Advantages: All round PDA, compact
Disadvantages: Low battery Life for heavy use.

...My girlfriend recently upgraded her contract with T-Mobile, and in the process chose the MDA Vario II. I'm going to get one as soon as my current contract expires. Its that good. Whilst being larger than a normal phone its fairly compact for a PDA, which, in my opinion is a good thing. The screen has a good resolution, is bright, and I've never had any difficulty in seeing/reading anything from it. It comes with a large range of features on it - such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, MSN, a calculator, calender, and laods more. In addition to this you can add programs yourself. All you need to do is search the web for the "MIDlets" you want, and then either download them directly to you phone, or, if you want to download them to your PC, and then transfer them across to your phone to install them. With T-Mobile... Read review

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Advantages: Look, Application, Handset Capabilitys, Expandable Memory
Disadvantages: Low Handset Memory,

...This is one of the best windows mobile devices I have used. It does lack the Wi-Fi that the o2 \"own branded\" XDA Orbit has, however they are all but similar if it were not for this fact. The addition of GPS makes the handset a very usable device, for example I have added Co-Pilot Satellite navigation and Google Maps which mean when me and my partner borrow a car once a year for our holiday, we never get lost. Email and Text message functions are similar to all windows mobile phones, that the T-Mobile MDA falls under, the on screen keyboard can be a little fiddly for sending text messages, so I would say this phone is not aimed at the texters out there, however once you get use to the onscreen keyboard its not bad at all. The one good feature that T-Mobile have added is an email set up assistant, which makes it really easy to set... Read review

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Advantages: Nice size/weight, bright screen, very connctable
Disadvantages: Short, light stylus

...I've had my Vario II (also known as HTC Hermes, HTC TyTn, Orange SPV M3100 among others) a couple of weeks now and am very pleased with it. It's currently running Windows Mobile 5 (which it comes with as standard), which handles all tasks fine. The screen is nice and bright and very easy to read, despite being smaller than a normal PDA. It's a nice size and makes my old Acer n10 seem big and bulky. Loads of connection options - IrDA, bluetooth, wifi, usb2, GPRS/3G mean you've got loads of was of using it. Being on T-Mobile it also comes with MSN Messenger (other networks remove it but you can get it back with an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6) which along with email, texts and mms mean it's easy to keep in contact. It runs Tomtom 6 nicely (although it needs a small patch available on the net) and gives you a Transflash/MicroSD slot... Read review

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Advantages: Big Screen, Easy to Use
Disadvantages: Battery life

...-Basics- To look at the MDA Vario II you have a very stylish and sleek mobile phone. Looking at my phone you have a large screen (2½” by 2”) in full clear colour with only minimal buttons underneath it, give it a gentle push to the side a full QWERTY keyboard is revealed with easy to use buttons whilst on the back you have a 2 mega pixel camera with a flash and mirror for self portraits. On the edges the phone has various short-cut buttons, a limitless scroll wheel, a memory card slot (microSD) and a stylus holder. Within the phone you have the basic platform of Windows Mobile 5, and within this you get a large amount of features including; Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, MSN messenger, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, an organiser, and many more. All of these are easy to use and can either be used... Read review

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Advantages: GPS, Windows Mobile, Good Input Features, Solid GPRS, Clear Calls, Compact, Great Screen
Disadvantages: No 3G, No WiFi, MicroSD, Sometime GPS is very slow to find satellites

...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... Read review

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Advantages: Unbeatable connectivity, intergrated keyboard, has full WM 5.0 OS, great camera, excellent build quality
Disadvantages: Battery life, screen attracts fingerprints

...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 ------------------------------------ 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... Read review

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Advantages: Good screen and keyboard, WiFi, packed with features.
Disadvantages: A bit chunky and a bit buggy.

...This phone is made by HTC and is actually a "Wizard". It is called "MDA Vario" by T-mobile, but it's branded differently by other providers, e.g. "Qtek 9100", "i-Mate K-JAM", "Orange SPV M6000", "O2 XDA Pro Mini". It comes with a carrying case, USB cable, charger, a spare stylus, stereo hands-free earphones, a decent manual, ActiveSync and Outlook. I chose it because it is a combined PDA and phone, based on Microsoft "Windows Mobile 5" (Pocket PC) operating system. The processor in this phone runs at a slower clock speed than similar Windows Mobile phones that have preceded it, but the architecture and the new operating system should make this fact unnoticeable most of the time, while providing better battery life. I've actually found the battery life to be adequate and no more. I can reliably drain the battery by the end... Read review

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Advantages: No need for a BT landline.
Disadvantages: Signal strength can vary from time to time.

..., the performance is upgrading all the time. This product is also compatible with Mac Computers. System requirements: CPU: Pentium 4,1 Ghz or above. Memory: 128 MB RAM or above Hard disk: 50MB of available space Operating system: Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Vista, or Apple Mac 0S X 10.2.6 Jaguar or higher. They have a technical helpline which is open from 7am to 10 pm daily (0845 412 2993) It is charged at your local rate, or free from a T.mobile phone by dialing 150. Web 'n' Walk USB is available form most T.Mobile shops, and can also be obtained over the Internet from the T.Mobile website. I would wholeheartedly recommend this product and I found it very easy to install and use. The product is supplied to you in a DVD style case; very compact. It contains the sofware CD, instruction booklet, sim card... Read review

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Advantages: Excellent grapics and business management capabilities
Disadvantages: Large and cumbersome. Missing the basics that come with most new phones.

...The T-Mobile Vario is in effect a smart phone incorporating a pocket PC with some interesting features. It was probably designed to try to counter the stronghold that the Blackberry had on the UK marketplace as a business machine capable of running an appointment diary, accessing the internet, sending and receiving emails and of course being used as a mobile telephone amongst a range of other features. As a working machine the Vario is very good at what it does. With a sliding keyboard it is possible to type relatively quickly and accurately and also has a number of touch screen features with excellent graphics. The touch screen also incorporates a keyboard or it can be scribbled on with the stylus which has a number of ways of recognising the graphics and words written onto the screen. As a phone it is practical, albeit... Read review

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Advantages: Free voicemail, Free voicemail, Free voicemail
Disadvantages: Dodgy Network Coverage, Poor Quality Service, Call Centre Response (and the time it takes them)

...I'm normally hard to rattle. I'm a creature of habit. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If it's just "ok" - oh well, it'll do for now. I've put up with not being able to retrieve voicemail. (WelI, it's not the end of the world if the meetings been cancelled). I've soldiered on with sometimes having a whole week of not being able to dial out, recieve calls, or send/receive texts. (Well, they can get me at home, or email me). I've even struggling through, seeing out a void contract (although technically, to the letter of the law, it IS valid. THAY HAVE JUST NOT HEARD OF GOODWILL. They can say words like symapthy, and empathy, but they don't know what theuy mean. I've been with them for well over 5 years, and spent over £2000 with them, and they've given me 2 new phones. One has NEVER worked properly, and they admitted... Read review

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