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The Sprint Mogul by HTC, first announced in June and now available nationwide, is an impressive addition to the Sprint mobile line-up. This Windows Mobile 6 Pocket PC, an upgrade of the Sprint PCS Vision Smart Device PPC-6700, is both powerful and attractive. While the price for the first CDMA Windows Mobile 6 device (in the U.S.) is steep ($399.99 with a two-year service agreement), we think it's worth it.

The Sprint Mogul in brushed silver weighs in at 6.5 ounces and measures 4.3 x 2.3 x 0.7 inches, which makes it just a sliver heavier and taller than its predecessor, the PPC-6700, and just slightly thinner. It also takes the important step of making the antenna internal, which both looks better and makes the device more easy to pocket.

The Mogul is comfortable to hold in one hand and with the addition of more external buttons, it's easy to perform many functions one-handed. On the right spine are the power button, the Communication Manager launcher for wireless connections, the camera activation key, and the stylus holder.

Its camera lens and flash are located on the back. The left spine is home to a thumb wheel, an OK button, a voice recorder key, and a Wi-Fi on/off button. On the bottom edge of the device, you'll find an infrared port, a microSD slot, a reset button, and a mini USB port.

Several shortcut keys also surround the display, including quick-launch buttons for messages and Internet Explorer Mobile, two soft keys, the Talk and End buttons, a Start menu shortcut, an OK button, and a four-way navigation toggle below the screen.

The toggle isn't as smooth to operate as a trackball and required hard clicks to make selections. This was a mixed blessing because, on the one hand, it is a nuisance to have to click so hard, but on the other, it was very difficult to accidentally select something, which often happens with hypersensitive toggles or trackballs.

The primary means of navigation is the touch screen and full QWERTY keyboard. The screen is good-sized (2.8 inches diagonally) with a 65,000-color output and respectable 240 x 320-pixel resolution. We found that graphics, text, and Web sites could all be viewed with ease in varying light conditions.

The sliding mechanism for the keyboard is smooth and makes a satisfying "click" when it snaps into place, and the screen switches automatically from portrait to landscape mode.