Review: HTC Mogul for Sprint

HTC Mogul

HTC Mogul

HTC Mogul

HTC Mogul

The HTC Mogul for Sprint is the latest in a long line of Pocket PC powered device with slide-out keyboards from Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, and the replacement device for the discontinued Sprint PPC-6700. The Mogul also happens to be the first HTC branded device to be offered by any of the US mobile networks, who typically rebrand HTC's devices with their own names. The HTC Mogul jams a lot of features into a package that won't put off most road warriors, even if it might be a bit large for the typical consumer. With features like WiFi, EV-DO 3G data, and a 2 megapixel camera, the Mogul is a solid addition to Sprint's business handset lineup.

Physical Aspects

Coming it at 160g (5.6oz), the HTC Mogul weighs a bit less than some of HTC's other current Windows Mobile Professional (AKA Pocket PC) devices such as the Wing, offered by T-Mobile USA. With its QWERTY keyboard tucked away, the Mogul measures 110mm x 59mm x 20mm (4.3" x 2.3" x .8") in size, which makes it small enough to fit into pocket, but still large enough that some people will prefer to use the included leather belt holster.

The front of the device is dominated by the large 2.8" touchscreen display. Above the display are a pair of hardware shortcut keys that, by default, launch the messaging and browser applications. Below the display sits the main control cluster that consists of the d-pad, a pair of somewhat cramped softkeys, the two call control keys, and dedicated start menu and OK keys. My only real complaint is with the d-pad, which is small and not confidence inspiring, even though it works accurately enough. In general I feel that d-pads with separate center select buttons are far more user friendly.

There are a number of other controls and features on the edges of the Mogul. For starters, the power key is located on the right side, above the dedicated HTC Comm Manager and camera buttons. A scroll-wheel is on the left side, directly above a second hardware OK button. A voice dial button is located directly beneath the OK button, which is far too close for comfort. I ended up disabling the button after having hit it by accident too many times. I am more than willing to forgive HTC about that button placement, though, because of the very handy WiFi slider switch that is also located on the left side of the device.

The back of the Mogul has a deeply grooved surface that makes it easy to grip. The lens and flash that are part of the 2 megapixel camera are also located on the back. The rear cover can be removed to provide access to the Mogul's user swappable battery. On the bottom of the device are the typical miniUSB ports and the silo for the extendable stylus. Oddly, the IR port is also located on the bottom, as is the uncovered microSD memory card slot.

The Mogul's large QWERTY keyboard has to be considered one of the most compelling reasons for purchasing this device. Its keys are large and slightly domed, and the two softkeys are placed in a far better position than they are on the HTC Wing, which has an otherwise similar keyboard. I was pleased to find small LED indicators for both the Caps and Fn keys, mimicking the functionality found on a regular PC keyboard.

HTC Mogul

HTC Mogul

HTC Mogul

HTC Mogul

Core Functions

I was pretty impressed with the HTC mogul when it came to core smartphone functionality. Audio quality was very good in general on calls, and the speakerphone also worked decently. Outbound speakerphone quality was actually great, it was just that the inbound sound was somewhat harsh. What impressed me the most was how great the audio was when I used the Mogul with Plantronic's Discovery 665 Bluetooth headset - the two devices seemed perfectly matched in terms of performance. The Mogul seems to have a pretty solid antenna, and that helped the device manage 4 hours and 25 minutes of talk time with its standard 1500mAh battery. Standby time seemed quite impressive as well, with the Mogul going over a week between charges with light usage. An extended 2100mAh battery should be available by the time you read this.

Like all Windows Mobile devices, the HTC Mogul has a first class contacts system. It can store most any piece of data that Microsoft's desktop version of Outlook can, including notes. The QWERTY keyboard can be used to dial a contact from the Home screen by name, and also supports searching on first and last name at the same time. For example, opening the keyboard and typing "M OR" would instantly bring up the Michael Oryl contact on the screen, where a quick press of the green call button would initiate a call. Once the call has started, the keyboard can be slid closed and the Mogul can be used like a regular phone. The phone can also be dialed traditionally with an on-screen dial pad. In general, the phone use experience on Windows Mobile 6 has been improved a decent amount versus that of older versions of Pocket PC.

Like Pocket PC devices of the past, Windows Mobile 6 Professional, the version of the OS that powers the Mogul, does not support ring profiles. Instead, a single ringtone is defined for the device, and the volume control (in this case, the scroll wheel) can be used to adjust the ring volume and switch into vibrate or silent modes. The main mode can be configured as ring, ring once, increasing ring, vibe and ring, or vibe then ring.

HTC Mogul

HTC Mogul