T-Mobile MDA Vario Review

Overall Rating

Large, clear screen
Slide-out keyboard
Number of features
Okay battery life

Slow
Fiddly stylus
Too bulky for a pocket
Screen orientation can get confused

This is my first PDA phone. I got the T-Mobile MDA Vario because I'd just switched to T-Mobile from Orange and they were offering it for free on an 18-month contract (Flext) where I pay around £30 a month. Needless to say I researched it for quite a while before ordering it, and overall I haven't been disappointed.

First things first. The screen is nice and large, and looked great before I put the (supplied) screen protector on it. It's essentially a piece of plastic film and while I was able to apply it without any bubbles appearing it certainly dulled things down. But I guess if I hadn't put it on the screen would be full of scratches by now.

The slide-out keyboard is great. It'd be nice to use all fingers but you can't rest the Vario on a desk and simply type away because: a) the keys are too tiny and close together and b) it rocks about and won't sit still on even a flat surface. You soon get used to using your thumbs, though, and there's a form of predictive texting you can use if you're typing long words (just select it by tapping it as it appears in a list on screen). The keyboard still seems to snick back into place quite well but I can imagine things loosening up as the months progress. Watch this space.

In normal (phone call) use the screen is in 'portrait' mode. However when you slide the keyboard out it automatically changes to a landscape view, which is pretty cool. When you wake the Vario from sleep mode, though, it sometimes get confused about which way to turn the screen, even if you haven't had the keyboard out. It's getting a little annoying because the Vario is a little slow in operation and you have to wait a few seconds for it to make its mind up.

The Vario is more than able to operate as a mobile phone. Call quality is good, signal strength has been as good as any mobile I've ever owned and there are plenty of ring tones to keep the kids amused. It uses Windows Mobile v5, which is okay (I use an iMac G5 at home), but the processor is only 200mhz. I've also used a Bluetooth hands-free with it very successfully.

The stylus is pretty neat at first glance - it's telescopic and tucks neatly into the body of the Vario. However, it's far quicker to use your finger to select something on the screen - although it helps if you have a fingernail to select certain items, especially when surfing the web using GPRS or wi-fi. Use the former and web browsing is very slow as you can view actual web pages on the screen (and everything can take an age to load). Find a wi-fi hot spot if you can.

Battery life is hugely dependent on how much you use the phone but you can change all manner of energy settings to maximise life. At first I had it set up to automatically check my email account every 15 minutes via GPRS but soon discovered this was a mistake. Even hourly intervals left me having to recharge every couple of days - so I now only use it to check email on a manual basis, which it does very well.

So overall I like it. It's not the glitziest phone on the planet but I put practicality and usability before kudos - and this is one of the best I've ever owned.