Final Verdict on the HTC Mogul

Now that I’ve analyzed the snot out of my Nokia devices versus the HTC Mogul I got on loan from Qwest, it’s probably about time I give my final verdict.

Disclaimer: As I’ve said before, I work for a competitor of HTC and Microsoft in the smartphone arena. However, my day job does not involve smartphones except as a user. These are my opinions.

Before I give my verdict, I will mention a few other likes/dislikes about the device that I didn’t cover elsewhere. If you haven’t been following along, take a look at the entire series of articles where I compare my Nokia/S60 and the HTC Mogul/Windows Mobile combinations:

• PhoneBoy Going Windows Mobile?
• S60 Versus Windows Mobile: The Web Browser
• Nokia E61 Versus HTC Mogul: Mac Connectivity Test
• S60 Versus Windows Mobile: Exchange Email
• S60 Versus Windows Mobile: Contacts, Calendar, and To-Do

Likes:

• The physical “turn off radios” switch.
• USB charging.
• The 3G Speeds.
• The device handles auto-connection switching fairly gracefully.

Dislikes:

• The device lock. Even if I slide open the keyboard, I still have to tap the screen twice to unlock the screen.
• The device is not as quick at switching between landscape and portrait mode as I would have liked.
• The “soft keys” are not positioned under the appropriate area of the screen where they belong.
• The camera UI looks like your typical cheap camera UI: like crap.
• The camera doesn’t take good pictures.

The final verdict: I wouldn’t spend my money on it. What do you think?