“First thing I noticed is that in the hand, despite the swollen dimensions, the second-gen iPhone feels just as, if not more, svelte than its predecessor.  The touchscreen display is unchanged and just as responsive, while the buttons have sharper edges and feel ‘clickier’ and more precise” Vincent on the iPhone 3G

Keep reading SlashGear for masses more photos, video and the full official review later on today!

Feel free to submit your iPhone 3G unboxing pics/videos to iPhone Buzz — we’re doing a special feature on iPhone 3G around the world.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfLucjFMNBk[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mjIgSUMlVQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbTKc6ft-mM[/youtube]

[ePrice via iTechNews]

You can see that there’s not much extra in there than you normally get with an iPod. You’ve got your earbuds, USB cable and dock adapter. One extra that we haven’t seen before is a plastic stand for your new iPod.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6OEzEd9FAo[/youtube]

It looks very similar to the iPhone, and is therefor simply gorgeous. Vincent hasn’t gotten a lot of time to play around with it yet, but we’ll be brining you a full review sometime later.

New enhancements include longer battery life with approximately 20 percent more than the PPC-6700. The Mogul comes with a standard 1500mAH battery, but an optional 2100 mAH is also available for purchase. There is more internal memory, which is increased from 128MB to 256MB, and can be expanded with a microSD card. Sprint ships with a 512MB card, but the Mogul can support up to 2GB. The Mogul is no doubt thinner than the PPC-6700, which measures at 4.33” x 2.32” x .73”. The antenna is also tucked neatly inside the device. If taking pictures with a phone is your thing, then you’ll be happy to know the Mogul sports a 2-megapixel camera with flash, auto-focus, 8X digital zoom, and camcorder capabilities with sounds. The thumbwheel is also convenient, enabling one-handed operation.

At launch, the Mogul supports EV-DO Rev. 0 data speeds on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. You’ll be able to take advantage of increased data speeds when Sprint provides support or EV-DO Rev. A technology on the device via a free software upgrade. Keep in mind there’s also built-in WiFi (802.11 b/g) for use on any accessible Wi-Fi network. Coming post-launch is the Sprint Music store where you can purchase and download stereo quality tracks instantly over the air for $0.99! The Mogul also feature On-Demand: customized, up-to-date web content such as sport, weather, news, money and movie information at the push of a button. This is a special feature available only from Sprint.

Of course the Mogul sports my least favorite mobile operating system on the planet, Windows Mobile 6 Pocket PC Phone Edition. The good news is it’s sporting an Intel PXA-263/Qualcomm MSM6500 chipset. I noticed switching between apps is a lot zippier than the other HTC devices as well as the PPC-6700.

Feel free to take advantage of the Mogul as a wireless modem for your laptop to hop on the Sprint Mobile Broadband network. Sprint even included a USB cable should you not want to tether via Bluetooth. Speaking of Bluetooth, the Mogul features built-in Bluetooth wireless technology version 2.0 with stereo support. In my test, the Mogul paired up with the Etymotic ety8, Pulsar 260 Stereo Bluetooth headset and the Gennum nXZEN 6000 Bluetooth headset without a hitch.

Overall, the Mogul is a solid device, a worthy upgrade from the PPC-6700, making it a strong competitor to the newly released Treo 755p. I received my review unit late last week, giving me a few days with the device; I’ve found it very pleasurable to use. However, the design is a bit bland for my taste. That being said, the Mogul sports every possible convenience built directly on the device. The direct access to email, Internet Explorer, phone, voice dial, camera and an on/off switch for Wi-Fi is a super nice touch!

I give the Mogul and overall score of 3 ¾ out of 5 rating.

The Mogul by HTC for Sprint will be available this week at Sprint.com and in Sprint business sales channels for $399.99 with a two-year service agreement. Regular Sprint customers will be able to purchase the Mogul in Sprint retail stores in July.

Unboxing video of the Sprint Mogul by HTC

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Related: Sprint PPC 6700 Review [my review of the PPC-6700 on PhoneMag - October 18, 2005]
Related: Sprint Treo 755p hands-on review

NOTE: I received the Sprint Mogul the very day I was heading out to Maui, Hawaii. So what better to review a new phone than to take it with me to the land of paradise! Enjoy the beautiful images.