HTC Mogul for Sprint Review

HTC Mogul

While it won’t be winning any awards for beauty, the HTC Mogul on Sprint is a work horse that fits a niche for Windows Mobile smartphone users.  The sliding qwerty design gives the user the ability to choose how they’d like to interact with the OS, and provides plenty of functionality for even the most demanding user.  Some aspects of the device did leave me wanting more, but for a device that has been on the market for a year now, it still keeps up, packing most of the features you’ll find in devices sold today.

In the Box
HTC Mogul Handset
1 Standard 1500 mAH Lithium Ion Battery
HTC miniUSB (extUSB) AC charger
2 Styli (1 in slot on phone)
miniUSB Stereo Headphones with Microphone
miniUSB Charging Cable
miniUSB to two miniUSB adapter
miniUSB to 2.5mm headset and miniUSB adapter
Leather Carry pouch
microSD card 512MB
Clear screen protector
Various guides and CDs

Specs
The HTC Mogul for Sprint first shipped in mid 2007.  At the time, it had Windows Mobile 6.0, EVDO Rev 0 and no GPS accessibility to the user.  Since then, multiple updates have been released, giving it the current WM 6.1 OS, faster EVDO Rev. A and opened up the GPS for usability with many software programs.  The dimensions measure 4.33” by 2.32” by .73” and has a weight of 5.8 oz.  This size is similar to the Treo 800w which measures 4.4” by 2.3” by .7”.  However, the Mogul is almost a full ounce heaver, making it feel like a significantly larger device.  The battery is a 1500mAH battery that somehow is a bit underpowered in my opinion.  Granted, I have used the phone for polling 2 email accounts every 15 minutes, but getting through 12 hours without charging was sometimes a struggle when more than 15-20 minutes of phone calls were made.  A 2MP camera takes decent photos, but still can’t compare to the newer cameras found on devices such as the HTC Diamond.  The phone is available at $299 after instant and mail-in rebates from Sprint and a new 2-year agreement.

Phone
As a phone, the sound quality was average for smartphones I’ve used.  I did however find the dialer application extremely slow to use, especially with my 1000+ contacts.  Also, the lack of a physical keyboard on the exterior may throw you off a little bit as you get used to the on screen version.  Of course you can always slide open the keyboard and use the physical keys, but it feels unnatural for simply making a call.  Signal strength was very uneven throughout my use around town.  Sitting at home where multiple other Sprint devices have shown dbm readings in the -78 to -85 range, the Mogul consistently showed -85 to -92dbm.  The bars on the device spent most of their time registering only 1 or 2, however I never experienced a dropped call or missed call because of it.  Just a constant feeling that the phone was getting poor service.

Data/Internet
The built in Activesync application in all Windows Mobile phones allows for easy and seamless integration with an Exchange server for email.  All mail, contacts, calendar and tasks are pushed over to the device behind the scenes, giving the business user a pleasant experience.  For internet access, Internet Explorer is the built in program.  A unique feature is the incorporation of the Handmark Pocket Express that give access to News, Sports, Weather , Stocks, Entertainment and other good information that is very customizable to your preferences and location.  With the new Rev A. enhanced 3G data network, typical download speeds on the device will range from 500-1000 kbps, with upload speeds about half that.

Hardware
HTC is the manufacturer of the PPC-6700, AT&T 8525, Verizon XV6700 and many other slider smartphones.  The Mogul’s code name is the Titan (TITA100), which is similar to the HTC TyTN, also known as the AT&T 8525.  Buttons surround this device with a 2.8” QVGA screen that auto rotates from portrait to landscape when you open the slider.  Once opened, a 41 key keyboard is revealed that lights up with help from a light sensor.  Two LED’s also help the user determine if in CAPS or FN mode.  I found that using the keyboard to respond to emails was useful, but actually a bit on the big side.  My years of using the Treo and Blackberry have my fingers trained to use smaller keyboards, and this one just isn’t right for me.  That said, those with larger hands will find comfort, literally, in the large size.

On the front of the phone, you’ll find dedicated mail and Internet Explorer keys at the top, with the earpiece and 2 LED notification lights in the middle.  Under the screen are 6 buttons (send, end, windows, OK, and left/right soft keys) and a 5-way dpad in the shape of a circle.  On the back of the phone, about 100 small ridges give the phone a gripper texture than resembles metal, but is really an ABS plastic.  The 2.0MP camera with flash and external antenna port sit on either side of the average sounding speaker.

On the bottom, an IR port, microSD slot, microphone, soft reset button and miniUSB port.  Also, the telescopic stylus resides in its home on the rounded corner.

On the left side, a scroll wheel reminiscent of the older Blackberries and another OK key (the phone has 3 total).  Below them is a dedicated voice command button.  While I like the thoughtfulness of this button, i found myself constantly pressing it when I didn’t mean to, so I quickly turned its functionality off to keep my constant presses from bothering my use.  Finally, a dedicated wi-fi rocker switch for quick and easy access to the 802.11 b/g radio.  I leave it on most of the time to maximize my use of the service, but some may want to keep it off to save on battery life.

On the right side, the power, wireless manager and camera buttons round off the device.

One of the strange things that came with the Mogul were adapters to allow for charging at the same time as use of a headset.  One comes with a 1 in 2 out miniUSB configuration, and other other with 1 miniUSB in and then one out to miniUSB and the other to a 2.5MM headset jack.  While I understand that phones have standardized the headset jack to 2.5MM, most people are buying 3.5MM headsets for high end listening and would need an adapter to go down to this 2.5 jack.  Not my preference, but I’m sure some will appreciate it.

Software/Features
As I mentioned earlier, this is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device.  Since some readers may have read earlier reviews about it with the 6.0 software, there may be some differences in my experience compared to others.  While the WM 6.1 software is certainly a step above the prior versions, it seems that the Mogul may not be able to keep up with everything it wants it to do.  The 400MHZ processor seems to have a hard time keeping up with movements through the OS, making the user wait while it finishes rendering or processing the last command.  Only 64 MB or RAM isn’t much by today’s standards, but the unit performs OK to avoid the “device out of memory” message.  Some though may want to consider tweaking the memory via 3rd party software to give the program memory more capacity.  The 256 MB of ROM seems like more than enough to manage the many programs that the typical user will want to install on this device.  Regular resets were a part of my use with this phone however, as I found it regularly slowing down to the point where a reset was required.

As mentioned, Wi-Fi b/g and GPS are built in, keeping the Mogul on par with the most current devices. The GPS seems to get a fix on the satellites relatively quickly, allowing for the user to happily find their location without waiting.

Overall
The bottom line on the HTC Mogul from Sprint is somewhat disappointing.  As a longtime user of Windows Mobile devices, I have come to expect some of the issues that go along with the OS.  However, as each new iteration of software comes out, I need it to be better than the last.  The Sprint Mogul has a feature set that after a year, still in many ways rivals the current devices that have come out in the recent months.  However, sluggish performance and relatively bulky design would push my money back into my savings account while I wait for the next sliding qwerty from HTC.

TCPJ Unlocked on New and Notable in iTunes!

TCPJ Unlocked on New and Notable in iTunes!

Originally uploaded by gt2697

While searching through the iTunes podcast store, I found TCPJ Unlocked is
now in the 35th position under the Gadgets section of Technology podcasts!
It’s also being highlighted under the New and Notable section, which is very
flattering. Thanks to everyone for thier support and listening.