O2 XDA 2 Review

Overall Rating

Very good colour screen, built in antenna as opposed to protruding one on old XDA, fast processor and now triband. Great PDA and solid phone. 128MB memory. Now comes with MMS and bluetooth.

Sometimes slow to roam and need to search for network manually abroad, could be improved by rubberised grips on side to stop it slipping.

The XDA2 is easily one of the best PDA's on the market with a fast 400Mhz processor and the latest version of MS Pocket Phone PC 2003. It is a PDA combined with triband phone features and is easy to use in either mode. As a phone, the battery lasts about a full 12 hour day with a combined use of the PDA screena and talktime which isnt bad considering the demands placed on it by a high quality screen and full mobile phone functionality.

It is a huge improvement on the old XDA which was only dual band and had an ugly protruding antenna that was easy to break. It is now sleeker and has a much sharper screen resolution and brightness, very resilient to direct sunlight glare.

The XDA2 is faster with its 400Mhz processor putting right at the top of the Pocket PC PDA list alongside HP. The Palm Tungsten wireless PDA cannot hold a candle to it as it can only use the phone function with headphones, unlike the XDA2 which acts like a normal phone when the screen is held to the ear. (or it can be used with headphones) It is now feature packed combining the very best of a sleek PDA with the array of technical extras one would expect from a top mobile phone.

The XDA2 is not for people who want a small phone. It isnt bulky as one must consider it a PDA hybrid with full mobile functionality. Its closest competitor, in my opinion, is the excellent Sony Ercisson P900, which is maybe better as a phone but does not come close on screen quality to the XDA2 for Internet usage or software availability. The P900 is an excellent phone with a fair PDA, whereas the XDA2 is an excellent PDA with a good phone.

Faults are minor. It could do with rubberised side grips to reduce the risk of it slipping out of your hand. When roaming after losing reception, say on the underground in London, it has to be restarted the odd time (although its fast to do this). In addition, its best to use manual roaming when landing on foreign soil.

Overall, the XDA2 has evolved to virtually its full potential and it is a powerful gadget that can help organise your life whilst providing good connectivity. Who needs a phone and a PDA when you can have just the XDA2? if you dont need strong PDA functionality then the Sony Ericcson P900 is the obvious choice.

I cannot wait until a 3G version of the XDA2 is launched by O2. This is inevitable, given that Vodafone have now launched their 384kbps 3G service for laptops in major urban areas of the UK. Therefore, O2 cannot be far behind in launching their 3G service and the successor to the XDA2 has to surely be a key product when O2's 3G launch does occur. Aside from that, there is not much you can improve on in this powerful and innovative gadget.