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T-Mobile has become the first carrier to offer HTC's Wizard Wi-Fi-equipped Windows Mobile 5.0 handset in the UK.

Its version of the device is called the MDA Vario, but it provides the usual messaging and browsing features standard to all versions of the device. The unit contains 128MB of memory, expandable using MiniSD cards, and incorporates Bluetooth and 802.11b wireless network connectivity. It has a quad-band GSM/GPRS radio with EDGE support for higher data transfer rates.

The Vario incorporates a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and boasts a 320 x 240 display offering 65,536 colours. Sliding out the keyboard automatically reformats the display from portrait into landscape mode.

T-Mobile is also offering ALK Technologies' CoPilot Live 6 navigation software - and presumably a Bluetooth GPS receiver - as an optional extra. Expect to pay around £120 more for the CoPilot bundle.

The Vario is available now at a range of prices set according to the tariff you choose. However, the carrier claimed customers will pay no more than £190 for the handset.

T-Mobile is offering three data-oriented Web'n'walk contracts, prices at £30, £38 and £55 a month, which includes 40MB of data transfers, and 100, 200 and 400 minutes, respectively, of voice airtime. Extra data is billed at £1 per megabyte, irrespective of which tariff you select.

Rival carrier Orange launched its own version of the HTC Wizard, the SPV M3000, last week, but said the device will not be made available in the UK. Device vendor i-mate already offers its Wizard, the K-Jam, unaffiliated with any mobile phone network. ®

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