MobileTechReview Reviews T-Mobile US's MDA

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mobiletechreview.com/T-Mobile-MDA.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.mobiletechreview.com/T-Mobile-MDA.htm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"If three times is a charm, then the HTC Wizard, otherwise known as the T-Mobile MDA, T-Mobile MDA Vario, Cingular 8125, i-mate K-JAM, QTEK 9100 and the Dopod 838 must be imbued with magic. T-Mobile's MDA (not to be confused with its nearly identical twin the MDA Vario which has been out for several months on T-Mobile Europe) is yet another iteration of the incredibly successful and popular Wizard design from the prolific Taiwanese original device manufacturer HTC. Out in Feb. 2006 in the US, the MDA competes directly with the Cingular 8125 and the HTC Apache (the CDMA interpretation of the Wizard) sold as the Verizon XV6700 and Sprint PPC-6700."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20060307-TMobileMDA.jpg" /><br /><br />MobileTechReview reviews the latest iteration of the HTC Wizard. Unlike many review sites, their review is specifically tailored for the T-Mobile version on T-Mobile service. If you're a T-Mo subscriber and are interested in getting one, you ought to check out this review.

[adamz]

Awe... they barely mentioned the very cool Instant messaging program (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&amp;t=news&amp;id=3505), new comm manager (http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&amp;t=news&amp;id=3506), and awesome filter-capable push email system (http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&amp;t=news&amp;id=3507). Those are the things that really make the MDA stand out.

[eustts]

I know this has been discussed somewhere before, but can someone give a plausible explanation on why T-mo did not include Java.

[inteller]

the new WM5 comm manager sucks. I hate that the WIDCOMM stack isnt included anymore.

[adamz]

the new WM5 comm manager sucks. I hate that the WIDCOMM stack isnt included anymore.

Wasn't the i-mate PDA2k the only Pocket PC Phone that attempted to use the WIDCOMM bluetooth stack? And it never worked properly with a headset, if I remember correctly.

What's the matter with the Comm Manager? It lets you turn on/off the Phone, Bluetooth, and WiFi all in one place. The one in i-mate's K-JAM AKU 2.0 ROM (http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&amp;t=news&amp;id=3512) is even nicer!

[bcvc38]

I exchanged my broken T-Mo Ipaq 6315 for a new T-Mo MDA under the CompUSA TAP insurance last night. ActiveSync 3.7 worked fine (never a problem) on my home PC.

This morning, I uninstalled ActiveSync and fired up the new disc that came with the MDA. It seems to have installed ActiveSync 4.1, but it will not recognize my device or connect to sync. I get the USB "device connect tone" when I plug it in and turn on the MDA, I also get the USB "device disconnect tone" when I shut it off or unplug.

I tried the free "Dialatech" service that came with my new TAP plan. They were about as worthless as tier 1 support. He had me do a "go-back" and try intalling the new ActiveSync over the old version of ActiveSync. It seemed to go fine, but got me to the exact same place. He gave up.

I called T-Mo and tier 2 support had me uninstall, reboot and reinstall ActiveSync after going through all of the obvious stuff. It all went smooth and got me to the exact same place.. I have an open ActiveSync window that says "connecting" and the green logo is spinning. It will sit like that for hours. It is like it is hung up there. I am expecting a "create new partnership" window to pop up, but nothing.

If I pull the cable or switch the device off, I get the tone I mentioned above and the ActiveSync window changes to "No Connection" and the logo stops and goes gray. Reconnect it and I get the tone, the window goes back to "Connecting" and the logo goes green and spins. T-Mo Tier 2 gave up and sent me up to Tier 3, where I have been on hold, listening elevator music for the past hour and a half.
UPDATE: Tier 3 says this is a "known problem" and 4 of the last 5 calls he has taken were this same issue.

Any ideas? Suggestions?

[Janak Parekh]

I know this has been discussed somewhere before, but can someone give a plausible explanation on why T-mo did not include Java.
They didn't? :( I'd guess it's because it costs extra to license a J2ME stack, and they decided not to.

--janak