Unboxing the HTC Mogul, Sprint’s New WM6 Phone

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I got a sweet surprise from HTC on Friday: the brand new Sprint HTC Mogul, which is a major upgrade to the HTC Apache / Sprint PPC-6700 and which incedentally does not appear to be called the PPC-6800 anywhere but on its battery. I’ll have the use of it for a month, and a full review will be coming soon. But in the meantime here is a video unboxing, some information, and a few photos…

The Mogul is a really slick WM6 Professional device that has already impressed me because it is leaps and bounds above the PPC-6700 that it replaces. I daresay that it is even nicer than the HTC Hermes / Dopod 838 Pro. Everything I didn’t like about the 6700 seems to have been corrected: the sliding keyboard is solid and snappy, the finish is muted and professional, and as a bonus the Mogul has more memory, is faster and overall just much more capable. The loss of the stubby antenna is very welcome, too. All of the features I liked about the Hermes are here: the thumbwheel is still present, the device is thin and easy to handle, there is an even larger battery, and an even faster processor! And yeah, it runs WM6…mmmm, tasty gadgety-goodness from HTC!

Here is a gallery of Mogul pictures; all are thumbnails, so click on them to see larger versions.

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Here is the full press release, bold emphasis was added by me where I deemed appropriate:

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.   June 18, 2007  Leaving the laptop behind and staying connected and productive just got easier with the introduction of the Mogul? by HTC, the newest Windows Mobile device from Sprint (NYSE:S). Operating on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, the Mogul by HTC is the first CDMA device in the U.S. with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 Professional Edition and will also be the first handset from Sprint that will support EV-DO Rev. A data speeds via a free software upgrade that will be made available at a later date.

The Mogul by HTC gives customers the power to be more productive and manage a busy personal and professional life with the most advanced wireless capabilities and features available on any pocket-sized device, said Danny Bowman, vice president of customer equipment for Sprint. With support for Windows Mobile 6, Bluetooth and integrated Wi-Fi for data, customers have more choices for staying productive on the go today and can look forward to enhanced wireless data speeds in the future with the EV-DO Rev. A upgrade.

Building on the strength of its predecessor, the Sprint PCS Vision Smart Device PPC-6700, the Mogul by HTC offers the same innovative design with slide-out QWERTY keyboard, large touch screen and five-way navigation button but also delivers several enhancements:

Longer battery life approximately 20 percent more than its predecessor, the PPC-6700.
More internal memory  increases from 128 MB to 256 MB and can be expanded with a microSD card. A 512 MB card ships with the device with cards up to 2 GB being supported.
Smaller design Thinner than the PPC-6700; measuring at 4.33″ x 2.32″ x 0.73″ while featuring an internal antenna.
Higher resolution camera: resolution boosts to 2 MP with flash, auto-focus and camcorder capabilities, allowing customers to capture and share important business images or personal moments.
Thumbwheel: enables convenient, one-handed operation.

The Mogul by HTC replicates the familiar Windows PC-based experience and utilizes a suite of software unavailable in the U.S. on any other CDMA device to deliver a variety of key benefits including increased security and added support for HTML email and Microsoft Office Mobile. Broad wireless data functionality gives customers more choices for quick and convenient email, attachments and text messages; view documents; browse the Web; listen to news, music and audio clips; and access corporate applications while on the go.

At launch, the Mogul by HTC supports EV-DO Rev. 0 data speeds on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network the largest wireless broadband network in the nation, covering more than 207 million people across the country, more than 11,000 cities and 1,000 airports. Customers will be able to take advantage of increased data speeds when Sprint provides support for EV-DO Rev. A technology on the device via a free software upgrade. Integrated Wi-Fi for data also allows users to connect in thousands of Sprint-compatible domestic and international Wi-Fi ZONES and other public, enterprise and residential Wi-Fi locations*. Staying connected on the road is easier with flexible connectivity options like phone-as-modem functionality which allows customers to use the device with a laptop for high speed data access via the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network.

As the first Sprint Smart Device to allow Java applications, the Mogul by HTC also helps customers stay informed and entertained in between meetings or while waiting for a flight. At launch, the Mogul by HTC will support On Demand and the Sprint Music Store provided as an over-the-air upgrade by mid-July. The Sprint Music Store offers more than 1.6 million songs which can be downloaded wirelessly for only 99 cents each with a Power Vision data plan. The songs are transferred over the air in as little as 30 seconds anywhere within the nationwide Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. The On Demand application delivers customized, up-to-date information such as sports, weather, news, money and more information all with the push of a button. Additional personalization and content such as games, ringers, screen savers and applications can be accessed directly via the Sprint PCS Software Store provided by HandangoTM an on-device software catalog enabling wireless downloads on-the-go.

The Mogul by HTC is another example of the innovation and broad functionality that HTC is bringing to customers, said Todd Achilles, vice president of HTC America. Sprint customers will find that the broad wireless connectivity and power of Windows Mobile 6 enable a full range of benefits that have a direct impact on their ability to stay connected in today’s world.

Additional features of the Mogul by HTC include:
o Applications support for a full suite of Microsoft Office Mobile including Microsoft Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, PowerPoint Mobile, Pocket Outlook, Internet Explorer Mobile, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, ActiveSync, Pocket MSN, PDF Viewer.
o Built-in speakerphone.
o Speaker-independent voice recognition.

The Mogul by HTC will be available this week online at www.sprint.com and in Sprint business sales channels for $399.99 with a two-year service agreement. The Mogul by HTC will be available in Sprint retail stores in July.

About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks serving 53.6 million customers at the end of the first quarter 2007; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international walkie-talkie capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

About HTC
Founded in 1997, High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) designs, manufactures and markets innovative, feature-rich Smartphone and PDA Phone devices.

Since its establishment, HTC has developed strong R&D capabilities, pioneered many new designs and product innovations, and launched state-of-the-art PDA Phones and Smartphones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the United States, and Asia. These machines are available as HTC devices and as products individually customized for operator and device partners.

HTC is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile device market. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

* Various billing methods apply in non-Sprint venues.

Click here to see the Sprint HTC Mogul Fact Sheet, which is also quite informative. It’s a .pdf file, so make sure your computer has a reader installed, like this free one from Adobe.

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She got her start in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie has written for or been profiled by nationally known sites and magazines, and she has served on multiple industry hardware and software award panels. She is best known for her device-agnostic approach, enjoyment of exploring tech, gadgets, and gear, and her deep-diving, jargon-free reviews.