O2 XDA Q&A

Sparky

I was just on the o2 site and am thinking of getting an XDA for use on site and on the road, now i have already sent an e-mail to the buisness section, but was thinking i may get a better responce here on what prices i should expect and which XDA to go for.

Thanks for the help

Villain

Ok I'm not certain on prices but I think the standard XDAII is about €400 on a high price plan, I'm not sure what prices the XDAIIs or XDAIIi are.

I have done a comparison chart taken from O2' site but I added the I-Mate Jam which will become the XDA Mini when it's released. I bought one of these sim free last month and I find it excelllent, the main selling point is it's size its a lot smaller than the xda's. Chart

It is now selling at 462.84EUR at http://shop.ppcw.net/product_info.php?products_id=8

I think thats great value.

Need to know anything else just ask

JohnnyMobile

why not get an ipaq 6340? I was doing some testing recently and they arent too bad. Some sms receive issues but a fix is due out next month from hp.
would save you being tied into a contract plus I hate xdaII's

http://www.expansys.ie/d_pocketpc.asp

Villain

JohnnyMobile wrote:

why not get an ipaq 6340? I was doing some testing recently and they arent too bad. Some sms receive issues but a fix is due out next month from hp.
would save you being tied into a contract plus I hate xdaII's

http://www.expansys.ie/d_pocketpc.asp

Ipaq 6340 :119mm x 75mm x 18.7mm
Compared to
I-Mate Jam:108mm x 58mm x 18.1mm

The only plus is the builtin wifi but you can wifi cards for the sdio slot on the I-Mate Jam.

JohnnyMobile

size isnt everything sonny... although women prefer bigger ones, never mind what they have told you, thats just to make you feel better

flywheel

Sparky_S wrote:

thinking of getting an XDA for use on site and on the road

hi, if you want to go with an operator (for a subsidy / local support) O2 is your only option here at the moment who have 3 devices at the moment (not including the model i-mate brand as the 'Jam') with various specs

maybe a list of what you need it to do / plan to do with it, and any features you require can help select a device that will fit...

HTC have been producing pocket pc phone edition devices for a long time now and have an improving track record (since the original produced, sold here as the O2 XDA), and now have several devices in production

i-mate have taken on some of them and produced their own branded devices - the Jam is a great device size wise - if you need to carry a Pocket PC Phone Edition device with you everywhere size can matter... but if size isn't an isn't an issue they have others available - of course you pay a premium for a sim-free operator un-locked/un-branded device that i-mate offer

6300 series is HPs first attempt to get into the pocket pc phone edition, and they have had a hard time ironing out all the bugs and issues as many related discussion boards will testify... T-Mobile US even pulled the HP Model they launched as it caused so many issues (they only began selling it again last month)

Sparky

TBH size doesent matter (i mean the XDA ahem ), and it would be more helpfull if i could just take it out and use it wherever i can, and for price wise i think i will go with o2 since i have a buisness account with them, someone told me that it should be no more that €300 for a XDA with o2.
I will have to wait till monday for the o2 email, with the prices, and i think they have a subscription for the XDA aswell?

flywheel

yeah the XDA range was never small - but the XDA mini is (a fair bit smaller), it's the same as the i-mate JAM irish1 has mentioned, however O2's European operators haven't released it yet so it' only available from O2's Pacific operation currently so you can't get it here...

there is a comparison tool here (more detailed than the O2 Ireland site) of the various XDA models, take a look at the Xda IIs and Xda IIi, the XDA II has been super-seeded by both at this stage:
http://www.my-xda.com/comp.html

prices will vary for each device, plus the type of tariff you go for, and then you add in the particular data package you require (and you'll likely use more than you think)

main difference is the built-in thumb-board and quad-band of the IIs, but the IIi has a better camera (if that's relevant to you), a more recent processor and slightly more non-volatile memory available (portion of Flash memory available for user)

both the IIs and IIi have Wi-Fi built in, so if you have wireless at home/work or near a hot-spot (e.g. bitbuzz, O2s own or others) you can connect that way rather than via the GPRS network - you'll have to see if that is an option / cost effective for your usage...

the thumb-board may be handy on the IIs - but for any decent amount of typing I found a Bluetooth or IR fold out 'full' keyboard a better solution - Think Outside make some good ones and I've used their Bluetooth one with my i-mate (same as the XDA II) which has worked great



do ask for a demo before making a decision though, at least you can get a feel for the device and see if you can work with it

flywheel

as an aside, the next generation device from HTC will also include 3G, a VGA display and the recently announced Windows Mobile 5.0... it's not due out for a few months and no official word on O2 bringing it out as yet...

operators like T-Mobile and even Vodafone have promoted the device... and non-operators like i-mate and Qtek may also pick it up...

had a mess about with a model... it's not a bad size for what it packs in, and with a twist-fold screen to allow for use as a regular PDA...



or a micro-laptop type form factor with a QWERTY keyboard/pad...



there be more info about operators/resellers should be released over the next few weeks/months... but here's HTC's official release from last week:
http://www.htc.com.tw/news/press050511.html

Sparky

wow that HTC looks good, would be handy when theres a table around, i may wait a while untill o2 bring it out, but im sure the price will be through the roof.

lotas

The XDA 2s is 500EUR with a 45EUR contract, and 669EUR sim free. O2 usually dont offer sim free XDAs, but they changed their mind. there are different pland (5+, 10+ or 20+ which is 45EUR a month). Data costs more (20EUR for 10mb i think). I am trying to get the 2S soon.

Akula

anybody know what the keyboard on the IIs is like?

Villain

Akula wrote:

anybody know what the keyboard on the IIs is like?

Good if you have little fingers:D

tk123

irish1 wrote:

Ok I'm not certain on prices but I think the standard XDAII is about €400 on a high price plan, I'm not sure what prices the XDAIIs or XDAIIi are.

I have done a comparison chart taken from O2' site but I added the I-Mate Jam which will become the XDA Mini when it's released. I bought one of these sim free last month and I find it excelllent, the main selling point is it's size its a lot smaller than the xda's. Chart

It is now selling at 462.84EUR at http://shop.ppcw.net/product_info.php?products_id=8

I think thats great value.

Need to know anything else just ask

OMG!!!this is exactly what i'm after!! Thanks irish1! And its €100 cheaper than stupid expansys!!!!!!

Villain

tk123 wrote:

OMG!!!this is exactly what i'm after!! Thanks irish1! And its €100 cheaper than stupid expansys!!!!!!

No bother tk123, I also bought screen protectors from expansys and 512mb SD Card from Komplett from 40.99. Great device would highly recommend it.

fatherdougalmag

And if you want wireless, I received one of these yesterday as a gift. Works out at about €65 shipped. Works a treat.

tk123

hoo-raaay!! I orderd it last night!

flywheel

DubWireless wrote:

but the XDA mini... O2's European operators haven't released it yet...

the::unwired have reported O2 Germany will be making the XDA mini available from mid June...
http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=2416#article

hopfully followed by an Irish launch at some stage...

wheresthebeef

irish1 wrote:

No bother tk123, I also bought screen protectors from expansys and 512mb SD Card from Komplett from 40.99. Great device would highly recommend it.

another really good spot for things like SD cards is www.shop4memory.com
they are irish. but have a good selection of memory things. i bought some stuff off them a while ago. good for flash memory drive thingys as well.

ross_castle

Does anybody know how reliable or how user friendly O2's XDA 2 is ? What are the advantages of it over XDA 2S over the Xda2i ? and does anybody know can they double as a Blackberry.

Trojan

Reliable - pretty good. It is running a Microsoft OS however.

Advantages? http://www.my-xda.com/comp.html

Double as blackberry? Be more specific. It's a fully featured PDA. I think that it outweighs BB in terms of features but I'm not familar enough with the latter.

ross_castle

Will it send and recive E mail in real time

Areallycoolname

A mate of mine has an XDA and leaves it in his draw as he thinks its the pits!

I just got a BlackBerry 7100v a month back that can access all my ISP accounts and am dead chuffed. It has all the PDA functionality - calendar, to dos, notes etc. etc. I can also see all my attachments which is what my mate couldn't do on his machine.

ross_castle

Which model is it. Is it the original Xda or a later model like the 2 or the 2s or 2i

Areallycoolname

Can't be certain mate - he got it recently enough though! Basically he got it from work so he had no choice of what he got - accountants, tssskkkkk! It's bulky and he can't see any attachments that are sent on it which seriously makes him :mad: !

After looking at the two, and playing with mine for a while, I'd seriously consider the 7100v if you're after mails & PDA functionality - it's smaller too!

Villain

I-Mate Jam is the best imo, should be out as the XDA mini in a while.

Rainier

The primary value a blackberry provides is that it 'pushes' your email out to you in real time....it arrives much like a text message.

The XDA, by iteself ,does not have that capability.... However, if the desired email is sitting on a MS Exchange server (typical only for corprate or SME email), then it is possible to use the ActiveSync OTA function to syncronize the pocket Outlook client on the XDA in real time. In this way, the email as it appears on the XDA will always be up to date. The problem with this is that the IT department would have to enable this functionality and it is not something that an idividual could do for themselves. (Unless it was a small enough company or they could persuade the IT administrator).

The other option for email on a XDA is for simple Web Access to either a ISP email account or a web-enabled business account (a la Outlook Web Access). To do this the user would have to 'browse' to their email using Pocket Explorer.

If email is the main reason for looking at the XDA or BlackBerry...go with the BlackBerry. It is designed to do only one thing, email, and it does it very well!

Blaster99

If you want an XDA, get the XDA IIs so you get the keyboard. I like the XDA, but I don't really see the point in spending that much money on something that can't do 3G. I would also get something that can do 802.11b or g, so you can use it at hotspots without clocking up GRPS or 3G charges. I have never really looked at one, but I think some/most/all of the iPaq's come with 802.11b.

Are there are any good 3G PDA's on the market, with Mobile Windows?

Villain

Vodafone should be lauching the VPA soon which will include 3G:

flywheel

O2 made the XDA II "Blackberry Enabled" when they provided the Blackberry Connect software for the device: http://web.o2.ie/business/phones_and_devices/blackberry/connect.jsp

never had major problems with attachments on a Pocket PC Phone edition, opened basic Word and Excel fine (and other files with 3rd party apps), O2 even provided additional PPT and PDF viewers with their devices

DJB

Hi,

I'm looking at buying a PDA but am unsure what to get. I've been looking at either an XDA or iPaq. Here's what I need:

- Phone (SIM) Support
- GPRS Support
- Wifi
- Bluetooth

So, I've found the xda2i and it seems like it will do what I want. But then I heard today that if it runs out of power it loses all settings. That true? I was then told that the iPaq's hold your settings but looking up the details on those and they don't all seem to support phone/gprs use.

Any advice or suggestions about what do buy would be greatly appreciated. Also, do any of these devices support 3G?

Thx and Rgds,

Dave