By: phil Matthews

phil Matthews — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:29:33 +0000

This is the worst device I have ever used. To begin – the user interface is slow to respond and poorly thought through. When using the ‘touch-flow’ feature – the phone can’t distinguish between a ‘swipe’ and a ‘press’ making operation a frustrating pain. The directory feature is terrible as it returns to the top level option every time you step back one stage. This means you have to repeat the complete search process every time when looking for numbers. Not having voice search feature for hands free working is something I would expect from a much cheaper device and makes hands-free operation virtually impossible. The screen is small and suffers as a result although it could be forgiven if the browsing experience wasn’t so terrible. Everything seems to have a built-in lag which makes all operations very hard. A good example of this is the zoom feature below the screen seems not to respond when a closer view is required –it then zooms in too close. Build quality is another area for concern – mine has had 3 screen replacements in 12 months – despite keeping the phone in its case most of the time. The software locks up and needs to be reset on an almost daily basis – especially when accessing the directory.
I have numerous hands-free headsets all of which have operated very well with other devices – with this one, the volume is very low even on maximum – making it impossible to use unless in a totally quiet environment.
Signal reception is also appalling – even in areas where there is excellent coverage. I was able to prove this directly by swapping the SIM card to another phone in the same spot and getting crystal clear reception. Swapping it back replicated the poor reception.

Comments on: Review: T-Mobile MDA Compact IV

By: phil Matthews