O2 Xda Orbit > Reviews > A fully loaded James Bond Phone

Author's product rating:   

Look & Feel	Good
Memory / capacity	Excellent
Comfort & Portability	Excellent
Ease of use	Satisfactory
Value For Money	Good

Advantages:	Built in GPS, Lots of functions, not too big
Disadvantages:	Fragile screen, bluetooth eats battery life .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This is the 2nd XDA family member I have owned and quite frankly, Its a huge improvement over its predecessor, the XDA 2i.
Supplied as a \"free\" phone as part of my business phone contract, the Orbit provides several business critical operations for me. Let me tell you all about it.

Firstly, lets look at the design and build.
Its not a huge PDA type device that is too bulky to go in your pocket. It slip in nicely and is quite lightweight too. Its Large screen however is very suseptible to damage so be careful not to sit on it! I have and cracked the screen! I had the device replaced by O2 because of the screen. However, the latest screen has what I can only describe as \"pressure marks\" on it from something sharp being pressed into the screen. This in turn has left a deep indentation in the screen which causes problems with the stylus. I end up selecting items i shouldnt from the screen! The side buttons are again too exposed, like the XDA 2i, which leaves me to accidentally press things in my pocket without realising. Apart from this, look and feel is good.

Usability.
This phone has NO KEYBOARD. so for you text happy people, be prepared to use the stylus to type messages. This can get a little frustrating but the predictable text spelling does help.
The \"Orbit\" wheel acts very much like a scroll wheel on a traditional mouse and is handy when selecting menu items. In the centre of the Orbit Wheel is a trackball mouse that you click down to select items. Much quicker than getting the stylus out.
The Stylus itself is tucked away inside the device and simply slides out when needed. However you do need some nails to get it out of its hole!

Functionality.
Some great options come with this phone. Firstly it is one of the only phones to come with built in GPS. This is great if you have navigation software installed as you do not need a separate device to act as a receiver. The device itself comes with Windows Mobile 5 or 6 installed (mine has 5 but now comes with 6) Which gives you great access to most of the functionality you get with your PC, although somewhat cut down.
This phone is able to operate \"push email\" technology because of Windows Mobile 5. This allows me to keep up to date with my emails, calendar and tasks in real time. No dialling up to receive my email. It all arrives on my phone as if i was at work. This can be a bit twiddly to set up on your email server but its a doddle on the phone end!
Turn the phone over and you have a 2 Megapixel camera. This is great for taking random snaps when out and about and in some jobs im sure its invaluable but to me, I think its not that great a camera. 2 Megapixels just does not cut it anymore.
As windows Mobile is installed, the phone has full internet capability using Internet Explorer. Much easier to view than on smaller WAP phones as it has a nice large screen.

Connectivity.
The phone has a range of connectivity. You obviously have the standard phone network as well as Wi Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS and GPS. Add to this the \"hard wired\" connections of USB for direct connection to your PC. I use the USB connection so I can sync my files with my PC as well as use it as a handy way to charge it up. Direct charging from USB! You cant beat it!

Power consumption.
Suprisingly good as long as the Bluetooth is not used along with TomTom Navigator. Anything that uses the GPS device for too long will drain the battery. Otherwise its standby time and even talk time is amazing for something powering such a big colourful screen. Charging is simple and can be connected to an in car crager with Mini USB connection or the Mains to USB charger that comes with it. It also has a USB to mini USB lead with it.

Sound quality.
Really good. Loud and audible. The mic picks up your voice clearly and the loudspeaker function is one of the best hands free methods i have used. However selecting handsfree on the screen is a bit difficult and should not be attempted when driving as requires the stylus to select an option on screen. Talking is hands free but turning the option on is not!

Memory.
The Phone has built in 64Mb memory storage but this can be expanded using a micro SD card. One bad point about the SD card location is you need to take the battery and the SIM card out to access it. Not good when you need to remove it! The older XDA 2i had a slot at the top that allowed access while the device was still on.

Overall.
My experiences have been generally good apart from the screen breaking. Highly recommend it to someone who wants it to work with Exchange Server 2003 for email or wants a portable GPS navigation device built in. Top marks O2!

!!!UPDATE!!!
Just so you know, since writing this article, I have broken the screen for the 2nd time in 6 months! I know im heavy handed but this is beyond a joke. It is obviously a weakness in these phones. You have been warned!