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T-Mobile MDA vs. Wing: Should You Upgrade?

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Now that the T-Mobile Wing is out and available in the stores, there’s probably a healthy amount of MDA users out there wondering if it’s worth the price to upgrade. Now, far be it from me to tell you how to spend your money - 500 bucks before contract discounts is a lot of money. And on paper, the Wing doesn’t exactly blow the MDA out of the water. Take a peek at what hasn’t really been upgraded:

What specs are better? Well the Wing has a 2 megapixel camera, the MDA’s is 1.3. That’s about it, actually, except…

So the main differences come down to two things: Windows Mobile 6 on the Wing and the Wing’s improved form factor. I won’t get into WM6 too much here (it’s better, but in my opinion it won’t knock your socks off); instead let’s look at the form factor differences. Read on for a photo-fortified-form-factor smackdown between the Wing and the MDA.


Thin + "Swoop" = Joy

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That's the biggest difference between the two, the Wing is thinner. Big deal - well, actually, yes. It's not just thinner, its much thinner. I know - .9 inches vs. .7 inches doesn't seem like a big change, but it's a big .2 inches. It feels even bigger because the Wing has a bit of a "swoop" to it on the back (and, more subtly, on the front as well). You can sort of see the swoop on the image below (click for full size):

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Anyhow, the thinness really does make a difference in terms of the pocket-ability and the feel of the device. You can really tell when its slid open and you're typing on it - it's much more handle-able, especially with that ridge from the swoop.

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Keyboard

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The other form-factor goodness that you're not going to get from a spec-by-spec comparison is the quality of the keyboard. The new keyboard on the Wing is stupendous. Truly, it's the first slider keyboard that I can use one-handed. One-handed use has always been my biggest complaint about the slider form factor. It's not easy to type one-handed on the Wing, but because of the thinness and the soft-touch paint, it's actually possible.

Tactile feedback actually isn't all that different, both keyboards are relatively "clicky," which I like. The Wing's keys, though, feel much bigger despite the fact that the actual area of both keyboards is virtually identical.

It's difficult to put in to works - the Wing's keyboard just feels much more polished and usable.


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The Little Things

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There are a bevy of other, subtler form factor difference between the two. The Wing comes with an honest-to-God stylus instead of the telescoping hack job you find on the MDA. The Wing has the "soft-touch" paint that makes it much more grippable. The Wing actually sits flat on a table when you have it slid open, whereas the MDA has more than a little wobble to it.

Heck, the Wing even has little indicator lights for "caps" and "alt" so you can have a better idea what you're typing.


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Downsides? There aren't many. With the slider closed, there's a small wiggler between the two halves of the Wing which can be a bit annoying. As for "extra" buttons like dedicated email, Internet Explorer, etc, it's a bit of a wash. The MDA is absolutely bristling with buttons on nearly every square inch of the device, whereas the Wing is a bit more restrained.

Conclusion

So now we come to it: should you upgrade? I'd say it's a qualified "yes." Qualified in that, "Yes, the Wing looks and feels ten times more professional, but really, it's not all that different." Windows Mobile 6 does make a big difference and is another point in favor of upgrading - but it's still not perfection. For example, I still often get a "out of memory" error when I try to launch the camera. That should never happen and I'm mystified as to why it does.

Look at it this way: it's highly unlikely you're going to see anything better hit T-Mobile until they get their act in gear and upgrade their network to something approximating 3G. If you have the cash, I can think of worse things you could spend it on than an upgrade to your tired and clunky MDA.