HTC Mogul PPC-6800 Phone (Sprint) Review

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(More customer reviews)When I recently decided that I was tired of printing my schedule out each night and toting a hardcopy with me, the obvious answer was to get a convergent device that integrated PDA functionality with cell phone functionality. After a fair bit of research, I bought an HTC Mogul for a couple reasons: WiFi connectivity to the web, Microsoft Windows Mobile for reliable synchronization with Outlook, a large touchscreen, and a slide-out keyboard to name just a few.
On paper, this device was hard to beat. The design just seemed to incorporate everything I wanted - or thought I wanted.
Unfortunately, while the concept of this device is terrific, the execution had some gaping holes. I used it for about a week, and then gave up and sold it on eBay.
Here's why:
* Phone Dialing: As I said in the title, the Mogul is a really nifty PDA that makes a really, really good electronic daytimer. But it isn't a very good phone. Sliding out the keyboard to dial a number was very cumbersome, and using the touchscreen was maddening. No matter how big the screen is, it is still too easy to press the wrong digits as you dial. So, you either reach for the stylus, which is a pain just to dial a number, or you get used to hitting the backspace key a lot as you type a wrong digit, erase it, and stumble your way through the supposed-to-be-simple process of dialing a phone number. A big drawback of a touchscreen is that there is no tactile feedback to tell you if you have pressed the key. At the end of the day, the process of dialing the phone - one of the most basic things that a cell phone should be good at - was unnecessarily cumbersome.
* Bluetooth: Many of the reviews on the Mogul comment on the poor quality of the Bluetooth. In my experience, they are right. I could hear other people just fine, but the converse was not true: they always complained about the quality of my voice. I read elsewhere that the device shares the same antenna for WiFi and Bluetooth, and this creates problems when both are in use. I don't know if it is true or not, and I don't recall whether there was any marked improvement in the Bluetooth audio quality when the WiFi was off versus when it was on. I just know that the Bluetooth quality was almost always marginal and the ability to talk handsfree is very important to me. I talk frequently on the phone from my home office for business and I like to have my hands free for other tasks. I can't tell you how many times I had to rip the earpiece out of my ear in disgust to just hold the phone up to my mouth so others could hear me. Like that particle the vacuum won't pick up, you keep running it over and over the carpet to give it "one last chance" before finally giving up and picking up the crumb by hand. That's how it was with the Bluetooth on this phone. You keep giving it "one last chance." I don't know about you, but when I call people, they want to hear more than "can you hear me now" 15 times in a conversation.
* Voice Command: This phone is advertised as having voice command. Perhaps if you get it directly from HTC this is true. But if you buy the Sprint version, this functionality has been turned off and you are limited to the older voice tag functionality where you have to use your own voice to record tags for each number or command that you want to launch with voice activation. Sounds OK - until you realize that those 200 numbers in your phone book mean recording 200 voice tags, which takes a lot of time, not to mention memory space. But then comes the real rub: when you try to actually use the voice tags to dial numbers in hands-free fashion when wearing your Bluetooth earpiece, it never - and I mean never - works. Now, imagine the anticipation of being able to use this phone when you are driving, and realizing that it just ain't gonna happen. You pull over, yank out the stylus, dial the number, merge back into traffic and...busy signal...no answer...wrong number...etc. Do that twice and it is two times too many. Ultimately, this lack of handsfree capabilities was the show stopper that caused me to sell the phone rather than keep it. As an aside, there are two kinds of voice activation capabilities in cell phones these days: voice tags and voice command. Voice command is true voice recognition software, similar to the unattended answering systems that many help desks and customer service lines use these days. You know... "press or say 1 for sales, 2 for technical support, 3 for questions about your billing, ..." It recognizes any voice. On the newer phones with voice command, you can say things like "call John Smith...mobile" or "call John Smith...home" or "call 555-1992" and it will WORK, whether directly into the handset or into the Bluetooth earpiece or when using the speakerphone. For whatever reason, the Mogul's implementation of the voice tag recognition features were just not robust. If I have to speak directly into the handset rather than an earpiece, the whole voice recognition thing is sort of a moot point.
* Integrated connector: HTC uses a connector that they call ExUSB, which basically combines audio, charging, and sync functions into a single connector. The unique connector design means that you can plug a standard mini-USB cable into the device for charging and synchronizing to a PC, or can connect headphones that use the proprietary ExUSB style format. The connector on the device is designed to accept both. They also provide a splitter that let you use conventional 2.5mm headsets while simultaneously plugged into a charger or while sync'ing. I thought it was a rather elegant solution, but I really would have preferred two independent connections on the device: a 3.5 mm headset jack and a conventional mini-USB. This was not a big dissatisfier, but rather a minor annoyance to have to carry an extra "gizmo" with me when I wanted to use standard earphones with the device (my ears don't do well with earbud-style headsets...I prefer over-the-ear).
So, as I said, the main dissatisfiers with the Mogul were aspects related to its functionality as a phone. I don't know about you, but I was hoping for something that was a rock solid phone and a pretty good PDA. What I got was a rock solid PDA and a very iffy phone.
But enough of the bashing. Let's talk about what I DID like in this device.
* Intuitive GUI: Because it was a Windows device, the user interface was very familiar. Didn't know quite what to do next? Right click. Expecting the organizer to work like Outlook? It does...because it IS Outlook. Want to open and read WORD docs or EXCEL spreadsheets or even open PDFs from websites you are accessing? No problem. It all works flawlessly. It is basically like having a pocket sized version of your most frequently used desktop tools with you. I did not have to constantly refer to the manual because it was all pretty familiar territory for those who have used Windows for any length of time on their desktop.
* Media Player: The media player was pretty much just a scaled down version of its big brother desktop version, Windows Media Player 10 or 11. And, contrary to what I was told by the HTC help desk, it does support microSD cards larger than 2GB (and Sprint? Don't even go there...their ability to answer simple technical questions like "how large of a memory card can I use?" or "will the microSD slot support the newer SDHC format?" was abysmal). Turns out the device will work with SDHC cards just fine and I corresponded with several people that were using 4GB and 8GB memory cards with no problem. Translation: you can put an awful lot of mp3s, photos, messages, and files on 8 gigs. There is little need to carry a second device like an iPod for multimedia anymore. Also, I really liked the fact that accessing the microSD card was so easy on this device. I now own a Blackberry Pearl and it is considerably more cumbersome to insert and remove the microSD card. As a result, I never remove it unless absolutely necessary. That was not the case with the Mogul and when I wanted to add files, I just took the microSD card out, inserted it into the std. SD-sized adapater, plugged it into my PC, and used it as a removable drive. Super easy.
* Touchscreen: While I did not like the touchscreen for dialing phone numbers, it really was pretty slick for most of the other PDA functionality. Frankly, I found it easier to type most of the time just using a "soft" keyboard that displayed on the screen by pressing an optional menu command than to slide out the keyboard tray and start pounding away with my thumbs.
* Widescreen: There is a nice feature that automatically changes the screen orientation from vertical to horizontal when you slide out the keyboard. But you can also select this manually even when the keyboard tray is hidden. The generous screen size was nice for "day at a glance" functionality when I wanted to see previews of all my appointments for the day, all my tasks, missed calls, e-mails, etc. on a single screen. It was also nice for surfing the web.
* WiFi: I bought this device primarily to use in my home and in my office, both of which have WiFi. Since I don't have an internet data plan with my phone service, it was nice to be able to surf the web for free wherever WiFi was available, whether my house, the plant, or the local Starbucks. This functionality also allowed me to connect to our corporate intranet easily, something that would have been tough using over-the-air internet service from Sprint. At minimum, it would have meant having to tunnel into the corporate intranet using VPN all the time.
* Flexibility: Because this thing is - at heart - a computer running Windows Mobile, there are plenty of geeks out there that have been able...Read more›

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Leave the laptop behind and stay connected and productive wherever you roam with the HTC Mogul PPC-6800 Smartphone, the newest Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition device from Sprint. The successor to the popular Sprint PPC-6700, the HTC Mogul has a surprise waiting up its sleeve: just slide the top of the phone sideways to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. And the new Windows Mobile 6 operating system enables you to view and edit Word and Excel documents as well as provides instant message capabilities via Windows Live Messenger. (See more details about Windows Mobile 6 below.) The included Outlook Mobile software offers up-to-date e-mail, calendar and contact information.
It operates on Sprint's North American CDMA voice network, as well as on Sprint's Mobile Broadband Network (EV-DO), which enables you to quickly access audio, video and data applications as well as connect directly to your office's network. (This phone will also be the first handset from Sprint that will support EV-DO Rev. A data speeds via a free software upgrade that will be made available at a later date.) Other features include built-in Wi-Fi capability, Bluetooth connectivity (for headsets and stereo headphones), 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, and MicroSD memory card expansion.
Sprint Service Supporting the EV-DO high-speed data standard, the HTC Mogul is fully compatible with Sprint's Power Vision service. With Power Vision, you can download and stream high-quality video, straight onto your phone. Enjoy full-color video clips or live TV of the latest news, sports, and entertainment from brands you know, like CNN, Fox, The Weather Channel, NFL Mobile, and more. Power Vision also serves as a portal for enhanced games. Where coverage is available, EV-DO connectivity provides average download speeds ranging from 400 to 700 Kbps, with peak rates up to 2 Mbps. Sprint Power Vision also enables faster Web browsing and Internet email access. At launch, the Mogul supports EV-DO Rev. 0 data speeds on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, and it will be able to take advantage of increased data speeds when Sprint provides support for EV-DO Rev. A technology on the device via a free software upgrade.
Sprint's music service is another EV-DO-powered service that makes the M510 all the more desirable. With the Sprint Music Store, your phone is a music player, letting you buy, download, and then jam out wherever you are with new songs or old favorites. Offering a growing selection of more than 1.6 million songs, the store provides you two copies of each song--one for the phone and another for the PC, as well as the ability to burn songs to a CD using Windows Media Player. Save your songs to a memory card with a capacity that's right for you. You can even pause to take a call without missing a beat.
Phone Features The sliding keyboard provides a familiar interface and allows for quick and efficient input of information, and the slide-to-hide form factor eliminates bulkiness for a sleek and stylish design. It measures just 0.73 inches thin and weighs a svelte 5.8 ounces. The 2.8-inch color touchscreen transreflective TFT screen automatically orients itself depending on how you hold the phone (i.e., from portrait to landscape and back again). It displays 65,000 colors and has a 320 x 240-pixel resolution.
In addition to supporting EV-DO wireless broadband networking, the Mogul also features Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), which enables you to use open wireless networks at airports and coffee shops. This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity, and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and audio/video remote control. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server--using Sprint's Mobile Broadband Network. And when connected to a Bluetooth headset, caller information for incoming calls will be spoken through the Bluetooth device. Decide to answer the call without ever looking at your phone.
The 2-megapixel autofocus camera (with up to 8x digital zoom) on the back of the Mogul captures images up to 1600 x 1200 pixels (good enough for prints up to 8 x 10 inches). You can make such camera adjustments as white balance and exposure metering, choose from resolution modes (such as sports for fast-moving action) as well as use of the integrated flash, and set a self-timer of either 2 or 10 seconds. Additionally, the Wing can capture video with or without audio (in MPEG-4, 3GPP2, or H.263 format, the latter being best for sending via MMS). You can also play back audio and video files downloaded from the Internet or sent to you via email using the integrated Windows Media Player.
Other features include:
Included memory: 256 MB ROM (163 MB user accessible); 64 MB RAM (49 MB user accessible)
Instantly send and receive SMS Text Messages across the room or across the country.
Updated ActiveSync technology (version 4.0) offers one of the best PC to mobile device sync experiences, making it easier to configure with faster data transfer and sync accuracy.
Includes an on-device link to the Sprint PCS Software Store provided by Handango, where you can find, download and buy software, games, ringtones, graphics and other Windows Mobile Pocket PC applications simply and securely.
Hands-free operation of your phone is made easy with the built-in speakerphone, allowing you to take a conference call virtually anywhere
Stereo Headset jack for handsfree operation and music enjoyment.

Vital Statistics The HTC Mogul weighs 5.8 ounces and measures 4.33 x 2.32 x 0.73 inches. Its 1500 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4.1 hours of talk time. It runs on the CDMA 850/1900 frequencies, as well as the EV-DO data network. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.
Powered by Windows Mobile 6 Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 updates the Windows Mobile 5 platform with a number of handy features that make searching through email, editing Microsoft Office documents, and staying on top of your most important communications even easier. Emails can now be viewed in their original rich HTML format and now offer the ability to visit embedded links. It also includes Windows Live for Windows Mobile, which provides a full set of Windows Live services, such as the Windows Live Messenger IM application, which now enables you to chat with more than one person at one time or send a file.
With Windows Mobile 6, your phone will finally be able to emulate the power and features of your PC's Microsoft Office suite. You'll be able to neatly view, navigate and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in their original formatting--without affecting tables, images or text--as well as view PowerPoint presentations.
Microsoft Office Word Mobile features include spell-check, Find and Replace commands, bulleted lists, text formatting, and support for tables for the first time.
With Excel Mobile, youÕre not just confined to editing charts: with the new Chart Wizard you can create charts quickly and easily.
PowerPoint Mobile allows you to view the full presentation, rehearse timings, check the order and any live links you may have in your presentation. You can then email comments back to the team or communicate via MSN Messenger for an immediate response.
After creating or editing a Word document or Excel spreadsheet, you can synchronize it with your PC and it will automatically be converted to the PC version.

All Windows Mobile 6 powered devices include Direct Push Technology for up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server. It also offers a set of important device security and management features that include the capability to remotely wipe all data from a device should it be lost or stolen, helping ensure that confidential information remains that way.

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