HTC O2 Xda Orbit 2 review

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Verdict:

Review Date: 15 Aug 2008

Price when reviewed: £0

Supplier: http://www.o2.co.uk

Reviewed By: Jon Bray

Our Rating 3 stars out of 5

User Rating

O2's Xda Orbit 2 is actually an HTC phone in disguise, and it shares the same good looks and decent build quality as the other HTC handsets here.

It's one of the larger phones, and for bulk is beaten only by HP's 914c Business Navigator and O2's Xda Stellar handsets. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the advantages of these devices' keyboards or the HP's impressive battery life. The Orbit 2's battery lasted a below-average 10 hours and 22 minutes in our tests.

O2 has added to Windows Mobile's fiddly stylus-based onscreen keyboard with a custom version with large, finger-friendly panels. We also like the phone's physical controls. Below the screen is a button panel for controlling basic phone functions, with big keys that are easy to press. In its centre is a rotating ring that you can spin to navigate through lists of emails, contacts and files, as well as clicking on its four corners to navigate up, down, left and right.

The phone has good mobile data support, offering HSDPA speeds in areas of HSDPA coverage, so browsing the web and downloading email is fast. The Xda's headline feature is its GPS receiver and the bundled CoPilot Live 7 navigation software. It's the best mobile phone navigation software we've come across for Windows Mobile and comes pre-installed on a 1GB microSD card. The handset comes with a windscreen mount and car charger, too, so there's no need to buy extra bits and pieces.

Thanks to their integrated keyboards, HP's iPAQ 914c and Nokia's E71 are better smartphones for messaging. However, the Orbit 2 is well designed, and comes with integrated GPS and good navigation software. It's a good all-round Windows Mobile phone.

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