Side buttons aren't overwhelming: the left holds the volume slider and a key that launches Comm Manager (the triple wireless radio manager) and the right has only a camera button. The power button up top (used to turn off the phone, put the phone in flight mode or change profiles) is a small target but manageable enough. Better that it's small than an easy target for accidental presses, but not so small and weirdly designed as the Cingular 2125 power button. The IR window is located up top and the mini USB sync / charge port and the headset jack are on the bottom. The battery lives under the large door on the phone's back, and both the SIM and Mini SD card slot are under the battery. . . so much for hot-swapping memory cards. As with most camera phones, the lens and self-portrait mirror are on the back above the battery door.

Phone Features and Reception

Very, very nice... good call quality even in areas of weak reception, fast EDGE for data and good RF. Call volume through the handset is average and bests the mousy Audiovox SMT5600 Windows Mobile Smartphone which was hard to hear in boisterous locations. Call volume through the included stereo earbud headset is very loud even with the headset's slider set midway and quality is excellent. The phone's reception isn't as good as the Cingular 8125 or the Motorola RAZR but is good enough for those who use their phone in areas of moderate to excellent signal strength.

The SDA has high end call features such as a Bluetooth Hands Free support, a speakerphone, support for call forwarding, call waiting, call barring, network selection and voice dialing. The phone uses voice tags rather than true speech recognition so you'll need to record tags for each phone number you wish to dial. The upside is that voice tags are very accurate, the downside is you must take the time to record them. To initiate voice dialing, press the center of the volume rocker until the phone tells you to speak. Voice dialing, like speed dial, isn't limited to phone numbers; you can assign a speed and/or and voice tag to programs on the Start Menu. And yes, you can voice dial using a Bluetooth headset or car kit: press the call button briefly to initiate voice dialing, then speak the tag. Yay!

Data and WiFi

For data that's available most anywhere T-Mobile service is available, the SDA has EDGE (2.5G) and the old standby slow GPRS class 10. EDGE speeds, at an average of 100k on the T-Mobile network in our area, make web browsing bearable if not pleasant. Like all Windows Mobile PDAs, PDA phones and Smartphones, the SDA comes with Internet Explorer Mobile which supports HTML, some Javascript and CSS. It's adequate for viewing web sites and is a big step up from the world of WAP or even most feature phone browsers with typically poor HTML support. Like all Windows Mobile devices, the phone comes with Messaging (the e-mail component of Outlook Mobile). Messaging handles not only SMS and MMS messages but POP3, IMAP and Exchange email. It supports multiple accounts, secure authentication, HTML email messages and attachments.

And for even faster data, there's the SDA's built-in WiFi 802.11b which is a true pleasure to use. T-Mobile's revised unlimited data plan costs $29.99/month (up from $19.99) but adds unlimited use of T-Mobile HotSpots which are commonly available at Starbucks, Borders and airports among other places. That's a great deal, assuming these HotSpots are conveniently located; but clearly not so hot if your town doesn't have HotSpots. You can use your T-Mo HotSpot account on any device, including your notebook, so you're not limited to your small-screened device. The phone comes with a HotSpot finder application and an app to manage your login.

To enable WiFi, use the Home Screen shortcut or Comm Manager, which allows you to control and manage all three of the SDA's wireless radios. Once the radio is on, the Windows Mobile Connection Manager (a part of the OS) will notify you of access points in range and automatically connect you to those in range which you've used before. The device supports WEP encryption and WPA for security. The SDA handles transitions from EDGE to WiFi and back automatically, and will prefer a WiFi network if the WiFi radio is on and a viable access point is within range. We surfed for an hour and were surprised to see that less than 25% of the battery was consumed. That's pretty good battery life by WiFi standards since WiFi is power-hungry. That said, if you're not using WiFi, do turn it off because the battery will drain more quickly with the radio on and you'll be annoyed by the constant WM Connection Manager notifications of new available access points if you're moving about the average metro region.