I’d been considering either a SmartPhone or Pocket PC Phone for sometime when my regular phone (an Ericsson K750) expired. I’d had a PDA previously and while being extremely handy it was a little too cumbersome to carry around in addition to a regular phone, wallet, keys etc.

Technology has moved on however and there are now Smartphone’s available that are the same size as regular models, and Pocket PC Phones only a little larger. The T-Mobile MDA is from the HTC Wizard family and weighs in at around 160g with dimensions of 108 x 58 x 24mm. This makes it a little larger than my K750, but smaller than most PDA’s on the market and a size that easily slips into a trouser pocket without creating a somewhat embarrassing bulge.

Overall I’m very pleased with the MDA. It’s slightly lower spec than you’d like as a PDA and not quite as usable as a regular phone for calls, but it truly is more than the sum of its parts. I love that courtesy of Outlook and ActiveSync I have my Email, Contacts, Calendar, Notes and Tasks with me at all times - while my K750 could also sync this information it was cumbersome to do anything other than view it. Both WiFi and EDGE/GPRS work well, I have an unlimited data plan on T-Mobile and having both options allows me to connect from virtually anywhere. I recently spent a week in Sedona, AZ where there’s little in the way of hotspots, but by connecting my laptop to the MDA allowed me to use the EDGE network with speeds varying from 15-25kbs. And of course being based on Windows Mobile there are a wealth of applications out there for all your needs; three of my favourites are Opera, Newsgator Mobile and Pocket Sudoku.

If you’re just looking for a fancy phone for messaging and calls this probably won’t be the phone for you, but if you want a phone that combines the functionality of a PDA and calls then the MDA is certainly worth checking out.