I have moved my cell service to Sprint… there will be another review of what an absolutely AWFUL transition that was… This review will focus on my new phone – The Mogul.

This device is made by HTC and I must say that when I was with my prior cell provider I had a very early version of this phone.  Perhaps this review may be tainted with just a little bit of familiarity bias.

I use my cellular phone for work.  In fact I rarely carry it unless I travel for work.  When I am using it there are two primary modes of operation.  As a phone for communicating with customers and employees, and to help me manage my email mess.  (I get a couple hundred pieces of email daily.)

Setup for me was pretty straight forward.  As I said I was already familiar with the basic operations of Windows Mobile 6 and the interface of contacts and email.  I had the phone fully synchronized with our corporate Exchange (Webmail) server in a matter of minutes.  (before I left the mall)

Active Sync is not my favorite application in the world but one that is a necessity if you want to send data to the phone.  In my XP environment I have had difficulties getting Active Synch to recognize when the phone is connected and IF the phone is connected when I boot it will sometimes keep my PC from booting.  Since I don’t actually use it to sync my email, calendar or contacts I hardly ever have it connected but of course I do use it to send music to the device, programs, etc.

The Mogul seems to be much more stable than my 8125 was.  I have been using it for a few weeks now and I have never had to force a reboot.  (Power Off)  I also find that it moves between applications much quicker.   

I find the buttons and roller knob to be positioned well although I would have preferred the buttons on the keyboard that perform the menu actions to be positioned below the text on the screen instead of at each end of the keyboard. 

Speaking of the slideout keyboard this is the PRIMARY reason I ended up with this phone.  When I first moved over to Sprint I tried the “Touch”.  This phone is also by HTC but it did not have a keyboard at all and I found it very difficult for me to use the phone to type email on the touch sensitive screen.  I then moved to the Motorola Q and found that the keys were a bit too small and I was spending more time correcting spelling errors than actually composing the email.  The buttons on this keyboard are a bit larger allowing my thumbs to perform the typing.  Again maybe it is a familiarity thing but I really struggled with the other two choices.

Couple of things I am concerned about…  First the sliding screen to reveal the keyboard seems already to be getting a bit weak and it appears that from just normal wear and tear in the case, etc.. that it is slightly askew when it is closed.  I decided to carry the phone “insurance” due to this sliding screen and prior experience.   I’m also a bit concerned about the coverage and while I understand this has a lot to do with the service provider – Sprint – but both the Touch and the Q that I had prior to my Mogul were able to get cellular coverage in my home.   My Mogul is unable to get coverage. 

Overall, I am quite happy with this phone and I would put it on my recommend list.  You have touch screen capability as well as a decent sized keyboard… it is “zippy”, it takes advantage of many (not all) of the Sprint features like Sprint Navigation and Phone as Modem (If you want Sprint TV you will have to use a different device).