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Sprint’s HTC Mogul Hands on!

Published Jun 18th, 2007 12:01AM EDT
BGR

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We were lucky enough to get a preview of Sprint’s HTC Mogul (PPC-6800) for the last couple of days, and we’re feelin’ it! HTC is really going in the right direction with their devices, and the HTC Mogul is reminiscent of the HTC Kaiser we showed a little while back. Thin is in, and the Mogul definitely doesn’t disappoint. Much thinner than the HTC TyTN, and a tab bit bigger than the HTC Herald, the device is a pleasure to use. It’s also 20% thinner than its PPC-6700 predecessor. The keyboard, with the now standard HTC rubberized keys is super easy to type on. They’ve also included the “Fn” and “Caps” indicator lights to make things easier. The jog wheel is still in effect, this time a little refined from previous incarcerations. When the HTC Mogul is closed, you’ve got the normal, functional buttons on the front of the device. The Start button, OK button, Internet Explorer shortcut, and email key are all there along with the the Send and End buttons. One of the extremely few complaints about the Mogul, was the 5-way directional pad. It was a little small and sometimes we had trouble selecting the right direction. The only other complaint, which might be just us, was the ridges on the back battery cover. They are not raised too much, but didn’t really please us because of the weird feeling when holding the Mogul. Sprint’s reception and voice quality on the PPC-6800 were very good, with data being on par as well. All in all, if you’re a Sprint customer and have been fiendin’ for a new Windows Mobile device, the HTC Mogul won’t disappoint. Sprint is also offering a free upgrade to Rev. A later this fall, so you can get your super high speed data fix. The handset launches this week on Sprint’s website and business channels for $399 with a 2 year agreement, and should hit retail stores in July. We’re giving the HTC Mogul 4 BG’s. Check out the full press release after the jump, or click on over right to our gallery!

Take a look at the HTC Mogul live in our gallery!

sprint customers Will GET MORE DONE
WITH THE neW mogul™ by htc
 
Sleek and compact slide-out keyboard design packs speed and power,
large touch screen, long battery life, thumbwheel
for one-handed use and much more
 
Newest Smart Device is first in Sprint portfolio to offer
Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition
 
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – June 18, 2007 – Leaving the laptop behind and staying connected and productive just got easier with the introduction of the Mogul by HTC, the newest Windows Mobile® device from Sprint (NYSE:S). Operating on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, the Mogul by HTC is the first CDMA device in the U.S. with Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6 Professional Edition and will also be the first handset from Sprint that will support EV-DO Rev. A data speeds via a free software upgrade that will be made available at a later date.    
 
“The Mogul by HTC gives customers the power to be more productive and manage a busy personal and professional life with the most advanced wireless capabilities and features available on any pocket-sized device,” said Danny Bowman, vice president of customer equipment for Sprint. “With support for Windows Mobile 6, Bluetooth and integrated Wi-Fi for data, customers have more choices for staying productive on the go today and can look forward to enhanced wireless data speeds in the future with the EV-DO Rev. A upgrade.”
 
Building on the strength of its predecessor, the Sprint PCS Vision Smart Device PPC-6700, the Mogul by HTC offers the same innovative design with slide-out QWERTY keyboard, large touch screen and five-way navigation button but also delivers several enhancements:
 
·              Longer battery life – approximately 20 percent more than its predecessor, the PPC-6700.
·              More internal memory – increases from 128 MB to 256 MB and can be expanded with a microSD card. A 512 MB card ships with the device with cards up to 2 GB being supported.
·              Smaller design –Thinner than the PPC-6700; measuring at 4.33” x 2.32” x 0.73” while featuring an internal antenna.
·              Higher resolution camera: resolution boosts to 2 MP with flash, auto-focus and camcorder capabilities, allowing customers to capture and share important business images or personal moments.
·              Thumbwheel: enables convenient, one-handed operation.
 
The Mogul by HTC replicates the familiar Windows PC-based experience and utilizes a suite of software unavailable in the U.S. on any other CDMA device to deliver a variety of key benefits including increased security and added support for HTML email and Microsoft Office Mobile. Broad wireless data functionality gives customers more choices for quick and convenient email, attachments and text messages; view documents; browse the Web; listen to news, music and audio clips; and access corporate applications while on the go.
 
At launch, the Mogul by HTC supports EV-DO Rev. 0 data speeds on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network – the largest wireless broadband network in the nation, covering more than 207 million people across the country, more than 11,000 cities and 1,000 airports. Customers will be able to take advantage of increased data speeds when Sprint provides support for EV-DO Rev. A technology on the device via a free software upgrade. Integrated Wi-Fi for data also allows users to connect in thousands of Sprint-compatible domestic and international Wi-Fi ZONES and other public, enterprise and residential Wi-Fi locations*. Staying connected on the road is easier with flexible connectivity options like phone-as-modem functionality which allows customers to use the device with a laptop for high speed data access via the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network.
 
As the first Sprint Smart Device to allow Java applications, the Mogul by HTC also helps customers stay informed and entertained in between meetings or while waiting for a flight. At launch, the Mogul by HTC will support On Demand and the  Sprint Music Store provided as an over-the-air upgrade by mid-July. The Sprint Music Store offers more than 1.6 million songs which can be downloaded wirelessly for only 99 cents each with a Power Vision data plan. The songs are transferred over the air in as little as 30 seconds anywhere within the nationwide Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. The On Demand application delivers customized, up-to-date information such as sports, weather, news, money and more information all with the push of a button. Additional personalization and content such as games, ringers, screen savers and applications can be accessed directly via the Sprint PCS Software Store provided by HandangoTM an on-device software catalog enabling wireless downloads on-the-go. 
 
”The Mogul by HTC is another example of the innovation and broad functionality that HTC is bringing to customers,” said Todd Achilles, vice president of HTC America. “Sprint customers will find that the broad wireless connectivity and power of Windows Mobile 6 enable a full range of benefits that have a direct impact on their ability to stay connected in today’s world.”
 
Additional features of the Mogul by HTC include:
o   Applications support for a full suite of Microsoft Office Mobile including Microsoft® Word Mobile, Excel® Mobile, PowerPoint® Mobile, Pocket Outlook®, Internet Explorer® Mobile, Windows Media® Player 10 Mobile, ActiveSync®, Pocket MSN®, PDF Viewer.
o   Built-in speakerphone.
o   Speaker-independent voice recognition.
 
 
The Mogul by HTC will be available this week online at www.sprint.com and in Sprint business sales channels for $399.99 with a two-year service agreement. The Mogul by HTC will be available in Sprint retail stores in July.  
Jonathan S. Geller
Jonathan Geller Founder, President & Editor-in-chief

Jonathan S. Geller founded Boy Genius Report, now known as BGR, in 2006. It became the biggest mobile news destination in the world by the end of 2009, and BGR was acquired by leading digital media company PMC in April 2010.

Jonathan is President of BGR Media, LLC., and Editor-in-chief of the BGR website.

What started as a side project at the age of 16, quickly transpired into 24-hour days and nights of sharing exclusive and breaking news about the mobile communications industry. BGR now reaches up to 100 million readers a month through the website, syndication partners, and additional channels.