O2 Xda II mini

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First the Visa Mini, then the iPod Mini, now the O2 Xda II mini. It seems everyone loves good things in small packages. PDAs have traditionally been viewed as big, chunky machines that just can’t fit in your pocket without you looking like a shoplifter. Thankfully, the O2 Xda II mini bucks this trend and, despite its tiny size, is big on features as well.

Design
Simply put, the O2 Xda II mini, or mini for short, looks gorgeous. The seductive silver finish surrounded by a matt black-ridged circumference give the device a refined and classy image without being too flashy. Users who previously hesitated over the O2 Xda IIs and the HP iPaq h6365 because of their bulk shouldn’t have the same issue with the mini. At 58 x 108 x 18.1mm, the form factor befits that of a true pocket-friendly PDA-phone which also fits comfortably in your palm. You can also carry the mini on your belt using the supplied leather case. Although some may lament the 150g weight, the mini is considerably lighter than the Xda IIs and only slightly heavier than the PalmOne Tungsten T5 which doesn't have phone capabilities. The usual solid construction and excellent build quality of an O2 product can also be found on the mini.

Using a 2.8-inch touch screen, the 240 x 320-pixel resolution display puts the mini on par with the Xda IIs and HP's iPaq h6365, though both deploy larger 3.5-inch TFTs. The 65K-color screen looks excellent with sharp contrast and can be clearly viewed even under direct sunlight.

Forgoing an external QWERTY, four soft keys--two for phone functions, another two for contact list and calendar--as well as a five-way navigation pad grace the front panel. Additional shortcut keys for notes, camera, volume and power are located on the sides of the mini with the infrared port on the lower right. While the stylus is inconspicuously concealed on the right, it is too thin for a comfortable grip.

Features
Running on Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, the feature-packed mini functions both as a full-fledged PDA and GSM phone. Like the Xda IIs, you can swiftly switch between portrait and landscape modes to suit your fancy. The usual Pocket Office applications are included, while ClearVue PDF and PPT programs handle the viewing of PDF and PowerPoint files. Synchronizing the mini with Microsoft Outlook on your desktop PC or laptop is effortless as well.

Like the O2 Xphone II, users can use T9 predictive method to conveniently browse their contact list. For instance, you can just press the corresponding numbers 5, 6 and 6 to choose the name Jon instead of scrolling to the letter J on the phonebook. This feature also presents itself as a speedy and user-friendly form of text input called Intellipad. This makes both SMS messaging and document typing quick and easy.

Incorporated into the mini is a 1.3-megapixel camera with video-recording capability. The screen refresh rate of the camera is smooth but a significant shutter lag of about 3 seconds effectively rules out impromptu snapshots. The CMOS sensor produces slightly grainy photos with dull colors especially when lighting conditions are less than optimal. However, the pictures are a step up in quality and size from those taken with VGA camera-phones. You can also take two pictures and combine them using preset photo frames much like a Neo-print machine.

Videos and music are playable using the preinstalled Windows Media Player Mobile 10. During music playback, a simple tap of the central selection button turns off the backlight to save battery. Also, the media player automatically suspends during an incoming call and resumes play at the end of the conversation. The choice of a 2.5mm jack means you cannot use standard earphones commonly found with MP3 players. Using the supplied O2 earpiece, tunes sound clear but lack a little bass.

To some users, Wi-Fi is the holy grail of PDAs. To others, it matters little to them. In any case, the mini follows the earlier footsteps of the Xda II in leaving out built-in Wi-Fi. If you're an avid hotspotter, the Xda IIs or iPaq h6365 will definitely be more suitable. While the MMC/SDIO expansion slot allows for an optional Wi-Fi card, the onboard 64MB RAM just cries out for additional memory storage. To be fair, O2 caters for this need with a bundled 256MB SD card.

Performance
The mini comes with Bluetooth, infrared and GPRS capabilities, while the mini USB port can also be used to charge the battery. The Intel PXA272 Bulverde CPU running at 416MHz was a surprising specification considering the Xda IIs ran at only 400MHz. Performance is generally speedy with few slowdowns.

As a triband phone, the mini had no problems with both reception and call quality during the test period. For a small device like the mini, the in-built speakers are surprisingly loud at maximum volume.

On average use, the mini lasted between one to two days so frequent charging will be required. Looping a video clip with all wireless off and backlight set at mid-level, the 1,200mAh Lithium-ion battery lasted 5 hours 40 minutes. This exceeded the 5 hours 3 minutes managed with the Xda IIs but lost out to the 8.35 hours squeezed out of the iPaq 6365.

Conclusion
Perhaps the most inhibiting aspect of the O2 Xda II mini is its price. At S$1,068 (US$702.63) with a two-year plan and S$1,218 (US$801.32) without contract, it is a fairly hefty sum to pay for a convergent device that doesn't come with Wi-Fi. That said, the mini copes with its PDA-phone dual personality admirably well, proving that it isn't just a good looker.

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