HTC Mogul Cell Phone Review - Intro
|
Alfredo Padilla Published on July 23, 2007 Comment on this |
|
|
|
|
The HTC Mogul is a phone for the messaging, emailing, calling person-about-town; with its 2.8-inch screen and large slide out QWERTY keyboard, this new HTC device is a good pick for the user who sends a lot of text and email messages and prefers a real keyboard to type on. The successor to Sprint's very successful PPC-6700 Windows Mobile smart phones, the Mogul is built by HTC, as were phones from other carriers like the T-Mobile Wing, Verizon XV6700 and AT&T 8525. But unlike these, the Mogul is the first HTC phone sold in the United States to bear HTC's name, part of their new global branding strategy. Regardless of what the phone is called this form factor has been very successful in the US and the Mogul looks to continue that success. The Mogul brings only a few upgrades over the PPC-6700. Firstly, it's the first Sprint phone to run Windows Mobile 6.0. This upgraded Microsoft operating system brings several enhancements over version 5, including HTML Email and better integration with Exchange Servers. The Mogul also packs a 2 megapixel camera, but it's nothing to email home about; in our tests the Mogul's camera had middling performance, with particular trouble reproducing colors. The Mogul had decent battery life, providing 5 hours 50 minutes of talk time. That's pretty good, but is not as long as the T-Mobile Wing or BlackBerry 8800. It's large screen and solid Windows Media Player Mobile software makes it a well equipped multimedia device.
The Mogul supports EVDO data for high speed internet access. Although it doesn't currently support Sprint's newer EVDO Rev A network, support for this will supposedly come in a firmware upgrade which Sprint estiamtes will be available later in the year. In addition the Mogul supports 802.11g WiFI and Bluetooth 2.0, along with IRDA for legacy devices. This makes it a very well connected device. About the only thing we are missing from the Mogul is GPS; there is no built in GPS receiver, but support for linking to an external Bluetooth GPS device is included in Windows Mobile.
The Mogul has already seen at least one firmware upgrade that activates support for Sprint's music store on the device; see the music section of our review for more details. Although our review unit did not come with this installed, Sprint claims that new inventory of the Mogul will come with this update already installed. Windows Mobile 6 is a powerful and flexible platform, with excellent business tools and support for Push email via Exchange Activesync. Unlike the T-Mobile Wing the Mogul exhibited very little lag; the user interface was snappy and responsive. So, we have no trouble calling it a worthy successor to the PPC-6700.
The Mogul is currently only available from Sprint in the United States for $299.99 with a two year contract. If this release follows the same path as its predecessor the PPC-6700, you should expect to see a version for Verizon coming sometime in the next six months or so.
Here's our handy guide to the different sections of our review; click on any of the titles to read the full section.
Tour & Design - The Mogul is a well deisgned handset, but the screne could be easily scratched, and the plastic case does not feel robust
Audio Quality - We found audio performance to be generally good; the frequency response was mostly within the limits and the Mogul had a good level of sidetone.
Imaging - The camera in the Mogul was dissapointing - captured images had low resolution and poor color.
Making/Receiving Calls - Making calls on the Mogul can be a little awkward because of the lack of a real keypad however the software features were very good.
Messaging - With a solid email client, excellent corporate integration and comfortable QWERTY keyboard the Mogul makes for a powerful messaging device.
Organizer - The Mogul's organizer features are amongst the most powerful found on any device on the market.
Multimedia - The Mogul offers solid multimedia support, but with limited storage via Micro SD cards it won't replace a dedicated device.
Software - Windows Mobile Professional 6.0 is a solid operating system, but some of the software features, such as the browser, are beginning to fall behind competitors.
Battery Life - The HTC Mogul's battery performance is solid, but not exceptional.
Connectivity - With support for EVDO, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, IRDA and Mini USB the Mogul is one of the best connected devices out there.
Hardware - The Mogul's hardware is good, with a plethora of controls and solid specs throughout.
Other Features - The only additional feature worth noting is the ability to use the Mogul as a wireless modem.
Value & Comparisons - At $299.99 with a two year contract the Mogul is a solid value for its extensive feature set.
| Next | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
