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Last month I was contacted by Steve Cater who works at vccp as part of O2’s Marketing Team. He asked me whether I would be interested in trialling one of O2’s new phones in a seeding program, similar to that of the O2 cocoon seeding program which gave developers and technology lovers a chance to trial the phone. The idea sounded interesting and it looked like the cocoon program did well so I said yes to testing this new O2 Phone (didn’t know the name of it then).
Last week a package arrived, I opened it up and lo and behold it was an O2 Xda Orbit 2 Phone along with all the necessary accessories and a sim card. I got straight into taking some photos of this shiny new device along with testing it.
General
Display
Memory
Networking
Digital Camera
Power
Inside the O2 Xda Orbit 2 Box you will find the following:
The Today Screen and O2 Custom Today Plug-in
The Today Screen is pretty much the same as most Windows Mobile Phones, however there are some nice additions that can be added to the today screen, that of which include:
ProgramsÂ
A nice list of programs and applications are found on the device:
Audio Manager and Audio BoosterÂ
As well as Windows Media Player, the Xda Orbit 2 comes with the HTC Audio Manager and Audio Booster, which lets you create, edit and delete playlist and listen to your songs which in turn you can fine tune as you have the ability to vary the Bass, Treble, and 3D effect of the sound output as well as choosing from various pre-defined profiles.
Camera and Camera Album with Slideshow
Overall I love the Camera and The Camera interface, though I would love to see the camera have a flash or even just a light, comes in handy for them close night shots!
 
Here’s some example photos, all photos were taken with the Xda Orbit 2 on it’s highest resolution and quality settings.
CommunicationsÂ
Communicating to someone is simple and effective just like it should be with it’s smart dialling feature and big keys. The Video calling feature looks great though I must admit I haven’t had a chance to test it out yet. The sounds great on voice calling though.
CoPilot Live 7
The Xda Orbit 2 having both built in GPS and CoPilot Live 7 is great, I’ve taken it to the test on both short and long routes, the longest so far being from Sittingbourne in Kent to Gatwick Airport. (49 Miles). Shall be using it when I travel to Heathrow Airport soon on a press tour of the new BAA Terminal 5 Building and again when I travel up to the Alton Towers Theme Park in 3 weeks time.
Having GPS and CoPilot 7 makes me want to switch from my MDA Vario 2 which has no GPS, though it does have something else which I value, that being a sliding keyboard.
 
FM RadioÂ
Haven’t used it a lot yet due to the fact that every time you want to use it you have to plug in the headsets but I’m sure if I do switch fully to this phone then I’ll soon be using it, always great to have some live music on your phone!
RSS HubÂ
I love this RSS Hub, it helps you keep up to date with the latest news from your favourite news sites, blogs and podcasts.
SettingsÂ
There’s a ton of settings options to help you customise the Xda Orbit 2 just the way you want it.Â
Touch Keyboards and KeypadsÂ
The Xda Orbit 2 has 6 different ways you can enter text onto the screen, the newest ones being the Touch Keyboard and Keypad, now while these are great, I do somewhat miss having a physical keyboard like my MDA Vario 2 Sliding keyboard. On the other hand however not having a sliding keyboard makes the Xda feel much more lighter and less bulkier. So I guess it’s just a case of getting away from the good old keyboard and getting to grips with touch keyboards.
 
TouchFLOÂ
TouchFLO has been added to gives you better touch panel experience. Using TouchFLO, you can easily scroll and pan the screen by sliding your fnger on the touch panel. TouchFLO also has the Touch Cube where you can add your favourite contacts, access media, launch programs, and more. Also while on a web page, document, or list (such as contacts list etc.), you can slide your finger upward to scroll down or slide your finger downward to scroll up. To scroll to the right, slide your fnger to the left. To scroll to the left, slide your fnger to the right.Â
I love the O2 Xda Orbit 2, it looks great, it’s weighs less and is is less bulkier than my T-Mobile MDA Vario 2. It also has GPS which is a great addition to a mobile phone for someone like me who loves travelling. I can’t wait to start using it more and more every day.
However there are some problems, unlike my T-Mobile MDA Vario 2 the O2 Xda Orbit 2 doesn’t feature a physical sliding keyboard, just it’s virtual touch keyboards and keypads, so that is somewhat disappointing as I have got quite attached to my sliding keyboard as I use it regularly to write texts, emails and posts while at tech events. Maybe I just need to have some more time away from the sliding keyboard and more time getting used to the virtual keyboards and keypads.
Also there’s no Flash or Flash Light for the camera so night photos is a no.
Here’s a quick list of some Pros (The Good) and Cons (The bad) of the O2 Xda Orbit 2:
Pros (The Good)
Cons (The Bad)
Now the question is should I switch fully from my T-Mobile MDA Vario 2 to the O2 Xda Orbit 2? As doing so would mean I would have to change my mobile number from T-Mobile to O2. Also I’m thinking about paying for unlimited web/internet each month depending on what I do, however there’s pros and cons to both T-Mobile and O2.
T-Mobile as a larger fair use policy of 1GB (The Max plan is 10GB) per month on it’s so called unlimited web access plan, however there’s no HSDPA Network coverage in my area with T-Mobile so it’s quite slow – get annoyed at how slow it is at times when the pages don’t even load.
To ensure a high quality of service for all our customers a 1GB (of data both sent and received in the UK) per month fair use policy applies. If you exceed 1GB per month, we may tell you to reduce your future use. If you again exceed 1GB per month, we may tell you that we are going to apply network protection controls, resulting in a reduced network speed for 14 days. If you exceed 1GB per month for a third time , we may tell you that we are going to apply further network protection controls, resulting in a reduced network speed until you upgrade your price plan to include a larger data allowance. We do not permit use of this service to provide modem access for a computer or for peer to peer file sharing, internet phone calls or instant messaging.Â
O2 however has a much lower fair use policy of 200MB per month on it’s so called unlimited web access plan, however O2 does have HSDPA Network coverage in my area and I love it! Just a slight problem if you normally expected to only use 200MB per month with HSDPA that would soon be overrun.
The O2 Web Bolt On can only be used for internet browsing on your phone. A fair use policy applies and if your usage substantially exceeds that of other users, which is normally expected to be below 200MB/month, you will be charged standard rates for additional browsing. We will send you a warning text message advising you to limit your usage before this occurs and a text message to confirm when you are being charged
It seems there is a O2 Web Max Plan which is 3GB per month for £30, I’ll have to look into that!
Just want to say special thanks to Steve Cater who works at vccp as part of O2’s Marketing Team for giving me the opportunity to test the O2 Xda Orbit 2, it’s certainly been a great experience so far and I’m looking forward too seeing what else I can do with it, there’s always great tweaks and stuff over at the HTC Polaris section on the XDA Developer Forums.
Here’s some useful links:
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Nice post, Darren. Much better than I could ever write!
I don’t get free phones
[...] views from others, check out reviews from the likes of Being Lucy Diamond, Blog Til You Drop, Darren Straight, Keith’s Affiliate, Marketing Blog, Mediations, Mobile Phone Development, Neville Hobson, The [...]
[...] views from others, check out reviews from the likes of Being Lucy Diamond, Blog Til You Drop, Darren Straight, Keith’s Affiliate, Marketing Blog, Mediations, Mobile Phone Development, Neville Hobson, The [...]
Great review Darren and it looks like a fine piece of kit – it’s good to see loads of pictures. I am in the market for a new phone so will keep an eye out for this. At the moment I’ve got a SEK800i but have been trialling a Nokia e61i and Blackberry 8820.
Jas
http://www.jasonslater.co.uk
Excellent review ! Highly informative…. I am definitely going to purchase one of these this coming w/end based on this excellent review !
Just out of curiousity, could the HTC Home application be installed as a seperate entity ?
I came across your blog while trying to decide between an XDA Orbit 2 and a XDA Stellar. I previously had an Orbit. I can now report that although the Stellar is quite a bit heavier than my old Orbit it does have a sliding keyboard, 3G and GPS and overall I am a lot happier desite the added weight. I’m looking forward to making my first video call over 3G.
one of best windows mobile
Is it 3g support 32gb memory have
[...] (Sat Nav), In Car holder and some other accessories – everything you see on this review -> O2 Xda Orbit 2 Review « Darren Straight’s Blog If you don’t mind i will get back to you on your offer of £120 tomorrow __________________ It’s [...]
how can i change or add themes to my o2 xda orbit p.c 6.pls answer me it would be favour to me if so
is it possible to use the touch screen with the thumb or only with a stylus?
Hi does anyone no how to put a new programme from my PC to the orbit 2
Regards
Matt
know