Tuesday, December 25, 2007

O2 Xda Mini Pro

For those who have been longing for O2 to release a Wi-Fi-enabled version of the Xda II mini, the wait is over. The UK-based mobile company recently announced the upcoming launch of the O2 Xda Mini Pro, a much-awaited successor to its hugely popular PDA-phone. (In some countries, the Xda Mini Pro is known as the Xda Mini S).
Editors' note:

The O2 Xda Mini Pro is expected to retail between US$750 to US$850 (without plan).

Upside:
With the Xda Mini Pro's built-in wireless LAN capability, O2 has addressed the main issue many handhelds users have with the Xda II mini--the lack of onboard Wi-Fi. The key advantage here for users is that a separate Wi-Fi card need not be purchased for wireless Web access. This, in turn, frees up the media card slot for memory storage cards instead.

What's interesting is that O2 has done more than simply adding Wi-Fi to its latest handheld. In addition to the new operating system Windows Mobile 5.0, the Xda Mini Pro will come with a built-in QWERTY keyboard that slides out from the left, similar to the LG F9100 which was showcased at CommunicAsia in June. Granted the keyboard probably contributed to the added thickness of the PDA-phone, but it's amazing that O2 has managed to squeeze everything into a device that shares the same footprint as its Xda II mini counterpart.

Other enhancements made on the new O2 handheld include the faster Bluetooth v2 connectivity, onboard camera flash unit and 128MB onboard ROM.

Downside:
Our main gripe with the Xda Mini Pro would lie with its miniSD card slot. While it is a lot smaller and probably a more future-proof format than the Secure Digital (SD) media, its highest storage capacity available in the market today is just 512MB. The SD card format is not only more affordable, it has higher capacities of up to 2GB. There are also a lot more compatible accessories out there, and at this point in time we aren't too sure if the card slot will accept SDIO devices.

It's a pity the O2 PDA-phone will come with the same 1.3-megapixel camera as its predecessor, considering that new handhelds are increasingly equipped with 2-megapixel sensors these days.

Specs-wise, the new handheld features the Texas Instrument OMAP 850 195MHz processor which is comparatively slower than the 416MHz Intel processor on the Xda II mini. However, actual performance usually depends on more than just the processor speed. We'll find out soon enough in our Lab tests.

Bottomline:
There's a lot to look forward to in the new Xda Mini Pro, particular if you are one of those who have been putting off the purchase of the Xda II mini for want of onboard Wi-Fi. Expect it to launch in November, together with the O2 Xda Atom. Look out for our full review closer to date.

Price

http://www.vatgia.com/home/quicksearch.php?keyword=O2+mini&typing=1&keyword_reject=&price=&price_to=
http://www.vatgia.com/home/detail.php?module=product&iPro=10368&iCat=567
http://www.vatgia.com/home/detail.php?module=product&iPro=11546&iCat=567
http://www.vatgia.com/home/detail.php?module=product&iPro=12378&iCat=567
http://www.vatgia.com/home/detail.php?module=product&iPro=12400&iCat=567

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