O2 Xda II Mini

discobay · 22-12-2005, 11:52 AM

O2 are releasing the Xda Atom next month (ish) which is supposedly better but definately pricier. Can't decide whether to wait or get the Mini now. Does anyone have any experience of owning and using a Mini?

KnowItAll · 22-12-2005, 12:37 PM

I had road tested the mini about six months ago. Not worth the price for me. It kept locking up, despite having told the distributor .. "make sure it is fully loaded with the latest updates" etc.

Annoyed the hell out of me when I saw that I had missed calls because of lockups.

I'm seriously looking at the jasjar.

andante · 22-12-2005, 12:47 PM

i think the Atom is worth the wait since its just a mth or 2 & it looks great!

Before getting my O2 mini.. i've only used Nokia and i tot i'm going to die a Nokia fanatic... till i lay my hands on this baby... It's bulky (esp with the leather cover) but its really awesome!

I've saved on a PDA, eradicated the need for an MP3 player & definitely love the ease of having MSN & Yahoo msger on the go.

The battery life is shorter than ur usual phones but the charger charges really quickly. I sync the fone via USB daily to my PC in office (but it charges much slower this way) so it is hardly a problem to me.

A few things to note about this machine:
> u cant type and sms without looking unless u use the block recogniser(the writings' are the same as a pda). if u are looking at typing the same way via a dictionary like nokia's or sony ericsson, they have the keypad mode. but u cant feel to type unlike that of a proper fone.

> The nite camera sucks.. in sunlight or bright florescent light the pictures turn out pretty gd & it can get better if u get the right settings.

> The handsfree that comes with the package is rubbish. I've changed 3 O2 minis and they all sound just as bad. But u can always get a jabra bluetooth which will solve this problem easily. But that'll shorten ur batt lifespan.. & there was this issue of connections being cut off every certain (i think its 60mins) amt of time when u use a bluetooth headset.

> U risk getting all ur info wiped out when it crashes or when u drop it. But as long as u backup or sync ur contacts, calendars and task with microsoft outlook on ur pc, u have no worries. U can even backup all ur settings (ur wallpaper, ringtones, msg alert tones, alarms etc) & SMS!

> I've hit over 3k sms in my inbox before & it still functions pretty well.. alittle slower probably.

> The SD card slot helps in expanding the memory to up to 2gb & u can install progs on it instead of the fone itself. U can even watch movies!

> There are aplenty of add-ons u can buy from the internet for O2 mini..Some are free (others have free hacker's code ) & are easily accessible. I bought the remote control software & chinese software & they are totally awesome.. Now i can write chinese (and it identifies it instantly!) & i've yet to try to switch tvs off in shopping malls.

> Wifi cards are available so u can surf outside with speed as fast as cable connections.. or even tap on an unsuspecting wireless network for free!

I'm such a big fan of O2.. but i'm thinkin of getting the motorola's pebl... Does anyone know anything abt it?

andante · 22-12-2005, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by KnowItAll:

I had road tested the mini about six months ago. Not worth the price for me. It kept locking up, despite having told the distributor .. "make sure it is fully loaded with the latest updates" etc.

Annoyed the hell out of me when I saw that I had missed calls because of lockups.

I'm seriously looking at the jasjar.

it is the pin code thing? U can actually switch it off... & its a security measure which meant well!

Wats a jasjar?

jayinhongkong · 22-12-2005, 01:20 PM

I just dumped my mini in favor of the O2 Exec (same as the Imate Jasjar) Gotta ship out my mini soon, it's already been sold. Gotta wait on the Exec...I bought the Orange SPV-M5000 (charcoal grey), but the seller can't get it unlocked, so it looks like I'll be buying the Exec now (all black). If you want a smaller device, I'd say go with the Dopod's that are out now....built in wifi and mobile 5.0 are the only advantages, and you get both with the new Dopods.

Problems I've had with the mini...OS crashes (locking up as KIA mentioned) and I've even lost all my files....twice. Apparently this won't happen with the Jasjar, so I definitely need one.

JaredHK · 22-12-2005, 01:36 PM

Dopods are crap and as bad as the Monis. I think they are also made by HTC which explains why it has the same problems. Can't wait to junk my Treo 650 for a PPC device next year if they come out with something decent.

discobay · 22-12-2005, 02:25 PM

Well you've all given enough advice to put me off the Mini. I guess the Mini can take an SD wifi card but then that means you have no memory expansion right?
The Dopods look bulky. I'd like to hear more about the jasjar.

jayinhongkong · 22-12-2005, 02:36 PM

Imate Jasjar/MDA IV/O2 Exec/Orange HPV M5000/Dopod 900 are all absolutely identical. I think HTC (the Taiwanese company that actually makes these for everyone) also make their own called the Universal, but I'm not sure. Should have mine soon, I hope....