XDA Mini S, PDA/Mobile Phone > Reviews (13)

I had use this XDA for about 10 months now. Got it for a bargain price off O2's website - £49.99 @ £19/month for 12 months. It is even cheaper than this today.

The performance of this phone is quite slow, and it just freezes often, usually when do you remove it from an ActiveSync. Sometimes I feel like smashing it. But of course the correct solution is to hit the reset button, which is not ideal. Which brings me to the next point. After the reset, it will take about 2 minutes before it will be ready for use.

Features wise, it is pretty much Windows Mobile, so if you are a PDA user, there is nothing much to say about it. Other than it is SLOW. The main selling point for this PDA is that it comes with a QWERTY keyboard which makes typing really easy and fast. Way faster than any script or handwriting software on a PDA. This is very important, as the touch screen is not that good, and it is made worse when I put a screen protector on. This with the sluggish performance makes using the touch screen a pain when you try to dial a number.

Call quality is just acceptable. There is static and cracks in the sound of the other party. It seems to me that the reception on this unit is not too good when placed side by side with an SE K750i. However, there are no complains from the other side about my voice, which is an improvement over the Mini XDA.

The camera on this thing sucks big time. Even though it is a 1MP one; pictures taken just lack colour and contrast.

It does come with a mini SD slot, but no card. I installed the mini SD card that came with my Sanyo S700i (retired).

The sound on this thing is GREAT! It actually has built in stereo speakers. And if you plug in the headset, you can actually damage your hearing with it at maximum volume. The bass is surprisingly good for a non-Sony unit. The only thing that is lacking is a radio, and that is me just picking at it. This unit is great for watching movies or clips with great sound and a huge screen.

Despite all my moaning, I still like the features of the phone. You could not really go wrong with a PDA based phone if that is what you need. I would recommend it to LIGHT USERS only, as heavy users will kill themselves (or it) because of its sluggish performance. It has WiFi so you do not need to use an expensive GPRS if you are in a WiFi area. It is well worth the money.

Battery life is not bad, with light use, I can go for 3-4 days between charge.

This unit is retired now, having upgraded to a XDA Orbit. However I will miss the keyboard, which does not feature on the Orbit.

To sum it up:
Ease of use - Should be easy for anyone who uses Windows, mobile or not.
Look & feel - Its ok I suppose.
Durability & Robustness - Although I had never dropped it yet and kept it in the holder, the keyboard is still working fine.
Reception quality - Acceptable when sending, but not too good in receiving.
Battery standby time - Surprisingly good for a device with such a huge screen.
Battery talktime - Although I had not tried to run down the battery by talking (will loose all data), it lasted pretty well I would say.
Value for money - It is cheaper than some non-PDA phones.
Range of features - Its a PDA, what features do you need? Just install it!
Recommend to potential buyers? - Yes if you need a keyboard. Although it is too bulky to be consider a cool gadget.