T-Mobile Wing

As one of the first devices to run Windows Mobile 6, the T-Mobile Wing crams a lot of functionality into a pocket-friendly design. Like its predecessor, the T-Mobile MDA, the Wing gives you a built-in Wi-Fi connection for fast Web surfing and e-mail downloads, but also includes a sharper two-megapixel camera and myFaves support in a slimmer package. The Wing's touchscreen and slide-out keyboard make it a worthy short-term replacement for a notebook, so long as you can do without high-speed data when you're out of hotspot range (view our photo gallery).  

 

Made by HTC, the Wing features a much improved design compared with the MDA. Enhancements include a skinnier profile (0.7 inches compared with the MDA's 0.9 inches) and a soft-touch, semi-iridescent navy blue finish. Although we appreciate the rubbery texture of the keys, they're flat and lack tactile separation between them. We suggest trying the keyboard out before you buy. Other improvements include shortcut buttons for the Windows Start menu, the OK function, messaging, and voice command.

 

The Wing's most impressive features are under the hood: Microsoft's much-improved Windows Mobile 6 operating system, Wi-Fi data connectivity, and up to 5 hours of talk time or 8.3 days on standby. These features make the Wing perfectly suitable for e-mail hounds and Internet junkies. But when you're outside of Wi-Fi range, you're left with T-Mobile's occasionally spotty EDGE network, which delivers relatively slow data rates of about 100 Kbps.

 

WM6, with features such as a customizable Today screen, plays a large role in the phone's overall simplicity. Windows Live Search gave us quick access to local information such as traffic reports, weather forecasts, and business and movie listings. WM6 also simplifies the process of setting up e-mail accounts. We configured our Hotmail/Windows Live mail within minutes by following a step-by-step process. The device supports Microsoft Exchange for corporate e-mail, Yahoo and AOL accounts, as well as personal POP3 or IMAP e-mail accounts, which enable you to set up your Gmail account.

 

Our favorite new feature in WM6 is the ability to search your Inbox by subject or sender; the Wing starts narrowing down the results automatically as you type. The Professional edition of WM6 gives you compatibility with common Microsoft Office applications--Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. We viewed, created, and edited Excel and Word files without a hitch. But PowerPoint slides are limited to viewing.

 

Like many other smart phones, the Wing supports popular IM clients such as AIM, ICQ, and Yahoo. After chatting with our friends on Yahoo Messenger, we found that the experience and performance were similar to using the program on a desktop, although it would have been more convenient if the Enter key on the keyboard functioned as the Send button on the screen.

 

As expected, loading Web pages on Internet Explorer took less time on our wireless LAN than using T-Mobile's EDGE connection, so Wi-Fi is clearly the way to go for frequent surfing. The mobile version of NYTimes.com loaded in about 10 seconds or less via Wi-Fi and anywhere from 10 to 17 seconds via EDGE. (All sites loaded faster via Wi-Fi once the page was cached in memory.) Expect to wait longer for graphics-laden pages; CNN.com, for example, took about 30 seconds to load over Wi-Fi and more than a minute via EDGE.

 

As a phone, the Wing could use some improvement. Call quality was inconsistent in our experience. Listening through the earpiece was generally okay, although the phone tended to pick up a lot of background noise. Our buddies said they heard echoes over the speakerphone. Support for T-Mobile's myFaves service allows unlimited calls to your choice of five people regardless of whether they're in or out of the network or on a landline.

 

For multimedia, you can listen to tunes and watch videos using Windows Media Player Mobile. The Wing supports 3GPD2, AAC, MP3, and WMA audio files, as well as 3GP, 3GPP2, AVI, MP4, and WMV video files. Using WMP 11 on our desktop PC, we transferred music tracks to an optional microSD Card and played them back on the device. The phone's speaker sounded awful, though, and listening through the included earbuds was far from pleasurable. The device lacks a standard headphone jack, so we recommend listening to your tunes with stereo Bluetooth headphones; you'll skip the cables and get better sound to boot.

 

We generally liked the Wing's 2-MP camera (upgraded from the MDA's 1.3-MP cam); it produced bright snapshots with decent detail, provided we had adequate lighting. As many photos showed color artifacts and jaggy edges, we don't think the Wing has the goods to make you leave your standalone digicam behind.

 

If you're sold on Window Mobile 6 and T-Mobile, the Wing is a solid choice. Power users who can afford the $100 premium over the Dash will appreciate its larger screen and roomier keyboard, and that it runs the full version of Office Mobile. Those who need fast data speeds everywhere they go, however, should hold out for HTC's upcoming WM6 phone with EV-DO Rev. A capability.

 

 

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