Robert Moir Reviews the O2 XDA IIi

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.robertmoir.co.uk/win/XDAIIireview.html' target='_blank'>http://www.robertmoir.co.uk/win/XDAIIireview.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"As regular readers will recall, 15 months ago I upgraded my mobile phone to an Orange SPV E200 (also known as the HTC Voyager). This was a fairly good phone and an ok PDA, but it did have its limits and after 15 months I find myself needing to do more. So having a look around, I narrowed down my choices to the HTC Blue Angel (aka Orange M2000, O2 XDA 2s) or the HTC Alpine (aka Orange M2500, O2 XDA 2i). I based my choice largely on their improved functionality as a PDA and the fact that both had 802.11b WiFi built in. These are both pocket PC PDAs that include a phone function, as opposed to devices like my old SPV E200 which are "Smart phones" that include a PDA function...."</i><br /><br />It's always interesting to read reviews written by people outside the mobile devices community - they often have a more realistic view of the device than some of us on the "inside" do. ;-)

[Kowalski]

i wish this device had vga screen!
phone capability with vga screen and built in wifi
all built into a small package

[DaleReeck]

i wish this device had vga screen!
phone capability with vga screen and built in wifi
all built into a small package

Unfortunately, this device you describe won't be coming out until Fall 2005 when the MDA IV comes out.

[koriel]

Good review, (I know, I own one :) ) couple of facts I would like clearing up though.

The review stated that you would lose all unsaved data if your battery failed and you didn't have an SD card. There IS a backup system in the OS that will backup files automatically to flash ROM on startup/powerdown. (Although you wouldn't catch me dead without my 1GB card slotted into my machine :) )

Also, I would like to know if the benchmarks were performed in the default "power save" CPU mode or the alternative "turbo" mode (This would obviously also effect battery life).

[stevelam]

The reviewer says near the end

and the lack of a SD card in the O2 bundle does strike a slight sour note for me

how many ppc's come with an SD card anyway (apart from gps deals) :roll:

[Jason Dunn]

how many ppc's come with an SD card anyway (apart from gps deals) :roll:

This is why it's interesting to read an "outsider" point of view - many high-end phones come with small memory cards, if nothing more than to illustrate to the user that they can use memory cards. Given the high cost of the device, I think it's not unreasonable to expect a small (64MB or less) memory card.

[RobertMoir]

Good review, (I know, I own one :) ) couple of facts I would like clearing up though.

Thanks and I'll try!


The review stated that you would lose all unsaved data if your battery failed and you didn't have an SD card. There IS a backup system in the OS that will backup files automatically to flash ROM on startup/powerdown. (Although you wouldn't catch me dead without my 1GB card slotted into my machine :) )

Yep, but I never got that to work as I expected, and if you never knew it was there... you'd never find it! Incidentally, I too have added a 1GB memory card, wouldn't be without one!


Also, I would like to know if the benchmarks were performed in the default "power save" CPU mode or the alternative "turbo" mode (This would obviously also effect battery life).

Good point, I should have mentioned this on my site :oops: I can confirm it was turbo mode - which is why I was a little surprised. There is every chance I configured something else wrongly, I *so* don't know anything about benchmarking PDAs/PPCs.

regards
Rob

[RobertMoir]

The reviewer says near the end

and the lack of a SD card in the O2 bundle does strike a slight sour note for me

how many ppc's come with an SD card anyway (apart from gps deals) :roll:

The Orange "M2000" bundle for the HTC Blue Angel, for one :wink: That was the phone I was originally after as a loyal orange customer, but they gave me trouble over the upgrade, so I went to O2 looking to buy their version (XDA IIs) of the Blue Angel, but got drawn in by the IIi instead while I was there.

Not quite the same but my old SPV E200 came with a SD card too.

Its not a big deal that one wasn't included, I went out and got a 1Gb card for myself anyway, but when Orange manage it and when you're spending a good chunk of money on something, it *is* one of those 'attention to detail' things.