.: First 60 minutes with T-Mobile MDA Compact

Author - Pavel Koza :: User rating -   (223 votes) :: Views - 63079 November 22, 2004 :: It seems that T-Mobile works in one-year cycles. Last Christmas, they threw MDA II on the market. This year, they are planning to introduce two new devices with an operating system from Microsoft and the T-Mobile logo. In particular, many a PDA fan may find T-Mobile MDA Compact as a surprise - it is the smallest Pocket PC currently available, to say nothing about its integrated GSM/GPRS module.

Please note: This is not a regular review. I have not subjected the device to regular tests in an effort to discover its strengths and weaknesses. Instead, I am presenting my - mostly positive - impressions from the first encounter. So, this is not an objective report but rather a subjective description of a completely new device, full of uncritical admiration and enthusiasm about its great features. If you don’t like this type of article, please wait for a proper review. It won’t come before a few weeks’ time, though. While the hardware configuration has been almost finalised, the software needs a lot of tuning and can change substantially before the official release. Therefore, please do not take information about software applications for granted.

Regular visitors to this website may have noticed that I have not fallen for the Microsoft Smartphone technology. Instead, I have always preferred Pocket PCs. However, Pocket PCs with an integrated GSM module have come short of being a decent replacement of a mobile phone as a means of communication you want to carry around all the time, the main disadvantage being big size. That is why I have lately been using a normal Pocket PC and a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone. The T-Mobile MDA Compact will at least make me think about it again.

The device immediately captures attention. Being significantly smaller than "ordinary" Pocket PCs, it is comparable to mobile phones and Smartphones. The design is somewhat unusual - I was not the only one who had completely different feelings when seeing the MDA Compact in a picture and actually holding it. When you start using the device, you I bet you will appreciate its austere (one could say almost minimalist) design. You can carry the device around in your pocket with no fear of breaking off or damaging some part of it, in contrast with MDA II, which is easy to damage under any circumstances. The body, sturdy and compact, supports the device's invulnerability (it is reportedly made of some metal, which I am inclined to believe). Consequently, the device is surprisingly heavy; there is probably no wasted space inside the small shell that provides perfect grip. The device can be controlled with two system buttons for the phone part and four user-definable buttons - two next to the joypad, two on the side of the device.

With a certain degree of exaggeration, we can say that the MDA Compact is a "compressed" MDA II - their features and capabilities are almost identical but for a few exceptions. The biggest difference is a smaller transflexive TFT display with a 2.8-inch diagonal, which - fortunately - has otherwise the same characteristics, including a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels, 16-bit colour depth, touch-sensitive layer etc. My overall impression regarding the display is very good. All edges are smooth thanks to higher pixel density; the small size did not matter to me. The default font is one pixel bigger than the standard setting in other Pocket PCs.

A 416-MHz PXA272 Intel processor provides sufficient computing power for all tasks, including multimedia. A combination of 64 MB RAM and 64 MB FlashROM is a step backwards in comparison with MDA II yet it is quite good for a device of this size. A note for "cooks": there is no Extended ROM, which means you cannot use sophisticated autoinstalls after a HW reset.

A welcome feature is an integrated Bluetooth module, which still works only thanks to a Microsoft driver but my tests (BT keyboard, GPS...) have not shown any problems like those in the MDA II. No need to stress that there are also USB (mini USB) and infrared ports. The most important feature, of course, is a GSM/GPRS module. It is a tri-band supporting 900/1800/1900 MHz networks. The new version of the operating system has brought it another step closer to perfection (e.g. polyphonic MIDI files can be used as ring tones!).

The integrated camera offers a 1.3-MPix resolution, unlike the MDA II. It can capture both still images and short videos. The photos are no striking quality but I should note that the light conditions were really bad - there was little light inside the building so I could not take any photos there and there was nothing but snow outside... Just take a look.

A device without an expansion slot would not be sellable these days. The MDA Compact features an SD/MMC slot supporting SDIO. Capacity of the battery should be 1200 mAh, according to the T-Mobile website. There was no product plate on it, though. The device I had was a pre-production unit, so I cannot say anything else about software than that the device will ship with pre-installed Windows Mobile 2003 SE Phone. But T-Mobile will surely offer a wide range of bonus applications. All that should cost around 300 USD bundled with mobile service subscription and more than 500 USD as a standalone device.

That all for my first impressions of this charming gadget. I believe it is clear to everyone that it is completely different than, say, latest VGA Pocket PCs. I cannot say whether the MDA Compact can replace a normal cellular phone - I need more time for testing. But I do think that if there are no problems, e.g. with the radio module, my Ericsson T610 should be worried about its job:)

Related links

• First 60 minutes with FSC Pocket LOOX 7xx
• First 60 minutes with HP iPAQ hx4700

.: Rate this article

How helpful did you find this article? ::   (223 votes)   ::                [Rate]

Do you have some notes or comments to this article? [2 comments] :: Print article