T-Mobile SDA and T-Mobile MDA hitting USA early 2006
By Peter Rojas 
posted Oct 7th 2005 12:45PM
posted Oct 7th 2005 12:45PM
Remember how we said that T-Mobile USA was going to get both the HTC Wizard and the HTC Tornado this month? Yeah, well our source at the carrier says that both phones are still on their way, but that they won't have them until sometime early next year. Disappointing, but our source was able to send along these pics of both the Wizard (which will be sold as the T-Mobile MDA) and the Tornado (which will be sold as the T-Mobile SDA), as well as further confirm for us that both will run on Windows Mobile 5.0 and have EDGE, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a 1.3 megapixel digital camera. Click on for a pic of the MDA.
damn. damn damn.
I really wanted this thing ASAP. not ALAP.
Once again we will have to wait while other carriers offer better phones. I would think T-mobile would want to offer these two phones before the holiday season. This is abuse. I guess I will have to hold on to my 6600 a little while longer. I'm giving them until the end of the first quarter. If not I guess I will have to get something off of ebay. Hell I knew something was wrong when the customer service rep didn't know anything about these two phones.
Sad about the delay, but still, awesome move on T-mo's part.
I'll buy that Tornado for sure.
WHAT???? i have an orange c550, (which is i think the tornado???) what is the difference? this t-mobile looks IDENTICAL, but has wifi, edge and Windows mobile 5! not fair i say! is this a totally different phone that is meant to look the same, or the same phone, but annoyingly better specs?
So I have a Sidekick II and was thinking about getting the nokia 770. Now I see the Wizard is really comming to T-Mobile. Now I am not so sure that I want the 770. Any thoughts on which is a better way to go. 770 with wi-fi to surf from the couch or go with the wizard and dump my sidekick. (which I use for email and IM but the surfing sux)
-F
tom, they are definitely similar in looks, but I think the designs are more closely related between the SDA/SDA Music (or Qtek 8300/8310) as I have seen them. Expansys lists that some 8310's will be available in 5 days--though it could be a preorder ploy--I don't know.
I think that this is really short sighted of T-Mobile given that the K-JAM and other Wizard devices are already on the market and ripe for the picking. T-Mobile is betting on the concept that people will wait to pay less for the device in an upgrade or for new service rather than purchase it without the carrier contract. The difference is, however, that the support will be better on the product if one gets the device directly from the device company rather than carrier. This in the long run should prove to be worth the price difference.
Yay once again we, as tmobile customers, get to watch no new phone support added to the line-up leaving us either with the option to go elsewhere or to stick with our POS current phone. I appreciate the good customer support and most minutes (blah blah blah) but I'm so sick and tired of having the absolute worst phones of any provider and always being dead last at new products.
This is business as usual for TMo. All of the US carriers, including TMo, below. US carriers offer hot new phones after they're available in Europe and Asia.
Uh, the Tornado looks different from that silver phone - it's black. Click the link for the Tornado to see what it really looks like.
we have both of these devices at work for testing purposes, that picture of the SDA does not honestly show it's full ugliness...
there is a giant "handle like thing" on the top of the phone that is used for the wifi antenna, the angle of the shot just doesn't show it.
the MDA however looks to be a solid phone and will utterly destroy the sidekick.
The Tornado has two favors, and I like the dark one better then that silver one... but i'm digging those buttons to control the music.
Timmay
w00t! The wizard is out in the UK any day now and i'm sure an free upgrade!:):):)
I can't think of any other directly competitive industry where you would develop a product and then sit on it for 6 months.
T-Mobile should be embarrassed.
The SDA is HOT!!! Most Smartphone users will love it. The MDA is perfect for Pocket PC users, and offers a significant size reduction. Yes, while we work out all of the bugs, people will have to wait, but T-Mobile would prefer to offer products to their customers with as few issues as possible. That -giant "handle like thing" - is not so noticeable and vastly improves WiFi & RF capabilities. The SDA's my favorite phone that we don't sell just yet, but it'll be worth the wait!
Um, that phone looks a lot like the ROKR. Isn't anyone going to bash its 'appearance'?
I'm tired of T-Mobile being on the slow end of getting new high end phone devices, my contract is up and Dec, and I'm gone.
it won't get bashed cause it wasnt meant to a music/IPOD phone, etc....as soon as Apple/MOTO decided to let the ROKR be branded as a "IPOD" phone u know it was gonna ripped to pieces
Maybe by the time they hit T-Mobile USA there will be a completly new O/S from Microsoft to completly out date the devices. The MDA II and SDA II will be out in Europe before the original MDA and SDA are even released in the US. Wow, T-Mobile US is really against progress, isn't it?
what about cingular?
is this a stateswide holdback or is it just tmobile that will be getting this awful delay
Was going to get the Tornado- the black one- but now I'm going to have to choose between Moto's Q and the Tornado. We'll see which one's available first!
Will the candy-bar style phone coming out for TM in 2006 be the one pictured above aka the Qtek 8300 or will it be the infinitely cooler black Qtek 8310?
In short: Will the T-Mobile SDA be the Qtek 8310 or the Qtek 8300?
They both are apparently called the HTC Tornado in a successful effort to confuse the living hell out of me.
Hang Ten - I have the very same question, I prefer the Qtek 8310 style over the 8300... Let's hope the photo doesn't match.
I just did 73 hours of extensive analytical research and discovered that it actually more confusing then i could have ever imagined.
If the United States is getting the T-Mobile SDA it should be the one in this link: http://www.t-mobile.de/shop/handy/1,4855,2963-_3127-0-1-0,00.html
and not the one silver Qtek 8300 called the T-Mobile SDA music shown here: http://www.t-mobile.de/shop/handy/1,4855,2963-_3186-0-1-0,00.html like the one picture in this entry
hmm... That T-Mobile SDA is not exactly like the Qtek 8310... but if specs are the same... hmm... that's a thinker....
"Isn't anyone going to bash its 'appearance'?"
All HTC phones are ugly pieces of Tawainese junk. I don't think anyone has ever disputed that, not even HTC. They look as bad as generic tawainese PC cases.
The ROKR had to follow the iPod, and that's a lot of hype to live up to.
If engaget is right, I would guess the reason might be T-Mobile's hesitation to release another PPC/phone with any sort of serious problems. After all the trouble T-Mobile had with the iPAQ h6315, all the complaints they received and all the money they must have lost on replacements, returns and refunds, they're probably thoroughly testing the HTC Wizard to make sure it's OK.
Well I agree with David Couch. I have a SK2, (I've had it since March) and I've gone through 8 already. I treat my phone like a precious stone, and still have had numerous malfunctions. I'm about to work for TMobile next week, and hopefully I can find out more info. on the HTC phones. TMO probably just wants to make sure all testing is complete before they make themselves look bad a third time around.
People need to just slow down and think before making dumb comments. 1. T-Mobile doesn't manufacture anything. They want to make sure that it is ready before releasing a product that gets bad reviews. Anyone remember the IPAQ 6315. Would you rather get a phone that doesnt work right and blame it on T-Mobile because they listened to you, and you said you wanted it now and complained? Grow up! It comes when it comes. THEY ARE TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. Also keep in mind that the US has higher standards for what gets released and 2nd of all most things are developed outside of the US so hence they will get released there first. Everyone pressured T-Mobile to release the IPAQ before it was ready and look what happened!!
I agree with Matt. T-Mobile while giving you the less of the phones also throughly tests their products. Anyone from Cingular can vouch for the extensive amount of exchanges (somewhere in the ballpark of 800,000 a month.) Yes I understand as a rep of T-Mobile USA that we want new and we want it now but then the point is ok cool, heres the IPAQ 6315. It did not work and it hurt our customer's loyality but its what they wanted... remember that. The customers demanded an "all in one" phone and so we gave them one in their time-line it didn't work and you all hated them for it. Let it test. If it doesn't work at least you know that YOU didn't have to go thru the hassel of exchanging and calling and yelling at T-Mobile to get it right in your eyes. Oh and as an update, the phones pictured above are being tested right now by T-Mobile call reps for bugs. Last I heard the HTC Wizard was looking at about a november release.
I agree with Matt. T-Mobile while giving you the less of the phones also throughly tests their products. Anyone from Cingular can vouch for the extensive amount of exchanges (somewhere in the ballpark of 800,000 a month.) Yes I understand as a rep of T-Mobile USA that we want new and we want it now but then the point is ok cool, heres the IPAQ 6315. It did not work and it hurt our customer's loyality but its what they wanted... remember that. The customers demanded an "all in one" phone and so we gave them one in their time-line it didn't work and you all hated them for it. Let it test. If it doesn't work at least you know that YOU didn't have to go thru the hassel of exchanging and calling and yelling at T-Mobile to get it right in your eyes. Oh and as an update, the phones pictured above are being tested right now by T-Mobile call reps for bugs. Last I heard the HTC Wizard was looking at about a november release.
I'm a little confused about the complaining with tmobile and it's phone selection. Can't anyone go get any unlocked GSM phone and put in your tmobile chip?
T-Mobile UK has sweet phones, including 3 (?) HTC units...
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/Dispatcher?menuid=ctl_phones_catalogue&nmid=phones_catalogue_pmt
Hopefully they'll share the love with us soon!
It is stated in the latest wired magazine that the T-Mobile MDA will be available in the U.S. (no date stated) but for $399 USD.
Anyone else no anything about this or more information?
I have a T-mobile H6315 and I have not had to have it replaced even once. I used to carry a Casio PDA and a cell phone. With two boxes hanging off my belt I was feeling a little like Batman with a utility belt. It is not a perfect device in that the ringer is not loud enough and once in a while, it just rings once and sends the caller to voicemail before I can answer. It helps to give it a cold boot once or twice a week, but that helps my desktop as well.
I like having the internet with me all the time. GPRS is fast enough to work well with all of the palm-sized web sites. It works really nice with my WiFi network at home. The one gig SD card currently holds nine CDs, two old classic movies in wmv format, a few dozen pictures taken with the internal camera, a few pictures taken with my digital camera, a few spreadsheets of information I use at work, a short story I am trying to write, and attachments that arrive with emails.
If you position a 5x lupe magnifier over the lens, you can take really usefull macro shots. To me, the best part is that I always have lots of usefull stuff with me and all I have to bring is my phone. No laptop, no MP3 player, no camera, just my phone.
George Jetson never had it so good!
I spoke to a tmobile cust care rep, and they have a memo that says the mda will be available 1st quarter 06. I saw it in the wireless handhelds mag, and the size seems to be a lil bit smaller than the sidekick. Has anyone held or seen one of these (mda) in person?
Well, I too am sick of waiting for t-mobile on everything. The MDA is really the only phone they may someday offer that I would be interested in. Everyone on this site, other than the T-mobile reps, agrees that this is ridiculous. Matt, your nationalistic comment about 'higher standards' in the US is immature and wrong, just take a look at th Korean wireless market, their level of service and features destroys anything we have in the US. My guess as to the delay is threefold:
1. Crappy marketing foresight caused T-mobile to start looking at all-in-ones much later than the competition
2. Hesitation to screw up again after the HP mess
3. T-mobile had a long term contract to buy X number of those horrible sidekicks and they can't sell them, so they don't want to release the MDA until they stock out of sidekicks.
This mysterious SDA was on "Attack of the show" in October. They showed it and said it would be out "next month". Well, november is finished and nother. Calling t-mobile proved fruitless. I live near their headquarters so I will be stopping by and not leaving until I get a solid answer about this thing. For those who want to see the video, you can see it here:
http://212.67.202.71/~fruehling/TmobileSDA.wmv
Sorry about the text, but it was edited with demo software, and the URL is because the server space was donated.
I agree with Brandon!!!!!!!!!!!
I had HP h6315 from day one , I had replace 3 of this phones, none worked well, They promissed me Winodws Mobile phone 4 month ago.
The only thing keeps me with T-Mobile USA is the Plan : 3000 min . But that is it I am sik of them , I am sik of there old outdated phone.
I will wait 1 more month at that is it !!!
Come on !! this is USA !!!.$$$$ is in USA not in Korea.
I agree with Brandon!!!!!!!!!!!
I had HP h6315 from day one , I had replace 3 of this phones, none worked well, They promissed me Winodws Mobile phone 4 month ago.
The only thing keeps me with T-Mobile USA is the Plan : 3000 min . But that is it I am sik of them , I am sik of there old outdated phone.
I will wait 1 more month at that is it !!!
Come on !! this is USA !!!.$$$$ is in USA not in Korea.
I've been a T-mobile customer for years-since back when it was Voicestream. The thing that drew me was the horrible service and call quality I was having with Sprint-and the possibility of getting awesome new phones and simply chaning out the SIM.
That said, I've watched over the years as the line of phones TMO carries has stagnated and been left behind by every other US carrier. The service is still great and the best value around-save for maybe Sprint/Nextel's unlimited incoming plans. But why, I ask, does every other market that TMO/DT has a stake in get the new 'cool' phones while TMO USA gets the crap that came out 2 years ago?
If it's good enough to sell to the UK market, it's already recieved FCC approval, and other carriers already have it, then why the hell does TMO refuse to sell it to the masses?
I don't want a blackberry, I don't want a sidekick, I don't want an ancient Treo 600.
Well said Levi !!
I wish T-mobile USA CEO's will read this
I understand some of the frustrations that everyone feels. I have been waiting in anticipation for the wizard myself. I have heard some good points from others about why T-Mobile is behind, and I aggree with some of that. What some of us may not know , or think about is the fact that TMO just added 40% more coverage nationwide, edge, and is going to be purchasing millions in spectrum for data network upgrades. There are other new things that TMO is looking to release(technology wise) which I am not able to discuss now. Perhaps we should take a perspective that there is exciting things heading our way, and why put out a bunch of devices that will be outdated for the upgrade in technology. TMO had mostly the same phones forever, and then everything changed with the 850mhz band addition. Edge has now been released, and the devices to support that will follow. I have worked for the other carriers in the past, and found that for the most of them, their phones are about the only thing holding them up. The other carriers have their plusses, but I couldn't stand all the customer service I constantly had to deal with. We can't have everything all at once. In time it all will come, and it will work well. This was written on a PPC 6315.
T.MO is horrible when it comes to releasing new devices. I mean, T.MO still advertises the Treo 600 ! They never offered the Treo 650 ! Verizon is about to release the Treo 700 !
I need a good PDA to sync with my laptop, to keep from having to lug my laptop out of my briefcase to set appointments, check mail etc.
The old Blackberries TMO offers are irrelevant with all the issues RIM is having. Sidekicks are more for school students etc. not for business professionals.
I don't want to have to pay the fee for breaking my contract but I'm running out of options.