Sprint Mogul

The Sprint Mogul was introduced around the same time as the iPhone, and because of Steve Job's marketing savvy, Apple's device got almost all of the media attention. However, I believe the Mogul deserves far more accolades than Apple's darling. I own an iPhone and think it's a great phone and media/entertainment device. Unfortunately, I don't see many professional uses for it. In fact, when this review was written in August, Apple/AT&T didn't even allow professional business users to purchase the iPhone under their business contract—they had to open a new consumer account to use it. On the other hand, the Mogul not only holds its own against the iPhone in the media/entertainment arena, it's an incredible device for any professional.

Powerful device with a familiar form factor

The Mogul looks very similar to the T-Mobile Wing, Cingular 8525, and others devices with slide-out keyboards. The differences I found, however, set the Mogul apart from these and comparable devices. First of all, the Mogul has a whopping 256 MB of internal flash ROM. As a physician, I use a lot of medical/healthcare programs, which occupy a lot of memory. In addition, for technical reasons, the amount of software loaded on the device tends to slow it down and causes system crashes (which require soft resets). The abundant memory of the Mogul and the improved Windows Mobile 6 operating system it uses have all but eliminated these problems.

The Mogul's simulated gun metal case has an ample variety of buttons positioned on its front and side edges. On the left edge of the device is a multifunctional "thumb wheel," a feature I wish all Windows Mobile devices incorporated. It allows you to move through menus and lists and select options easily. Just below the wheel are an OK button, Voice Command launch button, and a slide switch to enable or disable the built-in Wi-Fi. (Keep the Wi-Fi disabled when you're not using it to prolong battery life.)

The front face of the device sports e-mail and Internet Explorer launch buttons above the display and six application/function buttons below the display (flanking the central navigation directional pad). These include two buttons to activate the "soft keys" at the bottom of the display, phone Call and End buttons, and Windows Start menu and OK buttons. Of all the buttons on the device, only three can be reprogrammed by the user. I would like to be able to reprogram the OK and Start menu buttons on the face of the device, but Microsoft does not allow this.

From top to bottom, the right edge of the device contains the power on/off, the Comm Manager, and Camera launch buttons. I found it easy to inadvertently press the on/off button. In future versions of the device, they should place it on the top edge, which is currently devoid of any buttons.

The back of the unit houses the aperture for the 2 megapixel camera, which includes flash and continuous light for still and video pictures. In addition, the removable, replaceable battery is accessed from the back of the device. Located on the bottom edge of the Mogul are the microSD card slot, the recessed soft reset button, and the universal USB 2.0 sync/charging port.

The Mogul's slide-out keyboard is great for "thumb" typing.

The well-backlit slide-out keyboard is great for "thumb" typing, but a bit small for anything other than text messaging and Web searches. The blue function button activates the numeric keyboard, symbols, and other alternate key functions. Tap it twice, and an orange indicator lights up, letting the user know that the keys are in "function" mode.

The Mogul features a Qualcomm MSM7500 400 MHz processor with 256 MB of ROM and 64 MB of RAM. The 2.8-inch touch screen is bright, crisp, and clear. In addition, the device has an internal cell phone antenna, making the overall design compact and very sleek.