Dialing a number on the T-Mobile Wing can be done via the number keys on the slide out QWERTY keyboard or the touch screen dialing pad. We liked that when you spell out a name or dial a number the software automatically filters and displays any contact or call history item that matches. Neither method, however, is particularly fast; it took us an average of 5.4 seconds to dial. That's somewhat slower than phones with physical keypads. As a Windows Mobile device, the Wing has powerful organizational features, and most users will find them more than adequate for business or personal use. The Wing can synchronize information with a desktop computer or over the air if you have access to an Exchange server.
The T-Mobile performed reasonably in our audio tests but with a few small issues. The audio received by the phone was slightly exaggerated in the higher frequency ranges, which can make voices sound reedy or thin. The sound sent by the Wing sounded good, though; your voice should sound clear and easy to understand.
The T-Mobile Wing comes with a 2-megapixel camera, but this is no better than the terrible 1.3-megapixel cameras found on the Motorola Q or Razr V3m;. The captured images had low resolution and inaccurate colors. Video quality was just as bad, producing jerky, low resolution videos. Anyone who wants to use the Wing as a camera will be severely disappointed. Multimedia features are much better, thankfully, with Windows Media Player Mobile handling both music and video playback. The large screen is very good for watching video, and the newest version of Windows Mobile adds a plug-in to the home screen for easier control of music playback.
Windows Mobile devices are very good at messaging, and the Wing is no exception. Support for text, multimedia messaging, and e-mail is all built into the mail program. You can easily switch between different accounts using the left and right keys, while messages are displayed in a simple list. Due to the slide out form factor and large, comfortable QWERTY keyboard, we were able to type 40.1 words per minute on it. This speedy time would make the Wing a good pick for someone who sends longer e-mails on the road but doesn't want to lug around a laptop.
The T-Mobile's most annoying issue is the pervasive lag that slows down almost everything on the phone, making it almost unusable at times. We sometimes had to wait several seconds for programs to open and screens to update. Users can access the Web via Internet Explorer mobile, which is adequate for casual browsing but is rapidly being outstripped by Web browsers on the iPhone and Series 60 smart phones. The Wing supports T-Mobile's Edge network and Wi-Fi for high speed data access.
Battery life is one of the Wing's strong suits with some of the best times we've seen from any phone. Talk time was an incredible 14 hours and 15 minutes, which should be sufficient for even a power talker's needs. Your time may vary (we test in an area with good signal strength), but that's the longest talk time for any phone we have tested. Music playback time was also good at 10 hours and 26 minutes, and Web browsing was a similarly impressive 9 hours and 52 minutes. The Wing's excellent battery life means that even if you are using all of its powerful features the phone will almost certainly get you through a day or two.
The T-Mobile Wing is the replacement for the venerable T-Mobile MDA, but the updates from this are generally evolutionary. Some updates, like the 2-megapixel camera, perform so poorly that they aren't any better than the ones they replace. Still, the slide out QWERTY keyboard is a compelling form factor that has been very successful, as it provides a large, comfortable keyboard in a small space. Unfortunately, many that look to pick up what is probably T-Mobile's most powerful smart phone will find themselves severely limited by the weak performance; the lag alone is enough to make us hesitant to recommend it. |
