T-Mobile MDA Pro review

The MDA Pro is T-Mobile's latest Windows Mobile-based PDA and phone combination.

Like the MDAIII reviewed in Shopper May 2005, it has a built-in QWERTY keyboard for messaging and editing Word documents, but instead of a keyboard that slides down below the screen the PDA opens up to reveal a full landscape keyboard. It's also the first PDA we've seen that has Windows Mobile 5 installed.

The MDA Pro is reminiscent of Nokia's Communicator in design, but instead of having a small screen on the outside of the flip for the phone application and a large one inside for the PDA's main functions, the MDA Pro's lid swivels round and closes so that the device looks like a standard PDA. The hinge and swivel mechanism feel extremely well made, and the PDA feels solid and durable.

When the PDA is open it resembles a miniature notebook. The screen automatically changes orientation to landscape when you are using the keyboard, and its high 640x480 resolution makes Word and Excel documents easy to edit. The keyboard is not big enough for touch-typing, but writing short text documents is fast with two fingers or thumbs thanks to the keys' raised centres.

With the PDA closed you can enter information using the stylus and Windows Mobile's handwriting recognition software. You have the option of entering text one letter at a time in a dedicated section of the screen or writing entire sentences anywhere on the display for the software to recognise. The recognition software works reasonably well, but using the virtual onscreen keyboard is still faster.

The MDA Pro is hard to fault as a communication device. It has 802.11b wireless as standard, and can connect to the internet using 3G or GPRS. T-Mobile's internet settings are configured as standard, but setting up your own connection is difficult as Windows Mobile's connection manager is overcomplicated. The high-resolution landscape display is ideal for viewing web pages, though, and Pocket Internet Explorer does a good job of resizing pages to fit the screen.

The MDA Pro works reasonably well as a mobile phone. Call quality is clear, and the phone application integrates seamlessly with Pocket Outlook. When the PDA is closed you can still answer calls, but as there is no external display you can't see who is calling. Its main problem is its size - holding it to your ear is uncomfortable.

This is a far more accomplished device than the MDAIII, and its easy-to-use keyboard makes it a reasonable notebook substitute. It also has all the connectivity options you need, but its size compromises it as a mobile phone.

Author: Chris Finnamore