New T-Mobile tiny pocket PC phone

New T-Mobile tiny pocket PC phone

Published by hln98
09-15-2004

New T-Mobile tiny pocket PC phone

T-Mobile International has introduced a new Pocket PC based pdaPhone in Europe. The new MDA Compact is one of the smallest Pocket PC phones available to date. This new device is designed to fill in a market niche along its newly announced MDA III, for those that don't need the power of the MDA III, and are looking for a more compact form factor. The MDA Compact is about the same weight, thickness, and length of the Audiovox PPC 4100 that AT&T Wireless has been selling. It is about a half inch narrower, however. The dimensions of the MDA Compact are 4.25" x 2.28" x 0.70" and 5.3 ounces.

The MDA Compact will be priced lower than the MDA III, and offer a quad-band GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz radio, which have become pretty much standard equipment on new pdaPhones. Even though that makes the device suitable for US usage, we have not heard any information about US carriers picking it up, so it is unlikely that it will make it to the US. The MDA Compact will be powered by a 416 MHz Intel Bulverde processor, with 64 MB of RAM. It will have a 1200 mAh Lithium Polymer battery, good for up to 180 hours of standby time and 3 hours of talk time.

One feature that we've yet to see on a US pdaPhone to date is a digital camera with a resolution of 1.3 megapixels. So far in the US, all of the integrated cameras have been much lower resolution and not suitable for being used as an alternative to your digital camera. The MDA Compact has an SD/MMC Card expansion slot with SDIO support and Bluetooth 1.2 for expansion and connectivity.

Read more about the Compact MDA at InfoSync

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#1 (permalink)

By EvilHomer on 09-16-2004, 11:24 AM

Too bad no Wifi. Would have made this a sweet device!

#2 (permalink)

By Convergent on 09-17-2004, 08:32 AM

Another picture

Attached Thumbnails

#3 (permalink)

By CarlGalgano on 09-20-2004, 07:36 AM

Quad band, why no usage in the US

No flames please for a simple GSM question. Besides the Nokia 3595 I have with a Cingular account that I only have to compare CDMA/GSM coverage, I have only used CDMA. I have been thinking about switching to GSM for my main phone and one of the advantages I always here the GSM prophets preach is the ability to use any phone that support 850/1900, plug in your SIM and you are good to go.

One comment I see about this phone is that no US carrier will pick it up. So is the above statement about GSM a myth? Would using this phone (or another that is not picked up by a carrer) be cripled in funtionality as opposed to a phone that is officially endored by a carrier? Would data work as well as voice. Would advanced functions work like EDGE?

Sorry if these are elementary questions, but I am pretty much a GSM newbie.

#4 (permalink)

By Convergent on 09-20-2004, 07:49 AM

Hi Carl,

First off, the other MDAs have been German, so you'd probably not want to try and use this if the MDA Compact was in the same boat. There are other issues, however, even if you didn't have that to deal with. In theory, you are correct, and many people do this. For example, a lot of people have used the Sony Ericsson P800 and P900 in the US, but no carrier every supported them. In this case, Sony Ericssson helps with setting up the phone for a US carrier, like T-Mobile. So, one problem avoided there, you may have with other phones, in that you would not get any technical support on problems you might have. Next problem could be warranty repairs. Many people have found with the iMate, while it is a great device, it is a problem if it breaks. Having to ship it out of the country and wait for it to come back, when we are talking about something as critical as a pdaPhone, is a big issue. There are band differences which used to be an issue, i.e. the XDA did not work in the US at all. This is not just a problem with foreign phones any longer, since the 850Mhz band is newly introduced and some older phones don't support it... some newer phones that are tri-band, rather than quad-band, may still not support it, or give up something else in its place. In theory, things like EDGE should work, but you'd be on your own in setting up and getting it going.

#5 (permalink)

By EvilHomer on 11-01-2004, 10:47 AM

Is this thing really going to support Blackberry? This would be a must get for me if it did.

#6 (permalink)

By billa_gordon on 11-07-2004, 12:33 PM

Does anybody know if any networks in the uk are going to sell the mda compact? I see expansys are selling it with a vodafone contract but on the vodafone website there is no information about it. I have also checked the 02, orange and T-mobile websites and there is nothing on them either. Why are all the networks so secretative about pda phones? Its annoying! lol any help would be appreciated. Gordon

#7 (permalink)

By Page on 05-15-2005, 11:11 AM

T mobile are running it - from free depending on contract - I saw one in the shop only yesterday