Multimedia Phone Reviews

Slashphone previews the new Xda Stealth slider phone from O2 which should be available to consumers sometime in October. 'Clad in a chic ebony casing, the slider measures a svelte 53(W) x 110(L) x 22.5(T) mm, and weighs 140g. The Xda Stealth is powered by an Intel Xscale PXA 272 Processor at 416MHz and comes with 192MB Flash ROM and 64MB RAM of on-board memory. An expandable SD memory card slot also lets you grow your MP3 collection and snap away on the 2 mega pixel camera.'

The O2 Ice phone has been reviewed over at Shiny Shiny. 'The Ice phone is the O2 branded phone, which comes with all their 3G bells and whistles. With it's smooth white casing, they think they've hit on a fashion winner ready to attract the dedicated followers of fashion, who would otherwise be after a slim Motorola or chic LG Chocolate. It's available free on contract and on pay as you go, where it'll set you back £99.99. It comes with a free bluetooth headset in both cases, making it cheap, if nothing else.

CNET Asia have reviewed the O2 Xda Atom Life which is a full-function PDA, mobile phone, digital camera and MP3 player. 'The Atom Life uses the same 2.7-inch QVGA screen as its predecessor. It's not exceptionally large, and we find it a comfortable (barely) size for daily texting, Web surfing and document viewing. The screen washes out slightly in direct sunlight, though, and we had to turn it up a few notches on the brightness scale. Above the LCD is where you find a VGA camera for video telephony and a sunken grill where you hear the voice of the other party on the line. In idle mode, an intermittent green light flashes to signal that you're connected to the operator's network

CNET Asia have published a review of the O2 Xda Zinc QWERTY handheld. 'At 109 x 58 x 22.6mm and 175g, O2's Xda Zinc is about the same size and weight as the Dopod 838 Pro. Side-by-side, the curvaceous Dopod is undeniably sexier dressed in black-and-silver compared with the matte-gray casing and silver trimmings on the O2. But other than the QWERTY keyboard that slides out from beneath, which is about all that's similar on the two handhelds, both Windows Mobile 5.0 devices are, in fact, not quite the same.

A review of the O2 Xda Flame Windows Mobile PDA-phone has been posted over at CNET Asia. 'Given its huge 3.6-inch display, the Flame is understandably larger than most other PDA-phones. Its dimensions are 125 x 73 x 17.5mm, very similar to the old Xda II handheld from about four years back. Even its weight is similar at 190g. Make no mistake, though. The Flame is a very different handheld internally. The sides and front of this O2 have a soft touch finish, which gives it a rubbery feel. This is good for grip, and fingerprints don't show up as obviously compared to glossy finishes. The plastic back cover has a checkered design and feels a little flimsy compared to the solid construction of the rest of the device.'

A preview of the O2 Cocoon music phone has been posted over at Pocket-Lint. ‘Looking decidedly different and like no phone we've ever seen before, the clamshell design which measures 94 x 49 x 21mm (L x W x H) is minimalist and retro in its styling and will certainly draw glances in the pub. Encased in white plastic, the simplistic design focuses on being an MP3 player first and a mobile phone second. This emphasis however is completely reversed once you open the handset and O2, has managed to create a really good balance between the two.’

Trusted Reviews have published their review of the O2 Cocoon handset. ‘The quad-band 3G Cocoon is not the first own-branded whiter than white handset I've seen from O2. That accolade went to the Ice. The Cocoon though, is a uniquely oddball mobile in several respects. It certainly looks different enough to be an eye catcher and apparently if you take your Cocoon to the O2 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) in London, the phone knows what you are doing and will provide you with ‘exclusive content'. It has a penchant for playing music and while it lacks an outer display it has the mobile phone equivalent of a rolling neon sign on its outer casing.’

The Register Hardware have published a review of the O2 XDA Orbit 2 Windows Mobile smartphone. 'The Orbit 2 isn't that much more of a chunky monkey than its HTC Touch brethren, weighing 130g and measuring 110 x 58 x 15.5mm. The rubber-coated plastic back and front bezel gives a secure feel in even the sweatiest of palms, while the solid build quality is par for the HTC course. Centre-stage on the handset is a 2.8in, 240 x 320 screen below which sits a circular navigation pad flanked by buttons to start and end calls, a Start Menu button, and the customary Windows Mobile OK key.

IT Reviews have published a review of the XDA Orbit 2 (O2) smartphone. ‘Exclusive to O2 as the XDA Orbit 2, fans of other networks can go the SIM-free route and obtain this smartphone as the HTC Touch Cruise. It may look slightly different as the Touch Cruise, but the key features are shared. This is a smartphone with built-in GPS and you can get it from O2 in a bundle with the CoPilot navigation software, or without that software if you have a preferred satnav alternative. GPS aside, the XDA Orbit 2 is brimming with other smartphone features. There is Wi-Fi, 3G with HSDPA and a 3-megapixel main camera to keep you happy. A VGA camera sitting above the 2.8-inch screen caters for two-way video calls. For voice calls the smartphone is quad-band GSM.’