Over the course of the last few months, Jørgen Sundgot has spent considerable time with the O2 XDA - and now he shares his take on the very first Pocket PC Phone Edition device.
While I could be happier about the fact that God knows how many carriers are now taking the basic HTC Wallaby/Spaceneedle hardware design and rebranding it - the T-Mobile MDA, the Carrier Devices Joey and the O2 XDA - I must admit I have nothing against advanced mobile devices flourishing. Of the above devices, the O2 XDA for GSM 900/1800 MHz networks operated by European carrier mmO2 is by far the most well known, and I've been spending considerable amounts of time with the device to get down and dirty with what's good and what's not about it.
 | The O2 XDA has a rugged feel to it - but the brushed aluminium scratches easily
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Oh my, that's a lot of brushed aluminium
I'll have to admit this right away - and it's also the most likely reason for a great deal of the hype around the O2 XDA - its brushed aluminium casing makes it look darn sexy. Coupled with the equally good-looking USB cradle, a charger, a handsfree set, a couple of manuals and a CD with additional software, and you've got the first Pocket PC Phone Edition device in a nutshell.
The exterior of the XDA is minimalistic, and contains only a few hardware application shortcut buttons. On the left side of the device, a volume control button is placed that either adjusts the volume of alerts and notifications or in-call audio volume; on the bottom of the device, the non-SDIO capable SD Card expansion slot and the connector of the device are both placed centered, joined by a reset hole to the left and a battery connect/disconnect switch on the right side. In the lower right corner, there's a standard 2.5 mm handsfree set jack, protected by a small rubber dongle which is utterly useless since you'll lose it after exactly 30 seconds. The right side of the device contains the SIM card slot, while on top the Infrared port is placed to the far left and the power on/off button just to the right of it.
On the front of the device, hardware shorcut buttons for the Calendar and Contacts applications are placed above the excellent - yet lacking in color depth - 12-bit display, with the speaker of the device placed centered between them. On the lower part of the device, a centered four-way navipad and back-lit buttons to its left and right that perform functions relating respectively to placing and ending calls are placed. The back of the device offers no functionality, except the option to add an external battery after removing yet another rubber dongle - the internal battery of the XDA cannot be replaced except by a service centre, which is obviously a minus for avid callers.
The stylus of the XDA is actually placed inside its antenna which is in the upper right corner of the device; it's surprisingly comfortable to hold, and hidden nicely so that it doesn't interfere with the design of the device. Unscrew the stylus, and you'll also find that it holds a reset pin to use in case a hard reset of the device through a battery disconnect/reconnect is necessary (a soft reset can be performed using the ordinary stylus tip). Just below the antenna to the left is the notification LED of the device, with 6 different modes of which blinking green every 3 seconds notifies the user that he or she is connected to a network.
All buttons provide good tactile feedback, although their chrome surface can make them a bit slippery at times - a gripe that also goes for the brushed aluminium casing which, although nice to look at, is outright lethal if the device isn't placed in a case or holster of some kind. It's very, very smooth and as such slippery; I haven't yet dropped the device onto the floor, but that's only due to quick reflexes and a solid portion of luck. The four-way navipad requires a bit of time getting used to, but worked very well once I got the hang of it.
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