Just got my MDA Compact II

DRZ · 30 Mar 2006 at 21:51

Well, T-Mobile couldnt give me even a speculative delivery date on when they were going to be getting the Vario back in stock so I re-evaluated my position and opted for the Compact II.

As requested (by sara) here are my initial thoughts:

When I first turned it on, it was in the usual Windows Mobile skin and as such was a nice colour scheme - then about 10 seconds later the T-Mobile installer appeared and turned everything a shade of pink. I have yet to find the option to change that (and I dont think I will, without a hack) so I am getting used to it like that at the moment.

Having come from a 6670 the size is more or less the same - it is slightly thinner but a fair bit wider but the size of the screen makes up for that.

Sound quality in a call isnt up to the Nokia it is replacing (in fact its just about the worst SQ I have heard from a mobile phone to date but I shant let that bug me!)

It isnt fast but it isnt slow either - Until I eventually bother to put TomTom on it I dont think the speed is going to bother me at all.

Here are some comparison pics for you to take a look at:

6670 on the left, MDA in the middle, V3 on the right

Im quite happy with it and as far as I can tell, it is going to replace my rx3715 - I just need a wifi card for it now :/

Dinomania · 30 Mar 2006 at 22:04

If Windows Mobile 2005 is anything like Smartmobile, look under settings and Home Screen to change the T-Mobile theming... certainly my SDA let me turn it back to Windows default without any hacking, and I found a small app to make my own themes

Still going to hold out for the Vario myself, will be ringing on Monday to sort myself out... Thanks for the mini review

rG-tom · 30 Mar 2006 at 23:34

this is what you want to do:

http://www.modaco.com/Hard_Reset_the_Charmer-t234374.html

Gets rid of the custom tmobile software. should leave an extende_rom folder with all the stuff in too, so you can selectively install what you want (gprs settings for example) and not install what you dont (tmobile menu customisations)

Tom.

DRZ · 31 Mar 2006 at 00:29

Thanks guys

Lost the pinkness and its now looking sweet:

Dinomania · 31 Mar 2006 at 00:40

Sweeeeet.

Oh god, back to my original conundrum - this or the vario? Sigh...

EDIT: Beautiful pics btw

DRZ · 31 Mar 2006 at 00:55

sara said:
Sweeeeet.

Oh god, back to my original conundrum - this or the vario? Sigh...

EDIT: Beautiful pics btw

Weeeeelllllllll....

You cant get the Vario at the moment. The woman at T-Mobile I spoke to didnt seem at all confident enough to even hazard a guess at when they would be in stock.

Unless Wi-Fi is really important to you, I would (and did) go for this as an alternative. If you really dont get on with the on-screen keyboards, bluetooth ones are obtainable for not much

EDIT: Holy over-use of the tongue-out smiley, batman!

WiFi SDIO cards are a bit more, but whether I get one or not depends on how my bank balance is feeling in a couple of months

I used the WiFi on my rx3715 all of 3 times (ish

) so I dont see that as a major priority

rG-tom · 31 Mar 2006 at 04:05

yea i love that shot martin, made me think twice whether or not i actually prefer the m500's appearance

Normally ive written the compact off as tacky looking, but you've made it appear otherwise

my (IMO) beauty

No tripod here tho so can't get the screen exposed well

I need to get a decent skin for it though lol, wm5's stock skin is far prettier

Tom.

BruceLee · 31 Mar 2006 at 13:43

Do these have WiFi built in?

Has anyone got Skype working on them if they do?

rG-tom · 31 Mar 2006 at 19:41

BruceLee said:
Do these have WiFi built in?

Has anyone got Skype working on them if they do?

mine doesnt have it built in but with a wifi add on card skype works fine. You may have to overclock the cpu on the compact II to get it working smoothly though.

Tom.