Yesterday, I was able to purchase a T-Mobile Wing. None of the phones on our Family Plan was older than 24 months, my MDA is 14 months old, so I had to pay $349 with a new 24 month contract. If you are over your contract term you can purchase the Wing for $299 with a 24 month contract.
So far I am very pleased with how it feels and right off I was very happy with the full length stylus. Two hardware problems which have plagued the MDA were the stylus holder and the mini USB connector have been redesigned. Even though the stylus holds in place in my MDA it is a little loose and on occasion have fallen out (I lost 2 stylus that way). I never had a problem with the mini USB connector but I know people who had issues with it. The Wing's stylus holder is setup like most PDA with a full length stylus which fits tightly into the case. They placed a cover on the mini USB connector to protect it. I am not sure this will solve the problem since the cover will probably break off at some point.
I was able to easily synchronize with Windows Vista's Mobile Center via Bluetooth. The setup for my 4smartphone Exchange email account was a breeze.
I have grown very fond of one handed operation with my MDA using Smarstkey. It looks HTC and Microsoft have learned some lessons from Smarskey and they have reorganized the buttons on the device. Now I need to learn the new scheme, but so far I like it.
The MDA on the right has 2 buttons at the top (default to Mail and Pocket Explorer), 4 buttons at the bottom (call/answer and right/left soft keys), and the D-PAD. I used Smartskey on the MDA which allowed the use of the right/left soft keys to bring up the start menu and force the closure of programs. The Wing on the left has all the buttons at the bottom. HTC has replaced the Mail and Pocket Explorer buttons with a start menu button (below the call button) and an OK button (below the call end button) which can be configured to force the closure of well behaved applications (new Windows Mobile 6 feature). The buttons on the Wing are smaller and cramped together, however I am getting used to them with my fat fingers.
On the left side, the top button on the Wing is for Camera while the MDA was for the Comm Manager/Vibrate mode. The slider was placed lower on the Wing. The reset switch pin hole is right below the slider. The Micro SD slot on the Wing is below the reset switch pin hole. I like the cover, however I hate having to buy one more flash card format. I feel like I have a become a forced flash card collector...what a racket, although the prices have dropped significantly.
The right side of the Wing has two buttons. One defaulted to voice dialing/voice note, the other to Mail. I am glad they have a button for Mail, I still have to figure what to do about the Pocket Explorer button, I got use it to on the MDA. The MDA has the voice dialing/voice note button and camera button. In the middle of the MDA is the infrared port which is a feature that is missing from the Wing. I think I used the infrared feature once on my MDA so I am not sure I will miss it. It seems Bluetooth is becoming the standard for inter device communication.
The top of the Wing has the power button the left while the MDA had it on the right. This is taking a little time to get used to. The MDA has the mini SD slot on top.
The bottom of the Wing has the mini USB connector protected by a cover. The mini USB connector is used for headphone, charging and data connections. The MDA has an mini plug for headphone connectivity and a switch to pop the back cover off. This picture shows the lanyard hooks on both devices. Lanyards are not included in the package T-Mobile sells. I am not sure I like not having a dedicated headphone, however someone should be producing an adapter which will work with standard headphone jacks.
The backs are quite different. Both have external antenna connectors up in the upper left hand corner. The Wing's back cover slides off. The cameras are in different locations. I like the side location on the Wing which makes it less prone to be covered by my big hand when I hold it.
The styli on each unit. I really like having the full size Stylus. Hopefully someone will produce one with a pen which I have found very useful on my Dell X51v replacement stylus.
So far my experience is very positive, I like the feel although it seems a little heavier (I will have to weight both of them). The Bluetooth sound quality seems much better.
Nice review! I went to a T-Mobile store last night to look at it, after getting confirmation from T-Mobile that I would also have to pay the full $349 with a 2 year renewal. That's what led me to not buy it *yet* Looking at it, I was pleased at the ruggedness of it, the hole covers, for example. My MDA memory card slot often gets pocket lint and dust etc. in it, which makes me have to blow it out and use contact cleaner every few weeks when I get the error message that aps on my storage card could not be read. The cover should help that. I also tried to scratch the surface with my fingernails and couldn't, so that was encouraging, as my MDA is pretty scratched.
When talking with T-Mobile yesterday I asked about a 3G MDA and the availability of the 3G network. The person looked and said there was nothing in their system and wouldn't be until 30 days before a launch was planned, so we know that's not coming soon.
I'm hoping I can either get over paying $349 for this device OR hoping I can find it cheaper in a few weeks. I would hate to pay $349 now and then get a 3G device a few months later. I also hope the processor in the Wing's successor will be faster, as reviews have shown the Wing to be as sluggish as the MDA, which is troublesome.
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