T-Mobile's SDA and MDA: on pre-order 19th
By Ryan Block 
posted Jan 17th 2006 12:01AM
posted Jan 17th 2006 12:01AM
Please note: If you're a current Engadget commenter, you do not need to re-register. Simply login and you will be prompted to select a username.
T-Mobile's SDA and MDA: on pre-order 19th
The T-Mobile MDA (HTC Wizard aka Cingular 8125, Sprint PPC6700, Verizon Wireless VX6700 made by AudioVox) is the most compelling all-in-phone on the market today. Unfortunately, its reputation for weak reception and frustratingly slow-to-re-acquire/register the network leaves this device to be more of a Pocket PC than a phone (did I mention that it takes around a minute or so to turn the device on?).
I've had this phone for a few days now and its worked more as a WI-FI device (did you know you can make it 802.11g as well?) more than an actual phone! Fortunately, there are lots of hacks and tweaks you can perform on it to boost its performance (think Windows XP Tweakui) anywhere from overclocking to editing the registry for more customized features and functions.
If the T-Mobile Blackberry 8700g/8700c (on the Cingular network) had expandable memory and a camera and WI-FI, I'd be all over that device. Touch screens are nice, but could be a pain to dial phone numbers unless you have fingernails or enlarge the buttons. As compared to the Treo or Danger Hip-Top/Sidekick, this one's the hands-down winner - but this may be more of a MAC vs. PC debate more than anything else.
Bottom line, if you get an MDA or whatever else HTC Wizard Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC, be sure to understand its limitations. and check out http://www.mdahacks.com and boost your phone's features with hacks and tweaks.
T-Mobile US or T-Mobile Elsewhere?
I'm really glad to hear this, but I'm disappointed with that SDA design... damn.
Can't wait!!!
Where the hell is the 8125? or for that matter have you tried to find anymention of the 2125 on the cingular website? I couldn't find it anywhere. What is going on I need that phone.
sweet deliverance! i've been waiting for this news for months. and perfect timing too, as my current contract expires march 9th. hopefully that will be enough time for amazon to get this phone up with tmobile service and their crazy rebate deals. i'm hoping to pay around $100 for this with a year contract (i can dream, can't i? and through amazon i got my moto a630 for -$50, so it might be possible).
ps; i'm talking about the wizard/MDA, above.
Finally! TMo is so slow!
unless there is a decent rom update soon your in for a world of headaches... i love mine but have never been more annoyed by a device...
hmmm, do I switch to verizon for the vx6700 or stick with T-mobile for the MDA?
After speaking with a Tmobile tech earlier today, I learned that the "MDA Wizard" as he called it will be available sometime in February, and will be carrier subsidized to $300.
After speaking with the tmobile guy all the kiosk at the mall, man he told me that they would pay all my bills 4 life!!! 4 real!!! Cuz you know the tmobile kiosk temp, or "tech", or "rep" just has all that inside info.....
*slits wrists*
Why was my comment deleted? Did I violate the engadget terms of service?
Anyway, I wanted to add that the HTC Wizard is based on a TI 200mhz processor, and can access EDGE data services. In contrast, the CDMA version called the HTC Apache is available on Sprint, has 1xRTT/EVDO and a 412Mhz Bulverdale processor (made by Intel), but with the downside of being priced $449 with a 2 year contract, and it also has an antenna stub, making it look less sleek than the Wizard.
http://onlinestorez.cingular.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phones/cell-phones.jsp?v=1&q_deviceId=cdsku9870100&WT.svl=mod21
thats for you desperete for 8125. you said you couldnt find any mention of the 2125 but its right there listed with all of cingular's other phones.
Probly on T-mo UK. I've grown accustomed to poor selection in the US.
Yes, it's for T-Mobile US.
Attention: These phones are coming to T-Mobile USA! T-Mobile UK, and other overseas T-Mobile companies, already have these phones! It will be out in mid to late February.
Took them long enough - I test drove this thing months ago for them. Had lots of problems. And damn, is it slow.
To add to the HTC Apache note, there is no comparison to EDGE and EV-DO speeds. EVDO and the Apache combo rocks.
arg!
V3i or this??
I'm so sick of people complaining about this hump thing.
It's a freaking GSM antenna. American GSM networks suck because america is really big and spread out and, oh, most spots in europe aren't and have much better GSM coverage?
Waaaaah, my phone has a hump, girls won't like me.... oh well, not like I want them to anyway.
Will there be no camera versions?
I've had the wizard for a couple of months and its great but VERY buggy at the moment. It desperately needs a ROM upgrade to sort out issues with the new activesync. Apart from that its very sweet indeed.
to poster #10
where do you find these tmoble reps? i can never find anybody who knows anything about phones!
Has anybody been able to verify this story or has anyone seen news like this on the T-Mobile site or any other sites on the web?
I've had the Qtek version of this same device for a couple months. It IS buggy, but with some work, it's possible to get it in a stable state. However, as someone else noted, this thing is slow. If you're accustomed to the responsiveness of the newer Blackberrys or Treo 650, this thing will drive you nutes. As much as I want to love it for all its features, I don't think I'll keep it for very long.
Does anyone know if a camera-less version of either device will be available?
I think the MDA is great. I've been waiting for it for weeks. Although, now I'm having second thoughts coz a few people mentioned that it is "buggy". Just how slow and buggy are we talking about. I am planning on buying a PDA but with this I was hoping to kill 2 birds with one stone. Still, I might end up getting it.
Anyone know what kind of data package you will need to get with this phone? Right now I have an unlocked SMT5600 and I have the $4.99 t-zones which gives me unlimited GPRS access on my phone plus I'm able to tether to my laptop.
Please forgive my ignorance, but how does the billing for something like this work? (specifically the internet/data portion).
Do you get unlimited data traffic? Or do you pay per MB of traffic? Does internet usage eat away at your talk time minutes?
I'd appreciate it if someone would explain this to me.
I was in a T-Mobile Corp store yesterday inquiring about the SDA. The manager said that they wouldn't be available until Q2 2006. Hopefully Engadget's got a tighter connection to this info - waiting on T-Mobile is like waiting for Microsoft, delay, delay, delay.
29: T-Mo offers unlimited data, and it does not affect your talk time minutes, both a crippled version the $4.99/mo. unlimted t-zones, and the full Internet package as $19.99/mo. which includes 300 text messages.
28: The regular t-zones should work since it's only a matter of settings.
24: Our corporate rep sent me the brochures today. consider it verified.
22: Corporate reps are _the_ source of information and are typically assigned to corporate customers for businesses that have t-mobile service contracts.
I will wait for a review of the US version before I make any decisions.
31: Can you tell us if the brochures make any mention of UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access, http://www.umatechnology.org/) support on the new handsets?
33: There isn't mention of UMA, just GPRS, EDGE, and WiFi (a major improvement over the Cingular version). That said the incorporated technologies would be a good platform to bring UMA onboard.
for those concerned with speed, here is a review of the MDA/wizard that includes a fair number of benchmarks and comparing it the the above-mentioned Apache. http://www.mobiletechreview.com/i-mate_K-JAM.htm. it is slower, but not tons slower, and certainly not less than half the speed as the raw proc. speeds would indicate. all of the review i have read have said that the phone does not feel slow, but of course it is all relative. i'm upgrading from a moto a-630 so i am sure it will seem quite responsive compared to that dog of a phone.
Do all the phones based on this "HTC Model" use the same processor? Or is the T-Mobile version using a slower processor to keep the phone's price down? If that later is the case it might be worth spending a little extra and getting an unlocked version to use on T-Mobile.
. Took them long enough - I test drove this thing months ago for them. Had lots of problems. And damn, is it slow.
Posted at 6:18AM on Jan 17th 2006 by PEZ 0 stars
It's called an NDA for a reason PEZ!
ok so its thursday, where are the new handsets??
any info on HOW TO PRE-ORDER??
Just tried to preorder through T-Mobile's 1-800 number. No go. They don't have the information and indicated that they do not except preorders. No pricing information either.
I've searched the t-mobile site and no mention of the product anywhere.
Talked with rep this AM. They have the info in their system but they do not have a pre-order option. Available Feb 20th.
That's TMo for you...
Just got off the phone w/ Tmo...Same as aggie88...Device was approved on the 12, and possible release by the 20th of Feb...They are definitely slow...
I keep hearing the word 'slow'. Are you saying that T-Mobile is slow or the device is slow? I was all excited about getting this phone but I'm now worried that it will have very slow performance.
I just spoke with a Tmo CSR and he was clueless, so those of you that DID receive information, thats more than I got. The CSR I spoke with said that they typically release new handsets on Mondays. This sounds a little sketchy... I have TMO now and notices that they just upgraded their voicemail system in the past few days, perhaps this has something to do with using Windows Mobile 5.0 handsets on the network???
anyway... if anyone gets info from Tmo please post, with details...
-diem
#45 - no connection
They will both be released late Feb.
Never heard of pre-order with T-Mobile, it would be a first.
No other internal news.
My TMO guy said SDA on 2/13 and MDA on 2/20. No pricing.
check http://www.t-mobile.com/bethefirst tomorrow morning for a pre-order. The page will not show anything till then
Still getting a 404...
Give them time. Give them til like 11am EST to have the website available. They are always slow at putting phones on their website when they launch.
check now, its basically a email notification signup, I believe they did something simliar for the Moto PEBL release
To all following this story...
The link above now works, except its not for a PRE-ORDER its to sign up for "information" regarding the future release of the products....
lame.
-diem
The site is up and running:
http://www.t-mobile.com/promos/online/preregmdasda/?WT.mc_n=PreRegPromo_PRCol&WT.mc_t=ExternalMedia
http://www.t-mobile.com/promos/online/preregmdasda/?WT.mc_n=PreRegPromo_PRCol&WT.mc_t=ExternalMedia
I signed for info and have carefully researched this device and others. Does anyone have any leads on the final specs of this PPCPE? It doesn't specifically mention WIFI for the MDA. I have read in other forums that the two flavors of this HTC device (Qtek 9100 & K-Jam)were slightly different and that makes me wonder if this phone will be any different. My belief is that the device will come with WIFI, but I do wonder about other differences. This model might even be better. There was a older posting (couldn't easily find the date of this post)in the "PDA Database" at BargainPDA.com(http://www.bargainpda.com/price/default.asp?productID=1234&display=priceDetail)that talked about a T-Mobile MDA IV with a 520 MHz, 128MB RAM, and UTMS support. This was probably an older post ( it seemed like it was origionally an actual "review" but couldn't track it down). I really don't believe this device will have these kinds of features. Does anyone have any reason to believe that the TMO MDA will be negatively or positively different from the K-Jam? Also, what are other people's experience with these 'Subsidized' and branded versions and are they usually the same or better than the base 'unlocked' models?
Thanks--Oldhammer
I just went to the link, and it's working fine. Added my name to the list. If it's physically the same size as my SMT5600, I'll probably pick it up depending on cost.
I registered but already got the exact dates.
Posted them in my blog:
http://thoughtfix.blogspot.com/2006/01/t-mobile-news.html
I got the same release date for the MDA tonight from T-Mobile, namely February 20. Apparently they are just now getting information on the device at their service centers.
works now
The MDA is not called the wizard, so stop calling it that. The best reference is that it is the MDA Vario. It will be released on Feb 20. T-Mobile has never and will never do preorders. The price should be around $400 or more. If you figure that the HP h6315 was $500 the whole time it was out, then this should be pretty close. This is a class 10 system and has a good processor. Most reps dont know much about the phones, but I do since I sell. There are many sites that show how the phone works. Now with the SDA, it is pretty much the same thing. Just how the BB 7105t and the BB 7290 are similar. The BB7105t is for phone users who want email and internet and the BB7290 is for email and internet users who would also like a phone. The SDA is no touch screen, no keyboard, and a lot smaller. One more thing . . . the Motorola a630 is crap.
Where do you guys get these data plans from. When i go to their site i don't see $19.99 data plans.
I just went to http://www.t-mobile.com/bethefirst and the page is up. It states that both phones will be available in February. You can submit your email address to be notified as soon as the product becomes available with an invitation to buy the phone. Probably no benefit other than being notified by email.
someone posted a link to the MDA manual at howardforums
http://steelerfan75.tripod.com/htcwizard.pdf
Works Now!
I spoke to T-Mobile today, long story and they really pissed me off...disconnected my phone because after I made repeated attempts to stop the autopay, they continued to try and take the money from the unused account and disabled mine for "unusual payment activity" and I've gone through months of BS to get my phone service resumed AND the number I had for 2 years has been recycled...anyway...
I went to a store and spoke with the agents there (they actually seemed to know something for once) and they said that the SDA will be out 2/13 as someone else mentioned above. I have to wait until that date to get my service resumed because even though I was out of contract they're making me start a new one...
You can go to: (www.t-mobile.com/promos/online/preregmdasda) To register to be the first to know (via email) when the MDA & SDA Phones become available...NOTE: T-Mobile expects between Feb 17-20 for these phones to become available to the public.
Does anyone have the SDA (aka HTC Tornado/ iMate) and have it working with TZones? I've seen multiple postings, but have not been able to get GPRS working correctly. If you have, please let me know.
Thanks..