You will need to get used to some of the characters being accessible via a 'FN' function key, but otherwise a very useable interface.
So, one plus is the integrated keyboard. Second plus, it looks good, if a little chunky for the suit pocket measuring 131.6mm x 79mm x 21.6mm and weighing well over 200 grams. It goes down hill from there though I'm afraid. Oh yea, the box it arrives in is pretty cool too!

The hardware is a Intel Bulverde 520MHz with 64mb of SD Ram and 128mb of ROM but the Microsoft software included has the feeling of being not quite ready yet! It comes loaded with the latest version of Windows Mobile V5, which is then 'configured' automatically by the O2 set-up. This adds a few extra tabs to the 'Today' page which allows you a small amount of customisation and the ability to have programme shortcuts on the desktop. Plus, of course, adding the phone functionality and interface.

This version of Windows seems to suffer from the problem I used to face on my old Philips Nino and Windows CE, that is that even when you close an application it remains running and the only way to close it fully is to open ‘Task Manager’ and close it from there. The biggest problem appears to be with the phone interface however, it is possible to have numerous instances of this running at once. The most I found was 6 instances at once! Then, if you close them all with ‘Task Manager’, the phone application then won’t open again! Very frustrating! You need to re-boot in order to get access the phone once again.

A sexy gimmick of the O2 Xda Exec is how it mimics one of the new ‘Tablet’ PCs in having a rotating touch 3.6" TFT screen. This allows you standard landscape view when using the keyboard, switching to portrait view with the conventional pen control of most of the PDAs on the market. Nice when it works! Mine has the ability to get stuck in a sort of ‘half and half’ position, with half the text going one way and the other half at 90 degrees to it….another re-boot! The switch over from one view to the other is a bit slow too…when it works.

The decent sized screen and QWERTY keypad make using the O2 XDA Exec for business  a practical affair, with access to email either through synchronisation over USB and active Sync or over the air either via wireless 802.11b or GPRS data connection. The onboard storage of 64mb can be expanded by adding an SD / MMC card into the XDA's slot, this makes the cut down windows media player of more use.

The only real way to use the phone function of this Xda is with a Bluetooth earpiece. If you tried to use the unit itself to talk in to it would look a bit like you were either trying to iron the side of your face, or holding a house brick to your ear. Ok, it’s not quite that big, but you do feel pretty stupid using this giant while standing next to someone with a neat piece of kit the size of a matchbox. Another reason for using Bluetooth is because the screen is touch sensitive. So, with this device to your ear you can open numerous applications in the course of a call to your mum. I even managed to start the recording application and recorded the entire conversation with my mortgage advisor. That might have been useful had it recorded his side of the conversation and not just my questions.

There are a couple of extra programmes supplied on a CD. There is a pocket pdf reader and a GPRS monitor, so you cab keep track of how much you are spending while internet surfing on that long train journey. The spec list below shows all the standard included applications.

The real reason I bought this unit was for the PDA functionality, which was a bargain really. Upgrading on my tariff at 02 would have cost £150, but they are offering £50 trade in on an old phone, so for £100 I get a pretty useful piece of kit. The only disappointments are the phone functionality and the instability in the software. Both of these are manageable, but I’m looking forward to the software updates whenever they arrive!

It’s a bit telling of today’s technology and the rush to add more and more to the humble phone. I now have a phone full of useful programmes, but it doesn’t actually work well as a phone. Oh well, that’s technological advancement for you.

Published - 09/11/2005

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