Nokia E65

The good:

• Stylish design with great build quality
• Support for 3G, Wi-Fi and quadband
• Long-life battery

The bad:

• No second camera for voice calls
• No stereo headset
• No FM radio

The bottomline:

Easily one of the best looking handsets on the market with a good assortment of features including Wi-Fi, quadband support and Quickoffice, but the E65 is better suited to those after business chic rather than business geek.

It's rare these days for a mobile phone to impress us straight out of the box, but Nokia's latest addition to its E-series range proves that you can combine a fully functional business phone in a compact and attractive chassis. The E65 looks good and feels great, and is packed with enough features to lure both mobile professionals as well as the fashion conscious.

Design
The E65 marks a return to the stylish design of quality handsets such as Nokia's own 8800. Measuring in at just 105mm by 49mm by 15.5mm and weighing just 115 grams, the E65 is incredibly small given its list of features. Sliding the spring-loaded front panel upwards reveals a stylish keypad with well spaced buttons that have a solid feel. Push the slider down again and it snaps shut with a reassuring click.

The E65 includes several shortcut keys on its front for one-touch conference calls, muting and opening your contacts. There's also a "My Own" button you can program to load up your favourite application. Flip the handset over and you'll find a 2-megapixel digital camera surrounded by a leather-feel plastic surface. Strangely, for a 3G capable phone, the E65 lacks a second camera on the front panel for video calling.

The large 2.2-inch, 240 x 320 pixel display packs up to 16 million colours and comes with adjustments for the contrast and brightness. A sensor located below the power button can detect ambient light levels and adjusts the brightness of the keypad accordingly to save battery life. In the box you'll find a 256MB microSD card, connectivity cable, travel charger, carrying pouch and a mono headset.

Features
The E65 comes equipped with every connectivity feature you could ever need. There's support for quadband GSM, 3G, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g with VoIP support), EDGE, USB, infrared and Bluetooth version 1.2. Nokia has stuck with the S60 Symbian operating system, and this latest version is easy to navigate and has most functions located in the menu items you'd expect them to be.

Marketed as a business phone, the E65 comes with several office-based applications such as Quickoffice's document reader or Nokia's Team Suite organiser, plus you'll always stay connected with the instant messaging feature. You can't create Word or Excel files on the go, but this would be frustrating given the limited 2.2-inch display and lack of a full QWERTY keyboard.

When the work day is over, the E65 doubles as an entertainment system thanks to the inbuilt video or audio players and 50MB of onboard storage. You can sit back and watch MP4 files or listen to MP3/AAC tracks, but unless you plan to use the inbuilt speakerphone you'll need to purchase a stereo headset. The E65 also lacks an FM tuner.

To make life easier, Nokia has loaded the E65 with several voice command options, with voice dialling and voice controls for menu short cuts, keypad lock, and profiles. The phone also comes with the usual assortment of personal info managers including a calendar, contacts, to-do list, and notepad, all of which are accessible during calls.

Performance
Nokia's latest smartphone will please most users after a basic handset with a few added features but it's not entirely up to scratch as a fully fledged business model. Call quality was good but the speakerphone was too quiet even at maximum volume, which made it difficult to carry on a conversations whilst in the car or in crowded areas.

Images from the 2-megapixel camera were not up to Nokia's usual standard, turning out slightly grainy even in the highest resolution mode. It didn't help that most camera phones in this price range are now equipped with larger pixel CCDs, and that the E65 also lacked a LED flash or self-portrait mirror. You can improve image quality slightly by playing around with the white balance and colour tones, but we wouldn't rely on using the images for printing photographs.

Battery life was good, with the BL-5F lithium unit charging up quickly and going the distance even with our heavy usage. The phone lasted close to five hours on talk and almost a week on standby, which should be more than enough for most users.

Demanding business users after a replacement for their PDAs are likely to be disappointed by the E65 as it's better suited to general consumers after a stylish and compact handset with a few extra bells and whistles.

Battery

• Talk time
• 6

• Standby time
• 264

Camera

• Camera resolution
• 2-megapixel

Connectivity

• Networks
• GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900

• Wireless technology
• Bluetooth, Infrared

• Data services
• EDGE, GPRS, WLAN

• USB connectivity
• Yes

Display

• Main display: Screen resolution
• 240 x 320 pixels

• Main display: Number of colours
• 16 million

Functionality

• Operating system
• Symbian

General

• Form factor
• Slider

• Phone type
• Quadband

• Dimensions (W x D x H)
• 105 x 49 x 15.5 mm

• Weight
• 115 g

Memory

• Internal memory
• 50 MB

• Memory card included
• 256MB microSD card

• Expansion slot
• microSD

Physical features

• Available colours
• Mocha, Red

• Included accessories
• Carrying pouch, Mono headset

HTC TyTN 2 review

Introduction

When it comes to eagerly anticipated handset releasses, they don't come much bigger than this. For me personally, the HTC Kaiser is the culmination of many years of Pocket PC development by HTC. Over the past few years HTC has been pushing the envelope of Pocket PC designs and features. The introduction of 2.8" screens, integrated GPS, QWERTY sliding keyboards, 3G, HSDPA, Dual Cameras... all innovations by HTC over the years, many of which we've come to take to granted.

Up until now, compromise has been the order of the day. Want GPS? Then you can't have QWERTY. Want a compact form factor? Then you can't have a QWERTY either, unless you give up 3G. There have been some great devices (HTC Trinity, HTC Herald)... but the device we all really want hasn't quite existed.

Enter the HTC Kaiser.

You can imagine the design brief for the HTC engineers. "Let's take the HTC Herald / Atlas slim QWERTY form factor, and stuff in as much as we can. Let's not leave anything out. Let's include a fast (new generation) processor, tons of ROM and RAM, 3G, HSDPA, HSUPA, GPS, thumbwheel, lots of hardware buttons, a 3 Megapixel camera to set new benchmarks in the Windows Mobile world, a sprung QWERTY keyboard and - what the heck - let's dream up a cool new party piece too."

So well have they executed their brief? I'm lucky enough to have a HTC Kaiser handset sitting with me right now, and i'm going to take you through it and give you my verdict. Enjoy

One final point before we get started - HTC have NOT finalised the ROM for this device. Anything software related in this review is subject to change, and it's not inconceivable there could be very minor hardware variations in operator versions (as we say with the Hermes HERM100 / 200 / 300). Primarily though, this is what you'll be buying in the shops around August time!

In the box

My Kaiser arrived in the typical 'HTC pre-production unit' white box. The box contained the standard fare...

- HTC Kaiser handset
- Mains charger
- USB sync cable
- ExtUSB headset

I understand that for the HTC unit at least, this (with the addition of a soft case) is what is expected to be in the retail package, together with the normal documentation and software bundle of course.

Hardware - overview

Holding the Kaiser in your hand, you'll notice that it feels weighty, and yet is compact in size. Indeed, my unit tips the scales at around 190g - no lightweight, but for me at least - acceptable.

The claimed specs...

- Windows Mobile 6 Professional
- Qualcomm MSM7200 Chipset @ 400MHz
- 256MB ROM
- 128MB RAM
- 2.8" QVGA screen
- GPRS + EDGE + UMTS + HSDPA + HSUPA
- WiFi
- Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
- USB 2.0
- 3 Megapixel primary camera
- VGA secondary camera
- 1350mAh battery
- Thumbwheel
- ExtUSB
- microSD expansion
- Spring assisted QWERTY keyboard with tilt

As you can see, you're not left wanting for much. The only real omissions are a VGA screen, which is starting to appear on some of it's competitors and a radio (for both FM stations and TMC traffic information). IR is of course missing, but this is in line with recent HTC devices and their stated plans to discontinue IR support.

Hardware - around the device

Let me walk you around the device, starting with the front face.

Most of the front is dominated by the dark grey 'brushed aluminium' effect, which is framed by shiny black plastic previously seen on 'Trinity' devices such as the HTC P3600 and the SPV M700. At the top left sits the forward facing video camera (VGA resolution), next to the speaker which itself has a notification LED on each side. The top right of the device will be home to the branding, at least on the HTC units. Below the speaker sits the 2.8" screen, which is bevelled into the device slightly in order to provide it with a degree of protection. This also denotes that the Kaiser will not be a 'Touch' equipped device, as such devices have a flush screen covered with reinforced plastic. Next we come to the front hardware buttons and directional pad which, as regular readers will know, are SO important to me! Thankfully, everything is top drawer here. An excellent directional pad is flanked by soft keys, dedicated PIE and mail keys, red and green call keys and the all important Start / OK buttons. So far, top marks.

Flipping the device over to view the back, the shiny black coating remains and simplicity is the order of the day. At the top left is a plastic cover behind which lie connections for attaching external GPS or GSM antennas. Below right of this is the camera (3 Megapixels autofocus with no flash) and the speaker. The back of the device is something of a fingerprint magnet, but looks smart when clean and shiny!

The bottom of the device has a lanyard loop, the extUSB connector, a reset pin, the microphone hole, and on the top sliding section - the microSD slot with a rubber cover.

The left of the device has a voice dial / memo key, the thumbwheel and the accompanying 'OK' button.

The right of the device has the power button, a two stage camera button (focus / take shot) and the stylus silo. The stylus is of the full length (non telescopic) type. Hurrah!

The top of the device has no buttons

The whole device has a magician-esque (althought to a lesser extent) 'ribbed' plastic effect around the side, which aids holding the device with a firm grip.

When the device is opened (with the satisfying spring assisted mechanism previously seen on the HTC P4350 / T-Mobile Wing and also the HTC Vox based Smartphones), the excellent rubberised keyboard is revealed. As is standard fare now, Cap and FN indicator lights are present, which are a very useful addition, Due to the tilt mechanism, the screen slides slightly further upwards compared to other devices with spring assisted keyboards, which actually makes tapping the 'soft key' mapped hardware buttons easier. When the device is open, flipping it over reveals the SIM slot, built into the back of the screen.

We mentioned previously the Kaiser's party piece, and it is the tilting screen. After sliding the screen open, it can be tilted upwards - perfect for when you have the device sitting next to you on a desk, or if you're using the device on a table.

Software

I mentioned in the introduction to this review that the ROM has not been finalised as yet for the Kaiser, and for that reason I am not going to go into detail on the software side - I will update this section later. I will however give you an overview of significant developments on the device.

Firstly it's worth noting that even though this is a preproduction ROM which will still receive a number of revisions before launch, it is extremely fast and stable. I switch to the Kaiser from a T-Mobile Wing (200MHz OMAP) and of course it is way, way faster. Even compared to the Trinity, which has a 400MHz processor, it feels snappy.

The Kaiser runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional of course, which is fantastically well suited to the device. The QWERTY keyboard means you can make the most of the new smart filtering in Outlook Mobile, and Windows Mobile 6 is easier than ever to use without needing to touch the screen thanks to the plethora of hardware buttons on the device and sharpened up UI.

Each operator will of course be customising the software to varying degrees. The HTC branded device will be a fairly base build, featuring all the standard Windows Mobile 6 offerings plus the usual HTC customisations (additional homescreen plugins, task manager, camera application etc). The camera application is slightly improved and updated for the Kaiser. HTC have also partnered with 'Hubdog', and their content application will be included on the Kaiser out of the box. I have also had brief sight of the AT&T Kaiser prototype, which had the usual suite of additional applications such as MusicID, Video, Music etc. The only other firmly rumoured Kaiser-launching operator is T-Mobile, who will likely make only slight tweaks to the interface for their 'Web n Walk' branding.

In use

So far so good, but now the acid test... what's it like to use?

You hold the attractive yet functionally designed device in your hand, and marvel at the solid build, and the weight! After tapping the power button on the right hand side of the device, it sparks into life... and boots up quickly! It's not feature-phone quick, but you can tell there's considerable horsepower under the bonnet of this baby. It bodes well

Up comes the usual Windows Mobile 6 setup wizard, which you step through. Again, snappy. The ExtROM customisations are applied, and finally you're ready to play. So... what first?

"Well, i'm an Exchange user, so the first thing I need to do is to get my GPRS connections setup etc. If you have a HTC branded device, a wizard pops up to do it for you. If you have an operator branded device, then no problem, it's all done for you already. That's easy enough, so I click the Start Menu and run Activesync. Wow, it is responsive!

I now need to enter my credentials, so it's time to get the keyboard out. Rotate the device clockwise, slide the screen upwards with that oh-so-satisfying click and the OS rotates to landscape quickly and smoothly (this action also turns the device on if it's off). A rather annoying 'keyboard open sound' is played at this point - mental note, 'must turn that off'. I quickly enter my details using the rubberised keypad that I loved so much on the HTC P4350 and T-Mobile Wing, and kick off the sync. This is the first time I notice that i'm in a 3G area, with the '3G' icon on the top bar. As the sync gets going, this switches to 'H' and the magical HSDPA kicks in. Sweet.

Time for a cup of tea while that syncs up, so I sit the device on the desk and tilt the screen up at an angle - that new Kaiser feature. Oh, this is sweet. The tilt mechanism doesn't click into place and feels 'soft' compared to the positive action of opening the keyboard, but this in turn allows you to choose any screen angle that suits you. Excellent.



The sync is now done, and it's time to have a play. I install my favourite apps - some to the internal memory, some to the storage card. With 256MB ROM and 128MB RAM, you don't need to be anywhere near as prudent with on device installs as with previous devices. Now for some fun.... I open PIE, CamerAware, my massive Exchange mailbox, my blogging client and then, just for fun, TomTom - waiting for it to fall over with a lack of memory. It doesn't! I close that, launch iGo... same deal. It starts. Now this is the way Pocket PC was always SUPPOSED to work. Ah ha - I know what'll kill it! Opening the Camera! But nope, you guessed it, it just loads right up."

Honestly, that's a fairly accurate representation of my first 20 minutes with the Kaiser. For the record, I was seriously impressed.

Since then, I've obviously used the device a lot more, and still my experiences are good. Let's look at the things people always seem to care most about. The camera is surprisingly good for a HTC device! I've posted some pics below that i've taken with the phone, a few general shots and a few closeups. For a phone camera, this will do be just fine. The battery life, although i'm reluctant to comment too much as the device is preproduction and i've been hammering the hell out of it, seems to be on par if not better than on my Trinity - i'd expect this to improve before release too. The build quality is solid, with no great amount of flex or movement in any direction. The thumbwheel IS a real thumbwheel (i.e. it goes round and round and round) The call quality and volume is excellent, probably the best call clarity i've ever heard on a Windows Mobile device! The USB connection seems to be extremely fast. I'm told it's USB 2, and I can believe it.

I know a lot of people will be very interested in the GPS functionality, but at this time, the Radio ROM that provides GPS functionality isn't complete, so operation is flakey. For that reason, i'll cover this too at a later date.

In conclusion

So there you have it. I've been waiting a long time for my dream machine to come along, and I thought the Kaiser was it. And it seems I was right. As ever, i'll reserve final judgement until I have the final device... i'm pretty comfortable saying that the Kaiser is going to blow everyone away when it hits the shelves. I wonder how the competition and even HTC themselves are going to better it (although of course they will), and take my hat of to HTC for their achievement.

It's quite simply awesome. Don't use your upgrade yet, start saving the pennies, forget the iPhone (and the Touch) and put your preorder in for THIS device. You won't be disappointed.

Paul's HTC P4550 Kaiser Pros and Cons

Pros:

- Massive specification
- Great keyboard
- Great camera
- Attractive yet functional and innovative design
- Buckets of RAM and ROM show Pocket PC in it's best ever implementation

Cons:

- Quite heavy
- Not VGA
- No FM radio or TMC

Paul O'Brien - Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices, MoDaCo.network Founder

HTC TyTN review

What is it: A Pocket PC with a substantial range of connectivity options and a slide-out Qwerty keypad

What we think: We like the impressive range of connectivity options, Direct Push email and the ability to synchronise with our Windows PC, but it is a little too chunky

HTC, the company behind O2's XDA range, Orange's SPV range and T-Mobile's MDA range, has now launched the HTC TyTN (pronounced titan). This is one of the first HTC-branded phones, and is the first Windows Mobile device with HSDPA (Super 3G) connectivity.

You can use this phone to synchronise with your Windows PC, receive emails instantly via Direct Push email or browse the Web over a Wi-Fi, 3G and HSDPA connection. It looks similar to the O2 XDA mini S but has more features and power than even the almighty O2 XDA exec.

HTC has said this device should be available by the end of July this year. The company will still provide network-branded devices in addition to HTC ones, so you may also be able to buy the TyTN under a different name with a UK network. According to HTC, the device will start retailing at around £549 without contract.

Strengths
The HTC TyTN runs Windows Mobile, which means you can access and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, browse the Web using Internet Explorer, and even play music and video on the mini Windows Media Player. Windows Mobile also gives you the ability to use MSN Messenger and Hotmail, check your personal email via Direct Push Technology and Exchange 2003 SP2, and even access your calendar, contacts, tasks and inbox over the air. The TyTN is all about communication, and features tri-band UMTS, quad-Band EDGE, infrared, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so you won't be lacking in ways to keep in touch.

Although the TyTN bears some resemblance to the O2 XDA mini S, it is powered by a 400MHz Samsung stacked CPU with 128MB ROM and 64MB SDRAM. This is a significant improvement on the mini S, which only has a 200MHz processor, and it's the fastest processor to date. This makes accessing applications faster and means that unlike previous HTC models this device can handle Skype without any problem.

Navigating through the phone is made easier and faster by the TyTN's scroll wheel on the left side of the handset. There's also a cleverly hidden Qwerty keypad that slides out from underneath the TyTN. When in use, it automatically puts the screen into landscape mode and lights up if it's dark. The TyTN's screen measures 45mm wide by 60mm tall, which is large enough to view Web pages and documents without needing to squint.

The screen is good to take photos with, and fortunately the TyTN comes with a 2-megapixel camera that can be put in landscape and macro mode. There's also a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) camera at the front of the device so you can make video calls. We like the OK button on the left-hand side that takes you straight back to the home page, and the easy-to-access microSD card slot.

Finally, we're impressed with the battery life that lasted for the quoted 200 hours on standby and around 4 hours of talk time. This is without using the Wi-Fi adaptor however, which would decrease battery life significantly.

Weaknesses
Our main problem with Windows Mobile devices is that they are less straightforward to use than other mobile phones. If you're not used to Windows Mobile then buying this device as your first mobile phone would not be advisable. Making calls with the TyTN on the Windows Mobile interface can be testing at times too, as you have to use the touch screen or slide-out Qwerty keypad to dial numbers.

The TyTN isn't small either. Measuring 58 by 112 by 22mm, it may have difficulty fitting into your pocket and, if you can make it fit, the 180g is likely to weigh down your suit jacket pocket or pair of jeans.

The addition of a 2-megapixel camera, however, might prove a disadvantage for business use, given that some companies don't allow camera phones in their buildings. Another problem some people might find with the TyTN is that most digital cameras use SD cards and not microSD ones, so you won't be able to view your photos on the device until you've transferred them over to your computer.

Conclusion
The TyTN is one of HTC's best devices to date and we're glad to see it is branching out and branding its own devices as well as still providing network-branded ones. With the slide-out Qwerty keypad, HSDPA capabilities and a plethora of other connectivity options, this is definitely a Pocket PC to be reckoned with. It's rather chunky though, and we'd like to see smaller Wi-Fi-enabled devices in the future.

Reviewed by: Andrew Lim

Edited by Mary Lojkine
Additional editing by Kate Macefield

By CNET UK

Motorola RAZR MAXX V6

The good:

• Handles multimedia very well
• Thinner than the V3x
• Shows off Next G internet and video capabilities nicely

The bad:

• Performance issues
• Basic design has been around since 2004
• Need to buy a microSD card if you want to store a lot of songs

The bottomline:

It's a little unstable and the menu needs a revamp, but the MAXX offers an easy way to dive into Next G.

Design
Take a look at any phone from Motorola's RAZR line-up, from the original V3 to the garishly golden D&G model, and you'll see the basic design of the MAXX. More than two years since the RAZR form factor first appeared, Motorola is still clinging to the now iconic look, with just a few tweaks to the surfaces and specs.

The MAXX sees the addition of three touch-sensitive music keys beneath the external display that light up when pressed. The materialising keys are eerily similar to the song navigation keys that appear on the glassy black surface of the clamshell LG U830. Let's not cry copycat though -- LG's buttons are red while the MAXX's are electric blue. (If you take a look at Samsung's A701, you'll also see the same external button line-up, this time rendered in white.)

At 53mm by 104.5mm by 15.5mm and weighing 105g, the MAXX is thinner and lighter than Motorola's 3G V3x, but a few millimetres thicker than the original V3. The internal display is bright and built for Web browsing, with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels.

There's just one port on the MAXX: a mini USB jack that accepts an AC charger, USB cable or headset. Simplicity can be a virtue, but the single socket doesn't allow for multitasking while you're powering up. The microSD slot is also not accessible without opening the back cover -- it's hidden underneath the battery.

In comparing Moto's recent models with the phones released by the likes of Nokia and Sony Ericsson, we can't help but observe that Motorola seems to be doing a bit of laurel-resting. While the original RAZR represented a smoking-hot shake-up of the mobile market, it was released over two years ago. It's fine to bask in the glow that a hugely successful product brings, but if Motorola is going to keep releasing phones that are near-identical in design, we'd like to at least see an interface overhaul -- those menu graphics are beginning to look pretty dated.

Features
As with the Samsung A701, many of the MAXX's noteworthy features come from the Telstra Next G network rather than the phone itself. Due to the higher downloads speeds possible on HSDPA, video has been given star billing, with Telstra offering news services and Foxtel on Next G handsets.

The music player can handle a variety of formats including MP3, WMA, WAV and AAC files, but you'll need to shell out for a microSD card if you want to build up a formidable playlist: the internal memory is 50MB.

A 2-megapixel camera above the external display and a VGA version on the inside of the clamshell hinge round out the photo- and video-capture facilities.

There is also support for the A2DP Bluetooth profile, meaning the phone is compatible with wireless stereo headphones.

Performance
Our MAXX suffered from a few inexplicable quirks -- occasionally it took the questionable initiative to turn itself off after being left alone for a few hours, and required a reboot. It also froze a couple of times during Web browsing.

The blue music navigation buttons that materialise on the phone's external surface look very smart, but can be a little slow to respond to touch. Because they are sections of the glossy shell, rather than actual buttons, it can be difficult to tell whether your touches have registered, meaning you may occasionally skip through more tracks than intended.

Given the music keys' sensitivity, you will also want to ensure that you lock the phone from accidental touches when listening to your tunes. This can be done by scrolling through the music menu using the up/down button on the left.

The MAXX handles multiple tasks well; if you are listening to a song while browsing the Web, and encounter online audio or video, the song will stop, then resume after you've had your Internet multimedia fix.

With the higher download speeds of HSDPA, cruising around the Web is a much smoother experience than you'll get via WAP. The Opera 8 browser is fine, but lacks the funky extra features (such as mini snapshots of full Web pages) found in Nokia's series 60 browser. Due to the text entry method, filling in forms online also takes longer than it would on a Sony Ericsson or Nokia phone.

We found the PC software (Motorola Phone Tools) easy to use for transferring multimedia to and from the phone and syncing information with Outlook.

If you're a fan of the RAZR form factor, and want to get a piece of the fast-mobile-downloads action, the MAXX will serve you better than the chunkier V3x. It did prove a little unstable during our testing though, and a quick survey of online opinions suggests we weren't alone in experiencing a performance issue or two. If you're more interested in the offerings of Telstra's Next G network, we'd suggest taking a look at the very similar-looking (but slightly less jazzy) Samsung A701.

Battery

• Talk time
• 4

• Standby time
• 330

Camera

• Camera resolution
• 2-megapixel

• Digital zoom
• 8 x

• Video capture
• Yes

Connectivity

• Networks
• GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900

• Wireless technology
• 3G, Bluetooth (A2DP)

• USB connectivity
• Yes

Display

• Main display: Screen resolution
• 240 x 320 pixels

• Main display: Number of colours
• 262k

• Secondary display: number of colours
• 65k

Entertainment

• Video player
• Yes

• Music player
• Yes

Functionality

• Supported audio file formats
• AAC, AAC+, AAC+ Enhanced, AMR NB, AMR WB, MP3, RA v9, WAV, WMA v9, XMF

• Supported video file formats
• MPEG4, WMV v9 ,RV v9, H.263

• Video calls
• Yes

• Web browser
• Opera 8

General

• Phone type
• Fashion

• Form factor
• Clamshell

• Dimensions (W x D x H)
• 53 x 15.5 x 104.5 mm

• Weight
• 105 g

Memory

• Internal memory
• 50 MB

• Expansion slot
• MicroSD

By CNET Au

02 XDA Zinc

Rating: 7 out of 10

The good: Slide-out QWERTY keyboard; solid feel; wide range of connectivity options including A2DP; faster Intel processor compared with the 838 Pro.

The bad: Soft keys hinder typing; 2.5mm audio jack; no HSDPA; average battery life.

The bottom line: With a faster processor, the Xda Zinc has a slight performance edge over the Dopod 838 Pro but falls short by a slight margin in terms of aesthetics. Unless you're looking for a QWERTY handheld, there're more options out there.

By Damian Koh
Mar 02, 2007

The Xda Zinc is O2's answer to a touchscreen handheld with a QWERTY keyboard. It's not for everyone, though, as you can tell by its size--you couldn't put in your shirt pocket without feeling the weight. Features-wise, mobile professionals who frequently edit Office documents will find the keyboard a godsend, while there are others who will probably be content with just a numeric keypad, sans the bulk. Although the Xda Zinc retails at S$1,298 (US$853.05), S$100 (US$65.01) more affordable than the Dopod 838 Pro, you give up on certain feature, such as HSDPA connectivity and BlackBerry Connect.

Design
At 109 x 58 x 22.6mm and 175g, O2's Xda Zinc is about the same size and weight as the Dopod 838 Pro. Side-by-side, the curvaceous Dopod is undeniably sexier dressed in black-and-silver compared with the matte-gray casing and silver trimmings on the O2. But other than the QWERTY keyboard that slides out from beneath, which is about all that's similar on the two handhelds, both Windows Mobile 5.0 devices are, in fact, not quite the same.

At a cursory glance, we find more dedicated buttons on the Dopod that provide quick access to frequently used applications for surfing the Web, managing wireless connections, reading messages and voice dialing. But the O2 is not without its merits, either. There's a Hold switch on the left edge and the individual keys on the QWERTY keyboard are larger with slightly better tactile feedback, although some may prefer the softer pitch from typing on the 838 Pro. Over at the back of the unit you'll find a 2-megapixel camera with self-portrait mirror, LED strobe flash and onboard speakers.

What we didn't fancy was the location of the two soft buttons on the keyboard that eat into the W, E, U and I keys. Chances are you'll end up with unwanted keypresses, more so if you are a hasty typist or typing while on a moving train. When you slide out the keyboard, the screen switches to landscape orientation almost immediately. Unlike the slimmer Xda Atom Life, the 2.8-inch LCD on the Zinc has a wider viewing angle, so your friends beside you would be able to watch the latest video clip without having to peer over your shoulder.

In our hands, the QWERTY keyboard was easy to use and lit up adequately for typing in dim light. Larger keys also meant our thumbs had to maneuver a longer horizontal distance which took a little bit of getting used to. If we had our way, we'd have preferred a little more room between each individual key. Overall handling felt very solid, though it would have been better if the keyboard slid out and locked into position more smoothly.

The Xda Zinc charges and synchronizes with the PC via a standard mini-USB port, but falls short with a 2.5mm audio jack (considering its size, there certainly appears to be enough room for a 3.5mm port) which is incompatible with most standard earphones. So you're stuck with the bundled stereo wired headset with microphone unless you purchase an adapter.

Features
The O2 Xda Zinc runs on Windows Mobile 5.0, which allows you to read, view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint (open and view only) documents directly on the handset. You also get the usual multimedia features like Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer and MSN Messenger so you can conduct online chats or Web browsing over Wi-Fi, 3G or GPRS networks.

Other wireless connectivity features on this triband (900/1800/1900MHz) Zinc include Bluetooth, A2DP and infrared. No FM radio or HSDPA support, though. If you're on an Exchange Server, you can also synchronize the device with the server via the ActiveSync program.

Synchronization with the desktop and Outlook is a breeze. Once both terminals are connected, you'll get a prompt to set up a new user profile (if connected for the first time) and the ActiveSync program will go on to sync data between your desktop and the handheld. If you're traveling, connecting the Zinc to your PC would trickle charge the device.

Unless you rip the handheld apart, you won't see the important difference between the Xda Zinc and the 838 Pro: The Xda Zinc is powered by an Intel XScale PXA 270 processor that runs at 520MHz with 64MB of RAM and 128MB of ROM compared with the 400MHz Samsung CPU on the Dopod. Screen-wise, the large 2.8-inch, 240 x 320-pixel touchscreen LCD is easy on the eyes for document viewing, although this appeared washed-out when we were taking pictures outdoors.

The Xda Zinc comes installed with a number of proprietary software to enhance user experience. There's AutoInstall, AutoConfigurator (adjusts network settings), Connect (ROM updates), MessagePlus (one-stop place for checking messages), SMS Plus and Phone Plus (additional dialing features). Unless you can remember all 1,000 numbers on your handheld, we'd recommend you install the Phone Plus program when you first power up the device. What it does is enable smart dialing so that when you key in 2, 6, 3 and 8 on the onscreen numeric pad, you'll get a filtered list of phonebook entries beginning with "CNET".

Another useful and convenient feature is the O2 Plus program which allows you to switch between open applications by tapping and holding the cross button on the top right corner--the action calls up the list of running programs. Just think of it as a taskbar on your Windows PC.

There are two cameras on this Zinc: One on the front for video calls and the other at the back with a 2-megapixel CMOS fixed-focus sensor. Unlike the 838 Pro, the camera on the face of the Xda Zinc doesn't sit flush with the surface of the phone and that could result in potential scratches. The addition of the camera could also force some business users to look elsewhere given that some companies or industries don't allow camera-phones on their premises.

Unlike the Dopod 838 Pro which uses the microSD/TransFlash card, the Xda Zinc employs the miniSD format for additional memory. You slot the card in on the left edge of the handset. To remove it, you need to press the media further in (having nails would help) and the card will snap out halfway from the slot.

Performance
The Xda Zinc runs on a 1,300mAh Lithium-ion battery (handheld shuts down when you remove the battery cover) and is rated for 5 hours of talktime and up to 220 hours on standby over GSM networks. You can expect the figures to be lower if you're a heavy user who thrives on wireless LAN and streams music to a Bluetooth headset. On regular usage, that is if you make only a few calls, text a few buddies while chalking up new game scores on the machine, the Zinc should be able to last up to 2.5 days before calling it quits.

During tests, applications loaded almost instantly even though there were programs running in the background. Video playback (116MB, 320 x 180-pixel video file at 24bits) was smooth and our music was moderately loud, although it would have been better if the speakers were on the face of the handheld, rather than behind. It wouldn't matter much if you're indoors, but when you're watching a video clip outdoors the audio would be projected away from you and, together with other ambient noise, sound output wouldn't be fascinating. Picture quality, on the other hand, was average at best. Some of our pictures turned out blurred because it wasn't possible to pre-focus on the unit.

During our review, we encountered situations where the time zone shifted to -8GMT (we set to +8GMT as our default) without us having to do anything, which ends up affecting our calendar entries. Problem is, an unsuspecting user could go for his appointments 12 hours later than the scheduled time if he didn't switch back to his local time zone. According to O2, this is a Windows Mobile issue and a ROM update (some time in March or April) should rectify it.

Physical design

Form factor - Slider

Dimensions

109 x 58 x 22.6 mm

Weight w/battery

175 g

Primary display resolution

320 x 240 pixels

Phone type

Triband

Networks

GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900

Connectivity options

3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/GSM, Infrared, USB

Messaging features

SMS, Predictive text input, Email, Instant message

Ringtone options

MP3 ringtones

Polyphony

64

Calling Features

Speakerphone

Multimedia

Built-in digital camera?

Yes

Maximum camera resolution

2 megapixels

Camera sensor type

CMOS

Maximum digital zoom

x

Maximum optical zoom

x

Imaging features

Onboard flash

Audio jack type

2.5mm

Video features

Video recording, Video playback

Additional multimedia features

Secondary VGA camera; stereo speaker; preview mirror for self portrait; 802.11b/g wireless LAN; playback support: MIDI, MP3, WMA, WAV, AMR-NB, AAC

PDA

Operating system

Pocket PC

Main processor type

Intel XScale PXA 270 processor

Main processor speed
520 MHz

RAM
64 MB

ROM

128 MB

Expansion option(s)

miniSD

PC connectivity

Windows

Battery type

Rechargeable, removable 1,300mAh Lithium-polymer battery

Removable battery?

Yes

Rated battery life

5 hours

Installed applications

Windows Mobile 5.0 and its applications; O2 exclusive applications; other software applications

Included accessories

Battery, AC adapter, stereo headset, leather pouch, mini USB cable, additional stylus, Getting Started CD, Quick Start Guide and user manual.

Display

Monochrome or color
Color

No. of colors

16 bit

Touch screen

Yes

Backlit display

Yes

Data Input

Method

Keyboard, Pen

Interfaces

Infrared

Yes

Audio

Built-in speakers?

Yes

Built-in mic?

Yes

Desktop Connectivity

Desktop software included

Yes

Synchronization with desktop

Yes

Power supply

Batteries rechargeable?

Yes

AC adaptor included?

Yes

Warranty

Base warranty

1 year

Nokia N70

The good:

• 2.0 Megapixel Digital Camera
• Good battery life

The bad:

• PC Suite is still fiddly
• Small dialling buttons

The bottomline:

The N70 offers an excellent camera inside a reasonably good 3G phone casing.

Design
music phone and The N70 is the baby of Nokia's "Next Generation" N series phones that also includes the N90 camera phone, N91N92 video phone. It's in the very familiar candybar design shape, although the screen is somewhat larger than most candybar phones. It measures in at 108.8x53x24mm with a total weight of 126g, making it a relatively light 3G camera phone.

The front display of the N70 is dominated by the large and clear 176x208 pixel display, underneath which sit the dialling and soft keys. From a buttons and switches perspective, there's really not much to see on the N70's front facing, but the rear of the phone hides more enticing functionality.

The rear of the N70 consists of a large sliding panel that moves downwards to reveal the camera lens and integrated flash. Moving the slider down automatically launches the camera application from wherever you are in the phone's operating system, making it a (groan) snap to take simple digital pictures.

Features
The N70 unit we tested with was supplied to us by Vodafone, and naturally enough, it works on Vodafone's 3G network under the Vodafone Live! banner. Outside 3G coverage areas, that'll drop down to standard GSM coverage and a limited subset of the Vodafone Live! offerings. From a technical perspective, it's a GSM 900/1800/1900 phone. The N70 also comes with integrated Bluetooth and supports Pictbridge printing for ease of photo printing.

On the software side, the N70 supports visual radio applications, comes with RealPlayer installed as well as a small suite of business-type applications. Of all the N series mobiles, this is the one that you're most likely to convince your boss to buy you for the office, if only because the leisure applications are better hidden than with the clearly musical or photo aspirations of the other N series mobiles. Connectivity is once again provided by Nokia's PC Suite Software.

Like the N90, the N70 features a 2.0 Megapixel camera with a suprising amount of clarity for a mobile phone camera. If you're very keen on mobile phone photography, we'd still recommend the N90 over the N70, but if you want happy snaps that you might actually want to keep for later, the N70's a good choice.

The N70 offers up to 22MB of internal memory for storage. With the quantity of downloadable 3G data out there, not to mention the phone's inbuilt music and photo offerings, that's likely to be gobbled up rather quickly. For additional storage the N70 uses RS-MMC (reduced size MultiMedia Card). The slot for these is on the right hand side of the phone, and our test sample came with a 128MB RS-MMC card.

Performance
As either a 3G or GSM phone, the N70 performs quite well. We tested just outside Vodafone's 3G coverage area -- in fact, we continually dropped in and out of coverage within the one household, which made for some interesting download experiences. The N70's dialling pad is quite small, and those who like larger buttons to jab at while calling might find it a touch irksome.

As with the N90, the N70's 2 megapixel camera provides good visuals for many shots, although as previously stated the N90's definitely the model to go for if you want a small pocket camera phone. One big plus in the N70's design is the drop-down shutter, as it's quite quick to react and launch the camera application.

The N70's display is good and clear in both bright and dark conditions. The inclusion of Realplayer, combined with 3G downloads allowed us to test video quality on the display as well. While it's not quite up there with the Sony PSP or Apple iPod Video (and that's partly to do with the Realplayer codec as much as anything else) video trailers and music clips were clear to view, albeit a little noisy at full volume.

Nokia rates the N70's 970mAh Lithium Ion battery as being good for up to 3.5 hours talk time and up to 11 days standby. In our testing we averaged around 7 days inbetween recharges with a moderate level of usage, although that's a figure that could vary quite widely depending on how much use you made of battery sapping features such as Bluetooth.

Those on a very tight budget could consider other 3G capable mobiles -- Vodafone themselves have the Motorola V1050 at a cheaper price at the time of writing -- but for the features it offers and the overall quality of the phone and camera, it's hard to fault the Nokia N70.

Battery

• Talk time
• 3.5

• Standby time
• 264

Camera

• Camera resolution
• 2-megapixel

• Video capture
• Yes

Connectivity

• Networks
• Dual mode WCDMA/GSM and triband GSM coverage (GSM 900/1800/1900 and WCDMA 2100 networks)

• Wireless technology
• Bluetooth

• USB connectivity
• Yes

Display

• Main display: Screen resolution
• 176 x 208 pixels

• Main display: Number of colours
• 262,144 colours

Entertainment

• Video player
• Yes

Functionality

• Input method
• T9

• Ringtone options
• True Tones, Polyphonic

• Video calls
• Yes

General

• Phone type
• 3G

• Form factor
• Clamshell

Memory

• Memory card included
• MMC

• Expansion slot
• RS-MMC

Messaging

• Messaging options
• MMS

Other

• Other features
• Reduced size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC); Dedicated shutter key and camera activation slide; Two-way video call capability; Real time video sharing; Integrated flash (operating range up to 1.5m); Flash modes: on, off, automatic, and anti red-eye; Advanced camera modes: still, sequence, video; Six possible capture scene settings including scenery, portrait, night and sports; Video and still image editors; Movie Director for automated video production

By CNET Au

Samsung U100

Upside
The Samsung U100 resembles the Motorola MOTOFONE F3, albeit a MOTOFONE with plenty of bling added on the sides. It's a very thin and very sleek 2G phone with integrated 3.2-megapixel camera and "around" 50MB of internal memory, according to Samsung representatives.

Downside
On the minus side, there's no external memory slot, so the internal memory is all you're going to get. It's also somewhat on the large side -- we could easily imagine slipping it into a pants pocket, forgetting about it, and doing either it or ourselves some damage if we sat up the wrong way.

On the much more significant minus side, the model Samsung had on show refused to power on for us, so we can't tell you much about the user interface or battery life.

Outlook
The Samsung U100 is likely to be available shortly through Virgin mobile.

Battery

• Talk time
• 2.5

• Standby time
• 192

Camera

• Camera resolution
• 3-megapixel

• Digital zoom
• 4 x

• Video capture
• Yes

Connectivity

• Networks
• GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900

• Wireless technology
• Bluetooth

• USB connectivity
• Yes

Display

• Main display: Screen resolution
• 220 x 176 pixels

• Main display: Number of colours
• 262K

Entertainment

• Video player
• Yes

• Music player
• Yes

Functionality

• Input method
• Numerical keypad

• Supported audio file formats
• AAC, AAC+, MP3, WMA

• Supported video file formats
• MPEG-4

Memory

• Internal memory
• 70 MB

Physical features

• Available colours
• Black

By CNET Au

O2 Graphite

The good:

• Large feature list
• Small size
• ong-life battery

The bad:

• Average build quality
• Speaker volume is too low

The bottomline:

O2's latest phone combines many of the features of a PDA with the latest in mobile phone technology including 3G support, push e-mail and video conferencing all in conventional looking handset.

O2 recently launched its new 3G mobile lineup with the new Xda Zinc and Graphite smartphones. There are currently two types of Windows Mobile devices: PDA-style units with touchscreens and the range of candybar-style smartphones, the later which the Graphite falls into. All-in-one devices like the Graphite have made life easier by combining many different applications into a single handset. It does everything from making voice and video calls, browsing the web and accessing email, to displaying PDF files and spreadsheets and playing music and games.

Design
For its Graphite phone, O2 has gone with a conventional candybar form factor. Measuring in at 109.5mm by 46.9mm by 18mm and weighing just 105 grams with the battery, the handset sits comfortably in the hand and is unobtrusive in most pockets or handbags. It houses a bright 2.2-inch, 240x320-pixel LCD that sits below a VGA camera used for video calling. A second 2-megapixel camera with a built-in flash is located on the back panel. The position of the camera in the center of the back panel meant the lens often got blocked by our fingers when held to take a picture.

Build quality isn't one of the Graphite's strong points. The plastic used for the keypad feels cheap and the buttons don't provide good feedback when pressed quickly. O2 includes an AC adaptor, stereo headset and a mini-USB cable for data connectivity

Features
The feature-rich Graphite comes with multiple connectivity options including tri-band GSM capability as well as 3G support. There's also Bluetooth 2.0, infrared, wireless LAN 802.11b/g and a USB port for connection with a PC. Powering the Graphite is Intel's Xscale PXA 270 processor rated at 416MHz. This is combined with 64MB of RAM and an additional 128MB of flash memory. For extra storage there's a microSD card slot, but this is located below the battery meaning the device has to be turned off every time the card is changed.

Along with the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform, the Graphite also comes with Microsoft's Messaging and Security Feature Pack, direct push technology and the latest version of Office for Windows Mobile. This package includes Outlook, Internet Explorer and MSN Messenger in addition to the regular Office suite. The Graphite has full support for video calling, web browsing and push e-mail, as well as most of the standard messaging services including SMS and MMS.

The Graphite also acts as a portable multimedia device with video recording and music playback, supporting popular formats such as MP3 and WMA. Other features include a speakerphone and 64-chord polyphonic ringtones with support for MP3, WAV and MIDI files. It also has an impressive list of pre-packed applications including a personal organiser, calculator and calendar, meeting scheduler, clock and alarm, a PDF viewer and some pre-installed Java games.

Performance
We found applications ran considerably slower than most dedicated PDAs, but still remained at a reasonable pace. One major problem when making voice calls is that sound for the ringtone and caller is too quiet, even at maximum volume. Respondents, however, didn't report any problems with the quality of outgoing conversation. The screen is a treat although it can be hard to read in direct sunlight. Icons and text are sharp and images taken with the digital camera look great.

Battery life was particularly good with the Graphite, its 1,100mAh lithium ion battery lasting almost a week with numerous voice calls and excessive use of the music player. O2's official figures are four hours of talk time and close to 200 hours on standby.

The Graphite is one of the easiest mobile devices to use on the market today, which makes it a good transition piece for users upgrading to a smartphone for the first time. It comes with all the bells and whistles that made O2's previous Xda products so popular, but in a conventional handset that won't make you look like a techno-geek.

O2 provides a standard one-year warranty with the Graphite

Battery

• Talk time
• 4

• Standby time
• 200

Camera

• Camera resolution
• 2-megapixel

• Video capture
• Yes

Connectivity

• Networks
• Triband GSM (900/1800/1900MHz); WCDMA (2100MHz)

• Wireless technology
• 802.11b/g, Bluetooth

• Data services
• GPRS

• USB connectivity
• Yes

Display

• Main display: Screen resolution
• 320x240 pixels

• Main display: Number of colours
• 65K

Entertainment

• Video player
• Yes

• Music player
• Yes

Functionality

• Input method
• T9

• Ringtone options
• 64-chord, MP3, WAV, MIDI

• Java
• Yes

• Operating system
• Windows Mobile 5

• Supported audio file formats
• MIDI, MP3, WMA, WAV, AMR-NB, AAC

• Video calls
• Yes

General

• Phone type
• Smartphone

• Form factor
• Candybar

• Dimensions (W x D x H)
• 46.9 x 18 x 109.5 mm

• Weight
• 105 g

Memory

• Internal memory
• 128 MB

• Expansion slot
• microSD

Messaging

• Messaging options
• SMS, MMS, Email

Physical features

• Available colours
• Black/Silver

By CNET Au

O2 Xda Atom Exec

The good:

• Small, lightweight design
• Push e-mail capabilities
• Pleasing performance
• Plethora of connectivity options
• Great multimedia features
• Matte finish

The bad:

• Lack of keyboard makes heavy data entry a chore
• Shots taken with the integrated camera are grainy
• No 3G support
• Not a huge improvement over the original Atom

O2's XDA Atom Exec is an incremental upgrade to the original Atom, a move the company hopes will help stave off increasing competition from the likes of HP with its iPAQ rw6828 or the upcoming multimedia BlackBerry devices.

On its own, the Exec is a highly impressive, push e-mail enabled smart phone, but if you already own the first Atom, its upgrade worthiness is questionable.

Design
Following the highly successful design of the original Atom, the Exec offers the same dimensions -- 102 x 58 x 18.5mm -- and a more than manageable weight of 140g. It's not a burden to carry around in a jeans pocket, and you won't be self-conscious since the curvaceous, black chassis is quite attractive.

The most significant design difference between the vanilla Atom and the Exec is the fact that the latter uses a matte as opposed to a glossy finish. This is a smart move by O2, as the previous Atom was chastised by users for being prone to fingerprinting and other blemishes.

Menu navigation is handled using either the stylus (or, if you're lazy, a finger) or the hardware buttons that lie just below the 2.7-inch 240x320 touch screen. These buttons include a five-way directional thumb pad, accept/reject calling buttons, a shortcut button for the start menu and a button for quick-launching your SMS/e-mail/MMS inbox.

Other handy shortcut buttons include volume adjustments on the left side of the device, a power button up top and shortcuts to the notes and camera applications on the right.

In addition to the power button, the top of the Exec houses a MiniSD memory card slot, while on the opposite end of the device you'll find a USB connector and a 2.5mm headphone jack.

Features
The Exec runs on the familiar Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, upgraded with the Messaging and Security Feature Pack. Among various security improvements, this provides push e-mail capabilities which, provided you've enabled a data service through your carrier, sends new e-mail messages directly to the device without forcing you to continuously login. This is identical to the service provided by the HP iPAQ rw6828 and similar to the BlackBerry's push e-mail system.

It's worth noting that owners of the original Atom are able to download the Messaging and Security Feature Pack and install it onto the device themselves, which removes one of the main benefits of said users upgrading to the Exec version.

Internally, there are a number of improvements upon the original Atom. The Exec uses a 520MHz Intel processor and 192MB of ROM, which trounces the 416MHz chip and 128MB ROM of its predecessor. The faster processor improves application performance and load time, while the increased ROM provides more space for storing data.

Connectivity options abound, and include 802.11b Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 1.2, Infrared and tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE. These features can easily be switched off to conserve battery life and/or to ensure that the device remains usable during air travel.

Multimedia features are also plentiful, and include an FM radio, a 2-megapixel camera (with self-portrait mirror and flash) and music/picture/video playback through the pre-installed O2 MediaPlus application. It's great having a single interface to categorise and access all multimedia files.

In addition to O2 Media Plus, the device also bundles free copies of CodeWallet Pro 5, Jeyo SMS Backup and WorldMate 2005.

Of course, all of the personal productivity applications built into Windows Mobile 5.0 are present, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer and Outlook 2002. Using ActiveSync, these applications can be synchronised with a PC to enable you to keep working whilst on the road.

Performance
One of our biggest concerns surrounding the Exec was that the faster processor would have a detrimental effect on battery life. However, O2 rates the Exec as having the same battery life as the original Atom: up to 5.5 hours of talk time and 150 hours standby time.

In our Spb Benchmark battery test, which runs the device through constant general usage tasks with the backlight always enabled, the Exec lasted for six hours and twenty minutes. This is a pleasing score; the HP iPAQ rw6828 scored seven hours and three minutes, but this is expected due to its slower 416MHz processor. Under regular, intermittent usage, we went almost four days without needing to reach for the charger.

Application performance is extremely satisfying. We found that programs loaded virtually instantly, even when multiple applications were running at the same time. We were also very impressed with the device's multimedia playback capabilities; video played smoothly and audio files were crisp and clear. However, as with the rw6828, we found that shots taken with the integrated camera were grainy, particularly in low-light conditions.

Finally, the push e-mail feature is intuitive and easy to setup, but we found the BlackBerry's thumb wheel to be a more effective message navigation tool than the Exec's touch screen and stylus combination. Also, since there's no built-in keyboard, bashing out lengthy e-mails takes significantly more time, but we were nonetheless pleased with the unit's handwriting recognition performance.

While it's not a huge improvement over the original Atom, on its own the Atom Exec is an extremely attractive smartphone, more impressive than even our Editors' Choice winning HP iPAQ rw6828 due to its faster processor and O2 MediaPlus application.

Audio

• Built-in speakers
• Yes

• Built-in microphone
• Yes

Connectivity

• Built-in wireless connectivity
• Infrared, Bluetooth, 802.11b

General

• Dimensions (H x W x D)
• 102 x 58 x 18.5 mm

• Weight
• 140 g

Memory

• ROM
• 192 MB MB

Other

• Other features
• Push e-mail

PDA Features

• Built-in camera
• Yes

• Data Input Method
• Touchscreen + Stylus

• Expansion slot
• miniSD

Processor

• Processor type
• Intel XScale

• Processor speed
• 520 MHz

Screen

• Max screen resolution
• 240x320 pixels

• Number of colours
• 262K

• Backlit display
• Yes

Software

• Installed OS
• Windows Mobile 5.0

Synchronisation

• Synchronisation method(s)
• ActiveSync, USB1.1

• Cradle
• No

By CNET Au

O2 Atom Life

The good:

• Fast application response
• O2 MediaPlus Package works nicely
• Loud stereo speakers

The bad:

• Small touchscreen icons demand stylus
• Loud stereo speakers
• Low battery life

The bottomline:

The Atom Life tries very hard to bridge the gap between serious business tools and lifestyle gadgets. It's surprising, then, that it's a better business tool than fun phone.

Design
Are PDA-style smartphones just tools for the business set? O2 doesn't appear to think so. It's latest smartphone, the Xda Atom Life attempts to bridge that gap between people who need a business tool, and those who want something with just a smidgen more "fun" appeal -- O2's marketing spiel refers to them as "life warriors", a term you won't see in this review again.

A more cynical reviewer might comment that O2's presumably trying to get in on the market before the lifestyle crowd shifts over to the Apple iPhone -- but then, you can buy an Atom Life right now, whereas the iPhone is conspicuous by its absence from 2007-era Australian store shelves. Or any stores shelves right now, come to think of it.

The Atom Life has a carrying weight of 145 grams and dimensions of 106 by 58 by 18mm; that's a touch smaller than the Xda Atom or Atom Exec, although only in one dimension. Aside from minimal dialling buttons and a five-way selector, the Atom is entirely touchscreen-driven, either via the stylus that sits at the top right hand side of the phone, or a grubby digit in an emergency. More on digit-related issues later.

Features
The Atom Life is an HSDPA-enabled phone running Windows Mobile 5.0, which gives you access to the usual Windows-centric office applications -- Word and its ilk -- but then that's hardly a "fun" set of utilities, and moreover, the same things can be had on considerably cheaper PDA/smartphones than the Atom Life. Where the Atom Life differentiates itself is in a few key hardware and software features with less of an enterprise bent. On the hardware side, it packs a 2-megapixel external camera (along with a front-mounted VGA model for video calls) and SRS WOW HD Stereo speakers, with the claim of offering a surround sound "experience" for your multimedia files. It's also equipped with an FM radio, if "wacky" morning DJs are your kind of thing.

On the software side, O2 provides a bevy of its own applications. Many of these are still business-centric, but on the "fun" side is O2 MediaPlus. MediaPlus is a catch-all wrapper for the Atom Life's multimedia prowess, covering your photo, video and musical collections, as well as activating the radio.

For those who drool over technical specifications, the Atom Life is running an Intel XScale PXA 270 -- that'll give you 624MHz of computing power -- with 64MB of RAM and 1GB of flash ROM. Networking connectivity is provided via integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 1.2 and infrared for talking to phones from the Jurassic age.

Performance
If you're pondering a smartphone purchase, it's well worth the time to play around with a couple in a store, especially if you're looking at models with a touchscreen interface such as the Atom Life. Some users love the minimalist approach of touchscreens. Others find them incessantly fiddly, and the need to pop out the stylus to make calls and perform onscreen selections can become tiresome. It's such an individual preference thing, however, that we normally wouldn't mention it -- except that it's a particularly relevant point with the Atom Life, as the main splash screen is packed with information, and above all tiny icons. That's great for getting across plenty of onscreen information, but virtually mandates the use of the stylus. We lost track of the number of times that an errant finger jab led to the wrong selection being made. Thankfully, a spare stylus is included in the box.

The observant among you may have noticed that we've put an entry for loud stereo speakers in both the good and bad column for the Atom Life. While the speakers are undoubtedly good for a mobile phone, and they are loud enough to annoy everyone within your immediate vicinity, they don't entirely live up to the hype of offering a surround sound experience. It's largely that old trick of dodgy hi-fi stores everywhere -- turn up the volume loud enough to convince the customers it's "good", when it's merely passable. While we're covering off audio, it's functionally annoying that for a phone of the Atom Exec's size, the audio jack is of the 2.5mm variety, making it harder to connect up a normal set of headphones. A2DP Bluetooth audio is supported if you've got stereo Bluetooth headphones.

The Atom Life is a decent expansion upon the existing Atom and Atom Exec models, but there are areas where it's a backwards step, especially in battery life. The standby time of 200 hours is essentially unremarkable, and it's understandable that the addition of lots of battery sapping features will lead to higher power consumption. Still, with a claimed battery talk time of only four hours on GSM and two hours for UMTS -- and in our testing these figures proved all too accurate -- you're likely to be recharging the Atom Life every single night, lest it become the Atom Death.

On the application front, the Atom Life shone, thanks no doubt to the improved processor running the whole show. We rarely had to wait for applications to start up, even when really pushing the phone with heavy tasks. This does make the Atom Life a good choice for exactly the market it's not aiming at -- business types who need large files open and will really test the phone's productivity mettle, rather than its fun aspects.

Battery Life

• Talktime
• 4 (GSM), 2 (UMTS) hours

• Standby time
• 200 (GSM) hours

Camera

• Camera resolution
• 2-megapixel

• Video capture
• Yes

Connectivity

• Network(s)
• Triband GSM: (900/1800/1900), UMTS: (1900/2100)

• Wireless technology
• 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 1.2, Infrared

• Data Services
• EGPRS, HSDPA

• GPS receiver
• No

• USB
• Yes

Display

• Screen resolution
• 240x320 pixels

• Number of colours
• 262K

Entertainment

• FM radio
• Yes

• Video player
• Yes

Functionality

• Input method
• Touchscreen, Stylus

• Polyphonic
• Yes

• Ringtone options
• MP3, WAV, 64-chord MIDI

• Digital camera
• Yes

• Processor
• Intel XScale PXA 270

• Processor speed
• 624 MHz

• RAM
• 64 MB

• ROM
• 1024 MB

• Synchronisation method(s)
• ActiveSync

• Software
• Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile with Direct Push Technology, Microsoft Office programs for Windows Mobile, Pocket MSN, Internet Explorer Mobile, Windows Media Player 10, Calculator, File Explorer, Code Wallet Pro, GPRS Monitor, Jeyo Mobile Extender 2.0, MMS Client, PDF Viewer, Self Diagnosis, Wireless Manager, WorldMate

• Operating system
• Windows Mobile 5.0

• Web browser
• Yes

• Voice recorder
• Yes

• Java
• Yes

General

• Dimensions (W x D x H)
• 58 x 18 x 106 mm

• Weight
• 145 g

Memory

• Expansion slot
• miniSD

Messaging

• Push e-mail
• Yes

• Messaging capabilities
• SMS, MMS, Email

• Email protocols
• POP3, IMAP, Direct Push Technology (requires Microsoft Exchange 2003 with Service Pack 2)

More Information

• Other
• One-year hardware warranty, six months for supplied accessories

Other

• Phone type
• PDA-phone

• Form factor
• Touchscreen/stylus PDA

• Cradle
• No

• Included accessories
• Battery, universal adaptor, stereo headset, mini-USB cable, additional stylus, Getting Started with Microsoft Outlook 2002 and ActiveSync 4.2, Quick Start guide, user manual, warranty statement.

By CNET Au.