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T-Mobile introduced the MDA Pocket PC Phone last month (see top image), available in Europe since the fall as the MDA Vario. That handset is now here in the U.S. It follows another Windows Mobile smartphone from the operator, the SDA (previously shipping on the other side of the Atlantic as well), into this market.

Both are built by Taiwanese original design manufacturer High Tech Computer.

The candy bar-styled SDA is based on the Smartphone flavor of Windows Mobile 5.0. So it uses a 240 x 320 pixel (QVGA) resolution 2.2-inch resolution display that isn't a touch screen rather than the 176 x 220 pixel type found with earlier Microsoft-based models.

The 3.7-ounce SDA measures 4.53 x 1.82 x 0.69 inches with 32 MB of RAM inside and a minSD expansion slot for additional memory outside. There's a 1.3 megapixel camera too, up from a mere VGA model in a previous version.


SDA

Unlike the tri-band (900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM/GPRS European edition, the American version supports four bands—necessitating a larger antenna—plus high-speed EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution) networking. Cingular's 2125, another Windows Smartphone that recently shipped here, has a hump of an antenna on top as well for quad-band support; plus other similar characteristics. It delivers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well.

The SDA sells for $250 after a $50 mail-in rebate.

The 5.3-ounce MDA is a sequel to the MDA III Pocket PC Phone, which didn't ship in the U.S. It is based on an HTC reference design known as the Wizard. The smartphone measures 4.29 x 2.28 x 0.93 inches and weighs 5.64 ounces.

Additional features the MDA has in common with the SDA is a 240 x 320 pixel display - at a larger 2.8-inch size ( and a touch screen) - and a 1.3-megapixel camera. As a Windows Mobile 5.0 device, you'll be able to select either portrait or landscape viewing. There's a hidden keyboard too.