingly enough, theres also a switch that lets you enable a Macro mode here too.

The Hardware Keyboard
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One of the biggest problems I had with my iPaq 2210 PocketPC was the entry of data. The Windows Mobile Operating System does provide an on screen touch keyboard but it's only good for the occasional short text or the filling in of a form on a website. Should you want to write a decent email message or construct a Word document you can forget it. It was because of this I ended up splashing out £80 or so on an HP keyboard which the PocketPC 'docked into'

With the Vario II you've already got a physical keyboard on hand it's integrated into your phone. Simply slide it out and it clicks into place. From the pictures you may have seen, the keyboard doesn't look the easiest (or the most comfortable) to work on but I'll put that myth to bed. In short, typing with this is an absolute joy. Sure, you're not likely to compose your next great novel on this thing but you can compose large documents, lots of emails and whatever else perfectly well with a good typing speed too.

The keys give enough travel and feedback that you can type quickly and responsively. Theres a numeric keypad offered as well, which you enable by either holding down or double tapping the red circle button in the lowest left. All in all it works really well... in fact look at the length of this review... I wrote it all on my Vario II =)

But the keyboard experience doesn't stop there either! At the top of the keyboard you have two additional buttons which work just like the two soft-keys we saw earlier on the front of your phone. These work well when in the landscape mode, which by the way happens automatically. When you pull the keyboard out the screen alternates to landscape. Close it again and it reverts to portrait mode. Very handy.

The keyboard also has an integrated light ambient sensor. Should you be working in the dark the keyboard will illuminate itself in a gorgeous glowing red. I absolutely love this feature. In fact I use it more than I thought I would =)

The Software / Windows Mobile 5.0
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The MDA Vario II comes with Windows Mobile 5.0 and although it's not the latest version of the mobile operating system by Microsoft, (6.0 has been released), theres very little difference between the two and I reckon 5.0 offers more than enough for my needs. I won't lie that I was hoping for a Windows Mobile 6.0 device but after researching both the operating systems I quickly saw 5.0 offered nothing less so you'll not be missing out. ( I think an upgrade to 6.0 is coming soon anyway!)

When you first switch it on, you'll get a long wait whilst the operating system starts up and whilst the phone 'customizes' itself for T-Mobile. From what I could see, this couldn't be skipped but it only happens the once. Thankfully, T-Mobile don't force any proprietary interfaces upon you like some other companies I can think of, (02 anyone?) and it's more a red/white theme than anything else - This can be changed easily.

So once the customization is complete you're then dumped onto the Today screen. Now I won't go over how great Windows Mobile 5.0 is here because we're reviewing the phone, but I will make a few points which I think will help you understand everything a whole lot better.

Integration with PIM applications is second to none. You enter all the details of your contacts and save them.. and then enjoy! Are you in the Calendar? Easily drop in attendees from your contacts list. Want to make a phone call? Either open the Contacts screen, pick a person and then select a number to call, OR simply open the phone window and type out their name on the keypad. A drop down list of your contacts containing those letters appear for ease of use. Speed Dial is on offer here as well as a fully customizable set of sounds for ring tones, new emails, text messages etc.

Thousands of applications are available for Windows Mobile, even more so for 5.0 - which is another reason to get this release. The phone comes with:

• Mobile Office, (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• 'Pictures & Videos'
• Windows Media Player 10 Mobile
• ClearVue PDF Viewer
• File Explorer
• Internet Explorer
• MSN Mobile, (MSN Messenger, Hotmail, MSN Home, Search)
• MIDlet Manager, (For running phone JAVA apps on your device)
• Phone module
• Search
• Terminal Services Client, (remote desktop to other computers)
• Voice Speed Dial
• Wireless Modem
• ZIP application
• Full Organiser Suite, (Contacts, Notes, Messages)
• Mobile Outlook
• Games, (Bubble Breaker and Solitaire)

As you can see the number of supplied products are great, but there's so much more you can add on as well. For example, here are the products I've installed on top of what's supplied:

• Mobile BlackJack
• FTP Client
• Google Maps (Proper application)
• Kaspersky Anti Virus
• Live Search (Absolutely amazing! Finds local services for free!)
• Opera Browser
• pRSSreader (RSS Reader)
• Task Manager (For seeing/ending processes, services, registry editor)
• Windows Live, (Windows Live Messenger! Yey!)

... and I've only had the phone for a week!

Storage
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This is something worth mentioning I think - The phone comes with 128 MB, but you can only store files and programs on 64MB of it. The rest goes towards the running of programs on your device. For this reason, I think it's absolutely essential to purchase a Transflash/MicroSD expansion card. I've ordered a 2GB card for less than £15 inc. postage - This way I can store email attachments with ease and have the ability to install more programs... like Skype for instance!

Connectivity
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This phone has it all! 3G, GPRS, Wifi, (both 801.11b and g), BlueTooth and Infra-Red. If that's not enough you can connect it up via the supplied mini-usb cable to your PC and sync with ActiveSync or copy across some files.

The MDA Vario II truely is the always-on, connected device. I purchased my Vario with T-Mobiles Web 'n' Walk package which allows for "unlimited" internet use - In reality its 1GB a month but how likely are you to hit that on your phone? With this package I can have instant access to all my email, I can be on Windows Live Messenger around the clock wherever I go. I can browse the internet wherever I have a mobile phone signal. Once you get this level of freedom you'll never want to go back - trust me! Walking home from work whilst chatting away on Messenger on the high street is still mind-blowing!!!

Battery Life
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As you can probably imagine from a device that's a phone and a PocketPC with integrated Wifi and Bluetooth (amongst other things) the battery is used up a lot. So much so that I cannot really get a full day out of it. I find my phone likes to connect to the internet using 3G when I'm not on my wireless network and that depletes the battery quite a bit. Thankfully for my I got a charger for my device at work so I plug it in on arrival and I get a full day no problem. Enabling the Wifi or BlueTooth radio will also lower the amount of time you'll get until it needs a recharge so be sure to turn off all the connectivity you either do not need or are not using.

Stylus
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You what? You're reviewing the stylus? Well... yeah, it comes as part of the phone and I'm sure you'll end up using it quite a bit so I think its worth a mention. As I said earlier in the review, the Stylus slots inside the phone from the bottom. Interestingly enough the Stylus is telescopic - in other words it expands to twice its size when pulled upon; so those of you with larger hands will be able to hold it with ease. It's tough too, so it won't slide back down during use, plus its durable so it'll last a long time also. You get two of these.

Camera
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The Vario II comes with a 2 Megapixel camera with flash and Macro mode. The quality of this camera is excellent of the 2 Megapixel lens you're provided with and the Macro mode works excellently. You also get a number of different modes available once inside the Camera on screen like you do on standalone digital cameras. The flash is turned on and off by pressing just one button on screen and the shutter time is quite low. You can store as many pictures as you're storage will allow, so buying an expansion card is essential if you're looking to use the camera a lot.

As you can probably guess from a device like this, the recording of videos is a possibility too and the sounds it records is excellent. The button to take the pictures ends up in the top right of the phone when in landscape mode - this feels so natural as if you were using a standalone digital camera so points given for design :)

Oh... one more thing. There is a SECOND camera on this device - on the front however. This is so you can take Video Calls. During your Video Call, you can switch to the rear 2 Megapixel camera at any time.

Communication Manager
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The Comm Manager, as it's known on the phone, handles all the connectivity services on the device. Want to enable Wifi? Open the Comm Manager, want to enable Bluetooth? Opem the Comm Manager. It really is as simple as pressing the Comm Manager button on the side of the phone and enabling/disabling what you want on screen with a tap of your Stylus. Nice and easy!

Wifi
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As I've mentioned, the Vario II comes with a Wifi radio and it works well. Simply enable it from the Comm Manager and it'll search the area for available networks. Any secure networks will appear so in the found network summary list and should a password be required to connect, Windows Mobile will ask you for it before continuing.

I got a small issue with my Vario II however when I first tried to connect it to my home wireless network. First I had to broadcast my SSID so it would find it and once it was connected it wouldn't go online through it. Instead it would use my 3G Data Connection as preference - as you can imagine this resulted in lower speeds and if I didn't have my Web 'n' Walk data plan it would have been costly. To add to the annoyance, neither the manual, the T-Mobile website or their helpline knew how to rectify the problem. Thankfully - being someone who works with computers for a living - I worked out a way to solve the issue and that was by finding out the DNS address of my router and entering these as static values under the configuration panel for my wireless card in the Vario. Once all that was done it was plain sailing; come home, enable the Wifi radio and I'll end up browsing the web on my home network. I've not yet tried any public hot spots with it though so time will tell how fun that will be...

Voice Speed Dial
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In three words, "really nice feature". With Voice Speed Dial you can use your voice to command the Vario to carry out tasks. For example you could say "Call John Smith at work' and have the phone dial John's work number. What about, "Email Sam" and find Mobile Outlook appears ready for you to use. The voice commands are not pre-defined. You record whatever you want to say and then assign an action to it. You can also speed dial in the same manner. Nice idea really; especially as you only need to press a side button on your Vario to activate it.

Real Life Example of Use
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I get up in the morning and quickly flick on my Vario. It's telling me I've got three new emails to take a look at so I make a point of glancing at these once I'm out the door going to work. I leave the house and start walking down, reading and replying to my mail. Using the Web 'n' Walk tariff I know I can reply to and send messages on the move without incurring massive extra costs. On the way down I fancy reading the news using my RSS Reader. Within seconds it updates over the 3G network and I get all of todays news from a variety of sources in one window.

I get to work and place my phone on my desk. After a while it bleeps and I've been sent a text message. I slide out the integrated keyboard and type back a reply so much faster then I would have done on a keypad. I click Send and my reply has gone.

Lunchtime! I fancy popping off down to the shops to buy lunch today so I pick up my coat and I grab my Vario. On the way down the high street I think about organizing a night out so with a couple of clicks I've opened Windows Live Messenger and IM'd my friends about it. As I wait in the queue at the bakery I'm getting replies from my MSN contacts about the evening out and they reckon its a good idea. Someone isn't there so I copy the conversation and send it as an email to that person.. all while I walk back to the office

The end of the day comes and as I'm walking home I remember that eBay item I was watching. It ends soon so without running home, I fire up Opera and browse to that item. I place my highest bid and slide my Vario back into my pocket. I get home, have my dinner and then open my MacBook - I have an email saying I've won the eBay item. Fantastic!

As you can see from that 'real life example' I've condensed a lot of what I do into one day but it's all real stuff you can do on the Vario. Being fully connected to everything you do, all your friends, family and co-workers, using email, Messenger, your phone and your texts... it's utterly unbelievable and now I have it I don't want to lose it!

Conclusion
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The Vario II is the best mobile phone I've ever bought and I've had a few! I have an entire Pocket PC in my pocket with a fully featured mobile phone and an always on connection to the internet and my connected lifestyle. I strongly recommend you get T-Mobile's Web 'n' Walk if you buy this as it screams out for connectivity with its sheer design and the applications on offer. It's worth noting though, I tried Skype out on here but only over Wifi. T-Mobile don't allow its use over Web 'n' Walk... I suppose its not hard to understand why. Even so, having permanent access to email and Windows Live Messenger is fantastic.

The Vario isn't without a few annoyances though; the big one being the battery lifetime. With the phone being connected to the internet you'll not get a full day out of the battery but with it only turned on for when you need it you should last until you get home for an evening to charge it back up again. The screen is strong and durable but it does pick up marks and fingerprints like a magnet. You get a supplied Screen Protector but its near impossible to get it on without getting air bubbles trapped underneath.

All in all, the MDA Vario II comes HIGHLY recommended from me and I won't be replacing my phone for a long time; even when my contract expires it will take something special to knock this out of prime position. I absolutely love this device and I'm sure you will too - even more so if it's important for you to enjoy an always on experience and if you need access to things like email and the internet on the move.

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