Dopod P800W

Dopod International plans to launch a GPS PDA phone known as the P800W. Not only does this phone have high tech computer capability, but it has a trackball and track wheels to aid with map browsing and web surfing. Other impressive features of the Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE connected phone include push email, a 2 Megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0, all under Windows Mobile 5.0. The device also has a fully functional QWERTY keyboard with a 2.80 touch screen.

Design

The entire phone body is encased in smooth feeling silver grey plastic, Dopod refers to it as "Iron Grey" and with a size of only 108 x 58 x 16.8mm, this is a small and sleek smart phone, reminiscent of the more high fashion designs of phone houses such as Nokia or Motorola. Keeping with the Frankenstein motif, the P800W's stylus feels like it's come straight from the mad doctor's surgery; it's the sharpest PDA stylus we've ever used, and a danger to eyeballs everywhere.

Features

The P800W runs on a Texas Instruments OMAP 850 processor with 64MB of RAM and 128MB of ROM. User data can be stored internally or via a microSD card, although irritatingly, the card slot lives underneath the battery, so it's fiddly and difficult to change cards on the fly. The P800W's embedded digital camera has a 2 megapixel sensor and a number of photographic modes in common with most other camera-enabled Windows Mobile devices, or in other words, it can play some pretty camera tricks, but you're still not going to become Lord Lichfield with it. The GPS chipset within the P800W is the de rigueur SiRFstar III. On the phone side, the P800W is a quadband GSM handset (850/900/1800/1900MHz) with nary a 3G capability in sight. On the wireless data front, it supports Bluetooth v2.0 and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi.

Performance

The P800W comes with a meaty 1,200mAh battery that Dopod rates for up to five hours of talktime and up to 200 hours of standby time. Given that the P800W's usage patterns can vary widely, depending on how much you're using the wireless and GPS functions, we weren't expecting wonderful results from the phone, and were pleased to find Dopod's figures mostly accurate; on a light usage week we'd manage the full seven days in-between recharges, while heavy Wi-Fi and GPS use dropped those figures rather alarmingly.

On the Windows Mobile front, the P800W felt a little sluggish in operation, we got very, very used to looking at the scrolling colour wheel while waiting for applications to load. That's a purely relative factor; if you're new to the smartphone market you probably wouldn't notice it, but compared to snappier smartphone models, with perhaps the exception of the even more sluggish Treo 680, the P800W feels a touch turgid in operation.

We've perhaps become spoilt by all of the recent GPS units we've looked at that have upped the ante as far as GPS triangulation is concerned. We were pretty disappointed therefore in the P800W's synchronization capabilities; despite using the same SiRFstar III chipset as its competitors, we never once managed to clock in with a GPS signal that was useful in under three minutes, and sometimes as long as ten minutes had to pass. This also essentially cripples the GPS-photo capability, as aside from popping out of the car and taking a photo then and there, you've got to have a lot of patience to take GPS co-ordinate embedded pictures.

Ultimately, while the Frankenstein approach of appropriating design and feature elements from other phones gives the Dopod a lot of appeal in the pure functionality stakes, and its slim form factor does make it a player in the style race, the overall poor performance make the P800W a less than enticing prospect.

Specification Of Dopod P800W

Datasheet Views:
5759 views since upload of datasheet (October 28, 2006)

Release Date:
December, 2006

Predecessor Model:
Dopod 830 / 818 Pro

Dimensions:
58 x 108 x 16.8 millimetres

Mass:
127 grams (battery included)

Software Environment
Operating System:
Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC Phone Edition AKU 3.0.0

Microprocessor
CPU:
32bit Texas Instruments OMAP 850

CPU Clock:
201 MHz

Memory, Storage capacity
ROM capacity:
128 MB (accessible: 51.16MB)

RAM capacity:
64 MB (accessible: 42.55MB)

Hard Disk capacity:
Not supported

Display
Display Type:
color transflective TFT , 65536 scales

Display Resolution:
240 x 320

Display Diagonal:
2.8 "

Sound
Microphone:
mono

Speaker:
mono

Audio Output:
Proprietary jack

Cellular Phone
Cellular Networks:
GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS850

Cellular Data Standards:
CSD, GPRS, EDGE

Call Alert:
40 -chord melody

Vibrating Alert:
Supported

Control Peripherals
Positioning Device:
Touchscreen & TrackBall

Keyboard:
Not supported

Directional Pad:
Not supported

Jog / Scroll Wheel:
Rotary full area roller

Interfaces
Expansion Slots:
SDIO, microSD, TransFlash

Serial:
RS-232 , 115200bit/s

USB:
USB 1.1 client, 12Mbit/s , USB Series Mini-B (mini-USB) connector

Bluetooth:
Bluetooth 2.0

Wireless LAN:
802.11b, 802.11g

Multimedia Telecommunication
Analog TV:
Not supported

Analog Radio:
FM radio reciever

Satellite Navigation
Built-in GPS:
SiRF Star III , 20 channels

TMC:
Supported

Built-in Digital Camera
Main Camera:
CMOS sensor, 1.9MP

Built-in Flash:
Not supported

Power Supply
Battery:
Lithium-ion polymer , removable

Battery Capacity:
1250 mAh

Samsung SCH-W579

Is it a CDMA Phone? Is it a GSM Phone? Hey It’s Both! We are talking about the new and very chic Samsung SCH-W579. This one is already creating buzz as it lets the insatiable user experience the best of both worlds and prevents the headache of carrying two different devices.Though supporting both networks is nothing new, however the handset also has some great multimedia features and scores points in the eye-candy department.
The Samsung SCH-W579 has already been approved by the FCC, so be ready to experience its goodness soon. On the specs front apart from both GSM and CDMA networking, we also come across features like ; TFT, 240x320 pixels, 262K colors display, a 2megapixel CMOS Camera, a MP3 Player and support to 72-tones polyphony. We especially dig the cool digital clock on the outer body and its ability to support Office documents and TV-out. No word on pricing or availability.

Design

The SCH-W579 appeared by bringing the color was different to the other Samsung cellular phone. A clamshell cell phone looks like a pocket camera. The appointment external screen that in such a way, made it be similar a view finder in pocket camera. Plus, the Samsung SCH-W579 form that the box and layered the dark grey color made the SCH-W579 really was similar pocket camera. Aside from its dual function, the measurement of this Samsung cellular phone is classes as big. Rather was full in the grasp and was not so comfortable when being pocketed. Fortunately, the SCH-W579 weight was not too heavy for the measurement of a cellular phone that had the measurement (rather) big.

The Screen

The big body brought the blessing to the screen measurement that also became super wide. The measurement of its profile was 55 x 40 mm with the resolution 240 x 320 pixels. It could accommodate eight text lines with the font measurement 12pt, the kind Time Roman. The matter of the sharpness was guaranteed with the use of the screen of TFT 256K colors kind.

Big Softy Keypad

One soft touch has been enough to operate its keypad button. The button measurement that was big (13 x 7 mm) as well as soft when being pressured makes the keypad operation very comfortable. There was one button that especially functioned as switch button between two modes available. Its location between softkey and the navigation button was marked with C/G symbol (that symbolized CDMA and GSM).

Extra Multi Function Button

On the right of the cellular phone body, there was a button that its form likes the volume organizer in radio equipment (scroll key). One of it functions indeed to adjust the volume. But this button also functioned as the organizer of music player, shutter button for camera. And if being pressured by four times to function as SOS message button.

Fun User Interface

In this series Samsung also began flirtatious with user interface look that difference. One of its choices was appearance the aim number (dialing font) with inkpen that used classic font and full color. It increased with background theme that was attractive. The menu look will also be like this, never again only an iconic menu, but was combined with 3D iconic.

This was the superiority of the Samsung SCH-W579 cellular phone. It could be active in two networks at the same time. During the new cellular phone restart will have the SIM card choice whatever that will become the main card (CDMA or GSM). When being active, in the screen will appear signal indicator from the two networks (C for CDMA and G for GSM).

When did voice call, we could choose to use the available network. After writing the aim number or aim number from phonebook, in the screen will emerge the choice of the network. To choose it used button chose (C/G) and after that pressed call button. Even so if want to send the text message.

The greatness again, the Samsung SCH-W579 cellular phone could accept the incoming call from two numbers in this network simultaneously. In the screen emerged the number that called to respectively the network. We could choose what number that will be accepted more previously. If accepting the call entered in GSM, automatic the call in CDMA would be reject and like that was the reverse.
So, grateful to Qualcomm that developed integrated single chip that became the SCH-W579 cellular phone brain so as to be able to operate dual mode.

Although not be classes as a smartphone, the SCH-W579 cellular phone was supplied a stylus pen that was hung in hanger that its location on the top of the cellular phone body. So what for this stylus pen? Firstly, to explore the menu and undertook available feature because of its screen has adopted touchscreen. Secondly, it’s to write the text message. The W579 was supplied by the introductory capacity to handwriting. The censor sensitivity to know handwriting (with stylus the pen) was moderate well.

For those has been used to write the text message with pressed keypad possibly the use of stylus pen even made slower in wrote text. Because, the response appearance in the screen had the break time a little.
Few other notes, the stylus pen that was hung in the folder hinge, in fact moderate annoying during us activate the camera. The stylus pen shadow was printed in the lens so as we must be somewhat busy evacuated it first.

The 2-megapixel Camera

As the multimedia cellular phone, it seems incomplete when being not supplied by the camera function. Moreover Samsung that was famous with its expertise in the imaging matter. The SCH-W579 cellular phone was supplied a 2-megapixel camera that could be made function to take a picture and the video recorder. However the use of its camera was rather troublesome. Before take a picture, we must arrange first the position of the aim. Because just as the lens was turned, view finder appearance in the screen sometimes was turned over and over.

The Voice Call

There was no the problem in signal reception although the two networks were activated simultaneously. The quality of the voice during did or received voice call basically was good enough. However, indeed there was a difference when received from the CDMA or GSM network. This was related to the network quality of the relevant operator. The rest, this was a cellular phone that could become the solution for them who needed the service of two operators from two networks at the same time.

The Battery

The SCH-W579 used lithium polymer battery. This battery kind usually support for endurance spoke and standby time that was long. However for this cellular phone, was not yet it was known how big its capacity. From the test, after being used for various functions, from the condition battery that full, only the reduction happened a little of the indicator battery in the screen. Might be its battery indeed had good endurance.

The Music Player

This feature was present as feature that made the W579 increasingly attractive. It could be used to play of MP3 and AAC file format. The sound quality personally was enough to be good to be heard ears. The presence of the additional memory of the microSD type made us could keep tens MP3 songs to be heard from time to time.

Specification:

Weight
132.8 g

Dimension
94.5×54x21.15 mm

Network
CDMA (800/1900 MHz), GSM (900/1800/1900 MHz)

Screen display
TFT 256K colors, 240×320 pixels

External screen
TFT 64K colors, 96×80 pixels

Audio
MP3/AAC/AMR

Video
176×144 pixels, MPEG/MP4

Photo
Flash light, Auto-focus, 10x zoom, Photo Editor

Internal memory
20MB

External memory
MicroSD, maximal 1GB

Connectivity
Bluetooth, GPRS/EDGE, USB cable

Other features
Touch screen, Handwriting Recognition, SOS message, Namecard

Recognation, Voice Memo, Melody Composer.

Samsung i600 Ultra Messaging HSDPA Windows Mobile Smartphone

It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks and for Samsung to introduce an innovative navigation user interface on the Ultra Messaging i600, which runs on a "has-been" Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone edition, we think it deserves a round of applause. That's on top of a wealth of connectivity features the i600 is equipped with, including HSDPA, 3G and Wi-Fi on a matte-black body that's irresistibly good looking. But the i600 is not alone in vying for a share of the pie in the smart phones with QWERTY keyboard arena. Find out how it stacks up against the competition.

Design

Picking up the Ultra Messaging i600 from its packaging morphs us into business executives in an instant, even when we aren't dressed like one. The matte-black i600 is sexy beyond doubt and, in some ways, remind us of a bar of Hershey's dark chocolate--irresistible and good enough to eat. In hand, this Samsung is a comfortable size and its slim profile of 11.8mm (the upcoming Motorola Q q9 measures 11.8m, too) gives the illusion that it is thinner than it really is. Even with the 1,200mAh Lithium-ion battery, the i600 stills weighs a feather-light 108g. It could just be us, but we're particularly fond of the soft-type plastic on the back of the handheld.

Two features are traded off for a more compact form factor: A smaller 2.3-inch screen compared with the larger 2.8-inch LCD on the Nokia E61 and a less spacious QWERTY keyboard. The individual keys resembling black tic tac mints organized fashionably, provide tactile feedback and are adequately backlit in dim environments. You'll know it when your thumb hovers over one. A nice touch are the numeric keys which are colored in grey so we could tell them apart from the rest of the letters in black. The immediate button to the right of each number works as a pair with the numeric key, so hitting on either gets us the same digit.

Navigating the phone's menu requires the use of the four-way directional toggle which is slightly elevated from the Call/End and soft-touch keys, as well as a center OK button. Despite various user reviews online regarding a flushed directional control which resulted in hitting the End key when we wanted to click right, we didn't encounter that on our test unit. So it's really up to you to check it out. Alternatively, there's a thumbwheel and a Back button on the right spine for a more BlackBerry-like experience.

The i600 uses a proprietary port for charging and synchronizing the handheld. The same port also connects the bundled stereo earphones, so that effectively makes obsolete both our mini-USB adapter and 2.5mm/3.5mm headset at the same time. Talk about a double-whammy. Fortunately, we could still pair our Sony Ericsson HBH-DS970 stereo Bluetooth earphones for music playback on this Samsung.

A microSD expansion slot sits above the thumbwheel on the right edge of the i600 with support of up to 2GB. There are also two cameras: One on the front for video calls and a 1.3-megapixel shooter on the back flanked by a reflecting mirror and onboard speakers. More on the camera features later.

Features

At the time of writing, three Samsung HSDPA-enabled phones (SGH-Z560PerformanceWe tested the triband Samsung Ultra Messaging i600 and found the call quality decent. Surprisingly, audio output excelled beyond our expectations with the built-in speakerphone and our buddies weren't able to actually tell that we were on one. A pity, really, that the speaker is on the rear of the handset, which has the potential to muffle the sound when the phone is on its back. We loaded a 320 x 180-pixel video file at 24bits (116MB) for our tests. Video playback, too, was relatively pleasing, though we did encounter slight pixilation and occasional dropped frames during fast-moving action. Our only gripe was with the 2.3-inch LCD which was a tad too reflective for our liking and washed out slightly in harsh sunlight at default brightness. , Ultra Edition 13.8 and Ultra Messaging i600) were available in Singapore, with the i600 the Korean's first smart phone to tout high-speed data transfer faster than 3G. In short, faster data speeds would enhance the Web browsing experience, music streaming and reduce download times via the theoretical 1.8Mbps speed. Connectivity features on the triband (900/1,800/1,900MHz) i600 are aplenty. Besides leveraging on HSDPA and 3G networks, the handheld is also Wi-Fi-enabled (802.11b/g)--sorely missed on the earlier i320n--and can connect wirelessly to a PC via Bluetooth 2.0 (with support for A2DP). The i600 is missing an infrared port, though.

Unlike touchscreen PDAs, the i600 runs on the Smartphone edition of Windows Mobile 5.0, powered by a 220MHz TI OMAP 1710 processor, so you don't get the full-fledged editing capabilities of Office Mobile. Memory-wise, there's 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM.

The preinstalled Piscel Viewer allows us to read only Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files and various image formats. The i600 also supports MS Direct Push Technology so you'd be able to have ready access to your email, calendar, contacts and tasks on Outlook. Synchronization with our PC was also a breeze except there wasn't an option to sync Notes on Outlook with the smart phone.

Multimedia-wise, the i600 supports formats such as MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA and WAV for music, and MPEG-4, WMV, H.263 and H.264 for videos. There's also an RSS feed reader (a rather basic one) and podcast application for you to catch up on the latest news or gossip.

Performance

We tested the triband Samsung Ultra Messaging i600 and found the call quality decent. Surprisingly, audio output excelled beyond our expectations with the built-in speakerphone and our buddies weren't able to actually tell that we were on one. A pity, really, that the speaker is on the rear of the handset, which has the potential to muffle the sound when the phone is on its back. We loaded a 320 x 180-pixel video file at 24bits (116MB) for our tests. Video playback, too, was relatively pleasing, though we did encounter slight pixilation and occasional dropped frames during fast-moving action. Our only gripe was with the 2.3-inch LCD which was a tad too reflective for our liking and washed out slightly in harsh sunlight at default brightness.

As far as data transfer rate was concerned, the theoretical 1.8Mbps speed sounds great but a lot of it depends on the network and your location. We took the i600 for an afternoon walk around the Central Business District (CBD) of Singapore along Shenton Way to find out if the speed was as claimed. Verdict? Well, we didn't need a bib to catch our drool. While surfing CNET Asia's Web page, the network alternates between 3 and 3.5G speeds and we weren't able to get a consistent HSDPA network to gauge download rates.

Camera performance was sub-par, which wasn't surprising. It took approximately 2.5 seconds for the shooter to load, and though there's autofocus, this doesn't work like the ones on dedicated digital cameras where you can half-press the shutter to prefocus. Again, we're nitpicking. Overall, image quality was Web-standard, but without a LED flash night shots weren't stellar.

When we were running multiple applications, it was noticeable that the processing speed took a beating. The i600 has 48.6MB of memory in total, of which 26MB is available to run your programs. Opened applications remained open although holding down the Home key brought up the task manager where you can close the programs. Onboard storage capacity is limited to 40MB to install additional programs such as Instant Messenger.

The i600 is rated for 4 hours of talktime and up to 190 hours (eight days) of standby. In our tests, we managed to get 2.5 days on regular usage, making calls, sending messages and occasional connections to Wi-Fi and 3G networks, without having to reach for the charger. Our test unit arrived with a second battery which will also be included in the commercial retail sets. The only problem we foresee is that because there's no standalone charger for the Lithium-ion cell, it won't be possible to charge one battery while using another concurrently.

Specification Of Samsung Ultra Messaging i600

Phone
Phone type :
Triband

Networks :
GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900

Connectivity options :
3G, GPRS, HSDPA, Bluetooth, USB, WLAN

Physical design
Form factor :
Candy bar

Dimensions (W x D x H) :
113 x 59 x 11.8 mm

Weight w/battery :
105 g

Primary display type :
TFT

Secondary display resolution :
x pixels

Input method(s) :
QWERTY

Interchangeable covers :
No

Available colours :
Black

General
LCD display size :
2.3-inch

Color LCD :
Yes

Performance
Operating system :
Microsoft Smartphone OS

Max. talktime (in hours) :
4 hours

Max. standby time (in hours) :
190 hours

Internal memory :
64 MB

Expansion slot(s) :
TransFlash / microSD

Other Features
MMS :
Yes

Multimedia
Built-in digital camera :
Yes

Warranty
Base warranty :
1 year

Dopod 595

Measuring 112.4 by 49 by 14.8 mm and weighing in at just 115g, the Dopod 595 is easily one of the smallest Windows Mobile 5.0 smartphones we've come across. It's similar in size to the O2 Xda Stealth, but the 595 gets a slight leg-up on the Stealth because in addition to tri-band GSM, it also supports 3G.
Complementing the tri-band GSM and 3G connectivity options, the 595 also offers Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2DP support for stereo headsets), Infrared and USB 1.1 for charging and data transfer. Conspicuously absent is 802.11b/g Wi-Fi support.

Design

The 595 sports a distinctly uncluttered European look which stands in stark contrast to its busier smartphone siblings in any of the popular 'candybar', PDA or sliding keyboard forms. It's tall, slim and stylish in an understated way. That first impression is underscored by the gently tapered gunmetal-colored chassis and its darker rubberized fairings and keypad. In fact, the 595 seems much more like a regular mobile than a smartphone.

The alphabet overlay on the keys uses a standard ABC layout rather than QWERTY, while the 1.3-megapixel camera and large 2.2-inch (5.6cm) screen are a common sight on multimedia-enhanced 3G phones. Only a single button wearing the stylised 'e' of the Internet Explorer logo gives any hint that there's more to the 595 than just talking and texting. The keyboard is somewhat cramped by the phone's compact shape but the keys are easy to use, although the backlighting created by blue lights at each side favors the outermost columns of keys while leaving the middle with a dim underglow. Navigating around the screen and menus is effortlessly achieved with the rubber-tipped four-way controller, the rocker switch atop the phone's left side or a combination of both.

Features

Once you get over the initial surprise that this modest-looking mobile is a fully featured smartphone, there's not much left under the covers to give you that little 'Ooh!' of delight. At least everything is covered in an exceptional manual that's clearly written, packed with illustrations and i we kid you not some 370 pages long. If only there was an index to help find what you're looking for.

The 595 does all that you'd expect from a smartphone running Windows Mobile 5.0. Organizing, emailing, basic browsing and media playback are par for the course, along with synchronization to a desktop or laptop PC. That process is hampered by the USB interface being restricted to the slower USB 1.1 spec rather than USB 2.0 a severe oversight for a device of this type.

That said, its email capabilities are noteworthy for hitting the trifecta of ISP-based POP3, Exchange 2003 and 2007 push and Webmail, with automatic configuration of Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail. If you can't get a message through on the 595, you're really not trying.

A microSD slot thoughtfully located on the side panel rather than under the rear cover, and protected by a small rubber cap allows for beefing up the phone's 64MB of RAM, primarily so you can load the 595 up with music or video clips.

We found Dopod's standalone MP3 player superior to the bundled Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, although like many phones, the 595 channels audio through the mini USB port so you're forced to use the supplied headphones rather than a superior pair of third-party earbuds.

Performance

The advanced data capabilities of the 3G network, with its maximum 384Kbps downlink, gives the 595 a clear edge when it comes to dealing with email en masse. Browsing sees less of a benefit--connecting and switching between sites is faster, but their usability suffers due to the limited capabilities of the cut-down Pocket Internet Explorer browser and the 2.2-inch screen.

However, users can always pipe the 3G signal to their laptop over the 595's Bluetooth 2.0 beam and turn the phone into a mobile modem. This would be an even greater advantage if the 595 supported the high-speed HSDPA protocol which M1 has recently deployed in Singapore.

The 1,190mAh battery is rated for a decent five hours of talk time and 220 hours on standby, with the capability of charging the phone through the mini-USB jack once it's connected to a PC.

The 300MHz Samsung processor drives the productivity applications with a degree of lag, although this is only noticeable if you've had experience with PDAs powered by the faster Intel Xscale chips. The most significant drawback stems from the 595's classic phone-centric design with no QWERTY keypad, touchscreen or stylus, entering data is almost a write-off (no pun intended). This makes the 595 more a device intended for 'viewing', rather than 'doing'.

Specification of Dopod 595

Datasheet Views:
1434 views since upload of datasheet (July 20, 2006)

Release Date:
July, 2006

Dimensions:
49 x 112.4 x 14.8 millimetres

Mass:
115 grams (battery included)

Software Environment
Operating System:
Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smartphone

Microprocessor
CPU:
32bit Samsung SC32442

CPU Clock
300 MHz

Memory, Storage capacity:
ROM capacity
128 MB (accessible: 80MB)

RAM capacity:
64 MB

Hard Disk capacity
Not supported

Memory, Storage capacity
ROM capacity:
128 MB (accessible: 80MB)

RAM capacity
64 MB

Hard Disk capacity
Not supported

Display
Display Type
color transflective TFT , 65536 scales

Display Resolution
240 x 320

Display Diagonal
2.2 "

Sound
Microphone:
mono

Speaker:
mono

Audio Output:
Proprietary jack

Cellular Phone
Cellular Networks:
GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900, UMTS2100

Cellular Data Standards:
CSD, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA

Call Alert:
40 -chord melody

Vibrating Alert:
Supported

Control Peripherals
Positioning Device:
Not supported

Keyboard:
Built-in numeric phone keyboard, 12 keys

Directional Pad:
5 -way block

Jog / Scroll Wheel:
Pressable non-rotary scroll wheel (Jog Dial)

Interfaces
Expansion Slots:
SDIO, microSD, TransFlash

Serial:
RS-232 , 115200bit/s

USB:
USB 1.1 client, 12Mbit/s , USB Series Mini-B (mini-USB) connector

Infrared Gate:
115200bit/s (SIR/CIR)

Bluetooth:
Bluetooth 2.0

Wireless LAN:
Not supported

Multimedia Telecommunication
Analog TV:
Not supported

Analog Radio:
Not supported

Built-in Digital Camera
Main Camera:
CMOS sensor, 1.3MP

Macro Mode:
Supported

Built-in Flash:
Not supported

Secondary Camera:
CMOS sensor, 352x288 pixel

Power Supply
Battery:
Lithium-ion polymer , removable

Battery Capacity:
1190 mAh

Dopod 900

The highly anticipated and much-lusted after Dopod 900 a.k.a. HTC Universal has finally arrived on our shores. Touted as the holy grail of PDA-phones, the Windows Mobile 5.0 handheld comes with almost every imaginable feature possible, from Wi-Fi and 3G to a QWERTY keyboard and megapixel camera. Sounds too good to be true? We put the 900 to the acid test.
Design

In stark contrast to the likes of O2's delicate mini and Palm's handy Treo, the Dopod 900 is clearly a PDA by form. Measuring 81 x 127.7 x 25mm and weighing 285g, this handheld can scarcely be considered pocket-friendly. All decked out in gun-metal grey, with a matt-black backplate, the 900 looks dull yet solid. Thankfully, the construction and build quality are excellent despite the rotating top half of the PDA. Two rubber bungs on the base of the handset keyboard prevent any possible damage to the screen when closing the flip.

The 900 can either be used in closed mode as a phone, in flip-open mode resembling and half-masquerading as a small laptop, or with the flip locked in place exposing the display on top as your typical PDA. Design-wise, what the Dopod sacrifices in terms of portability and lightness, it gains in two main areas.

For one, the huge 3.6-inch VGA screen is excellent and comparable with other offerings such as Dell's x51v. No problems with the touchscreen display, either, which is adequately sensitive and responsive. Secondly, apart from the Treo, PDAs and keyboards have generally been a mismatched marriage. Credit to Dopod for incorporating a full-sized QWERTY keypad which looks and feels a lot like those of the Nokia Communicators fame, where the large, squarish keys are individually slightly raised, generously spaced out and offer excellent tactile response.

Whether it's resting the open Dopod on a table and tapping away with our index fingers, or holding it up and pressing with our thumbs, we were able to type messages and documents at decent speeds and comfort levels. No chance of mimicking the Treo's famed one-hand operation here, though, unless you have unnaturally long thumbs. Unlike its smaller cousin, the Dopod 838, the 900 lacks a convenient one-touch silent-mode button, though it does come with a volume control toggle switch on the side.

The choice of using a traditional 3.5mm earphone jack is a welcome one since you can plug in your favorite headsets without an additional adapter. On the other hand, we found ourselves accidentally pressing the side calling buttons located halfway along the left side of the handset, and accidentally ending a couple of calls. Also, we hardly used the navigational keypad below the screen, choosing to employ the directional pad on the keyboard instead.

On the reverse of the base rests the battery cover, a 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera sensor and photo light. Without a lens cover, dust tends to accumulate at the lens.

Unlike some toothpicks that other PDAs use, the stylus here is well-sized and comfortable to hold.

Features

As of Windows Mobile 5.0, Office applications have been upgraded such as added support for embedded images, tables and charts. Two onscreen buttons appear at the bottom of the display for easy program control and menu access. Unlike the Dell X51v, we didn't experience any stability issues with the Dopod 900's implementation of the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system. Thanks to the Intel Bulverde 520MHz processor, multitasking didn't slow down programs or cause any noticeable lag, except when changing between landscape and portrait orientations.

The wireless manager program offers easy access and control over the phone, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. Web surfing on the Dopod 900 is a pleasant experience, thanks to the generous display resolution, ease of usage and widescreen viewing.

In flipped-open mode, holding the 900 sideways and pressing the dedicated camera button at the top right edge transform the screen into a large viewfinder, which is a joy to use. The camera display refresh rate is smooth as well. While the internal camera can also be used for photo-taking, its 352 x 288-pixel size is hardly sufficient. The main 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera sensor is capable up to 2-megapixel shots, possibly via interpolation, though we'd recommend software post-editing.

You can change light settings, apply effects such as grayscale and sepia, and shoot in various modes such as panoramic, burst and picture themes (think Neoprint-like frames). Sadly, photos taken are comparable with those of the O2 mini and of mediocre picture quality with grainy snapshots and poor color reproduction. Although the onboard photo light is relatively bright, low-light pictures suffer the same problems. As such, unless you don't expect much from your handheld camera, you'd tend to be disappointed with the image quality.

Using Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, the Dopod 900 performs as a decent multimedia device so long as you don't expect iPod-like sound quality. The speedy processor handles video playback smoothly, too.

While connecting to a PC, you can charge the PDA via a mini-USB cable. Besides 128MB of ROM and 64MB of RAM, the 900 offers one SDIO/MMC slot for memory expansion.

Performance

While the Dopod 900 is technically functional as a phone whether the flip is opened or closed, its design somewhat wasn't very practical when we actually used it. For one, it does not have an external display. That means you cannot see the identity of your incoming caller if the flip is closed. On the other hand, if you do take out the phone, flip, rotate and lock the top half back in place, wait for the screen orientation to change back to portrait mode, and then press the call button, a good 15 to 20 seconds would have passed by. Besides looking rather clumsy, we sometimes missed our calls this way, which could be annoying to say the least.

Leaving the Dopod's display facing up like most PDAs is not advisable since the screen will be exposed to knocks and scratches. Disappointingly, the speakerphone produced muffled sound quality during a call. Also, the 900 suffers from poor voice pickup via its microphone, especially when holding the phone in closed mode. Surprisingly, there were a few occasions when a call was unexpectedly disconnected due to lost reception, even when we weren't traveling underground on the commute.

When we tested 3G video calls on the 900 with our 3G test units (Motorola E1000 and Sony Ericsson Z800i), image quality was generally acceptable with good volume range through the two onboard speakers. Special mention should be given to the design of the 900 as the notebook-like design of the handheld allows video calls to be made handsfree.

The 1,620mAh battery managed about one-and-a-half days on normal usage, including music on the morning commute, usual phone functions such as SMSing and calling, as well as the odd Wi-Fi surfing.

Basics
Frequency: WCDMA+GSM(900/1800/1900)
Size: 81x127x25 mm
Weight: 285g
Standby time:-GSM:220-260 Hours- WCDMA:190-250 Hours
Talk time:-GSM:5-8 Hours WCDMA:2-4 Hours
Color: Titanium black
Smart model: Microsoft Windows Mobile Version 5.0
Style: mini notebook

Interface/messages
Messages: SMS; MMS
Voice/video recording: Unlimited (up to memory capacity)
Voice control: Yes
Hands free: Yes

Communications
Data transfer: WCDMA(3G)+GPRS (2.5G)
IR: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes
WiFi wireless LAN: Yes
USB: Yes

Screen
Colors: 65536 colors TFT screen
Size: 3.6 inch
Resolution:640x480 pixels

Multimedia
Original ring tones: MP3/WMA
JAVA: Yes
Multimedia player: Windows Media Player 10

Camera
CMOS resolution: 1.3 megapixels
Focus: Yes
Recording: Yes
Assist lamp: Yes
Memory slot: SD interface, up to 1G

Others
Handwritten functions: Yes
Browsing Office documents: Yes
3G telecommunications: Yes

Dopod C800

Slimmest Windows Mobile PDA Phone with QWERTY Keyboard
Being slim is in, and the new C800 brings slimness to the highly functional design that started with the 838. Compared to its predecessor, the 838, the C800 is 30% slimmer.

Attractive new design
Encased in new stylish case that comes in classic grey, the C800 is sure to turn heads with its sleek, sophisticated looks.

Improved keyboard
The latest keyboard sports indicator lights showing when the CAPS LOCK and FUNCTION keys are engaged. The sliding mechanism has also been improved and is now semi-automatic with spring-loading. To top it all off, the sliding keyboard is accompanied by a pleasing musical tone (with several options to choose from) or it can be turned off altogether.

Quadband GSM and high speed WiFi (802.11g)
Frequent traveler? Fret not. With the C800, you get Quadband GSM connectivity, allowing you to connect to any GSM network in the world (with the proper roaming agreement). Furthermore, its built-in high speed WiFi connection allows users to download emails, data or surf the Internet at higher speeds.

Specification of Dopod C800

Physical design
Form factor
Slider

Dimensions
109 x 59 x 17 mm

Weight w/battery
168 g

Primary display resolution
320 x 240 pixels

Phone
Phone type

Quadband

Networks
GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM190o

Connectivity options
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/GSM, USB, EDGE

Messaging features
SMS, Email, Instant message

Ringtone options
MP3 ringtones, WMA ringtones

Additional phone features
Ringtones: Polyphonic, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, AMR

Multimedia
Built-in digital camera
Yes

Maximum camera resolution
2 megapixels

Camera sensor type
CMOS

Maximum digital zoom
x

Maximum optical zoom
x

Video features
Video recording, Video playback

Additional multimedia features
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP and AVRDP

PDA
Operating system
Pocket PC

Main processor type
TI OMAP 850

RAM
64 MB

ROM
128 MB

Expansion option(s)
TransFlash/microSD

PC connectivity
Windows

Battery type
Rechargeable 1,130mAh battery

Rated battery life
5 hours

Installed applications
Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 with DirectPush Technology; Outlook Mobile, Office Mobile (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), Adobe Reader (PDF), IE Mobile, Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, PocketMSN, Activesync, Comm Manager, Internet Sharing, Network Wizard, Audio Manager (via web download), RSS News Reader, Cyberon Voice Commander, Sprite Backup, Zio Golf (Game), CE-Star (via web download)

Additional functions
802.11b/g wireless LAN; dual language (English/Chinese) support

Display
Monochrome or color
Color

No. of colors
16 bit

Touch screen
Yes

Backlit display
Yes

Data Input
Method
Pen

Interfaces
Infrared
Yes

Audio
Built-in speakers
Yes

Built-in mic
Yes

Desktop Connectivity
Desktop software included
Yes

Synchronization with desktop
Yes

Power supply
Batteries rechargeable
Yes

AC adaptor included
Yes

Warranty
Base warranty
1 year

O2 Xda Atom Exec

O2's XDA Atom Exec is an incremental upgrade to the original Atom, a move the company hopes will help stave off increasing competition from the likes of HP with its iPaq rw6828 or the upcoming multimedia BlackBerry devices such as the 8100 Pearl. On its own, the Exec is a highly impressive, push email-enabled smart phone, but if you already own the first Atom, its upgrade worthiness is questionable.

Design

Following the highly successful design of the original Atom, the Exec offers the same dimensions 102 x 58 x 18.5mm and a more than manageable weight of 140g. It's not a burden to carry around in a jeans pocket, and you won't be self-conscious since the curvaceous, black chassis is quite attractive.

The most significant design difference between the vanilla Atom and the Exec is the fact that the latter uses a matte as opposed to a glossy finish. This is a smart move by O2, as the previous Atom was chastised by users for being prone to fingerprinting and other blemishes.

Menu navigation is handled using either the stylus (or, if you're lazy, a finger) or the hardware buttons that lie just below the 2.7-inch 240x320-pixel touch screen. These buttons include a five-way directional thumb pad, accept/reject calling buttons, a shortcut button for the start menu and a button for quick-launching your SMS/e-mail/MMS inbox.

Other handy shortcut buttons include volume adjustments on the left side of the device, a power button up on top and shortcuts to the notes and camera applications on the right.

In addition to the power button, the top of the Exec houses a miniSD memory card slot, while on the opposite end of the device you'll find a USB connector and a 2.5mm headphone jack.

Features

The Exec runs on the familiar Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, upgraded with the Messaging and Security Feature Pack. Among various security improvements, this provides push email capabilities which, provided you've enabled a data service through your carrier, sends new e-mail messages directly to the device without forcing you to continuously login. This is identical to the service provided by the HP iPaq rw6828 and similar to the BlackBerry's push e-mail system.

It's worth noting that owners of the original Atom are able to download the Messaging and Security Feature Pack and install it onto the device themselves, which removes one of the main benefits of said users upgrading to the Exec version.

Internally, there are a number of improvements upon the original Atom. The Exec uses a 520MHz Intel processor and 192MB of ROM, which trounces the 416MHz chip and 128MB ROM of its predecessor. The faster processor improves application performance and load time, while the increased ROM provides more space for storing data.

Connectivity options abound, and include 802.11b Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 1.2, infrared and triband (900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE. These features can easily be switched off to conserve battery life and/or to ensure that the device remains usable during air travel.

Multimedia features are also plentiful, and include an FM radio, a 2-megapixel camera (with self-portrait mirror and flash) and music/picture/video playback through the pre-installed O2 MediaPlus application. It's great having a single interface to categorise and access all multimedia files.

In addition to O2 Media Plus, the device also bundles free copies of CodeWallet Pro 5, Jeyo SMS Backup and WorldMate 2005.

Of course, all of the personal productivity applications built into Windows Mobile 5.0 are present, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer and Outlook 2002. Using ActiveSync, these applications can be synchronised with a PC to enable you to keep working whilst on the road.

Performance

One of our biggest concerns surrounding the Exec was that the faster processor would have a detrimental effect on battery life. However, O2 rates the Exec as having the same battery life as the original Atom: Up to 5.5 hours of talk time and 150 hours standby time.

In our Spb Benchmark battery test, which runs the device through constant general usage tasks with the backlight always enabled, the Exec lasted for six hours and twenty minutes. This is a pleasing score; the HP iPaq rw6828 scored seven hours and three minutes, but this is expected due to its slower 416MHz processor. Under regular, intermittent usage, we went almost four days without needing to reach for the charger.

Application performance is extremely satisfying. We found that programs loaded virtually instantly, even when multiple applications were running at the same time. We were also very impressed with the device's multimedia playback capabilities; video played smoothly and audio files were crisp and clear. However, as with the rw6828, we found that shots taken with the integrated camera were grainy, particularly in low-light conditions.

Finally, the push email feature is intuitive and easy to setup, but we found the BlackBerry's thumb wheel to be a more effective message navigation tool than the Exec's touch screen and stylus combination. Also, since there's no built-in keyboard, bashing out lengthy emails takes significantly more time, but we were nonetheless pleased with the unit's handwriting recognition performance.

While it's not a huge improvement over the original Atom, on its own the Atom Exec is an extremely attractive smartphone, possibly more impressive than HP iPaq rw6828 due to its faster processor and O2 MediaPlus application.

Specification Of O2 Xda Atom Exec

Physical design
Form factor
Pad

Dimensions
102 x 58 x 18.5 mm

Weight w/battery
140 g

Primary display resolution
x pixels

Phone
Phone type
Triband

Networks
GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900

Connectivity options
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/GSM, Infrared, USB

Messaging features
SMS, Predictive text input, Email, Instant message

Multimedia
Built-in digital camera
Yes

Maximum camera resolution
2 megapixels

Camera sensor type
CMOS

Imaging features
Onboard flash

Additional multimedia features
Built-in FM radio

PDA
Operating system
Pocket PC

Main processor type
Intel PXA 27x processor

Main processor speed
520 MHz

RAM
64 MB

ROM
192 MB

PC connectivity
Windows

Removable battery
Yes

Rated battery life
5.5 hours

Installed applications
Windows Mobile 5.0 (operating system) with messaging and Security Feature Pack; O2 AutoInstall; O2 Media Plus; O2 PhonePlus; O2 SMS Plus; Word Mobile; Excel Mobile; PowerPoint Mobile; PDF viewer; Outlook Mobile

Additional functions
Push mail

Included accessories
Infrared keyboard (while stocks last)

Display
Monochrome or color
Color

Touch screen
Yes

Backlit display
Yes

Data Input
Method
Pen

Interfaces
Infrared
Yes

Audio
Built-in speakers
Yes

Built-in mic
Yes

Desktop Connectivity
Desktop software included
Yes

Synchronization with desktop
Yes

Cradle included
No

Power supply
Batteries rechargeable
Yes

AC adaptor included
Yes

Warranty
Base warranty
1 year

Dopod 818 Pro

When the O2 Xda II mini first arrived on our shores more than a year ago, we marveled at a full-fledged PDA-phone that boasted the latest features in a petite form factor that was truly portable. However, it still left some things to be desired, including Wi-Fi. 2006 welcomes two similarly handy convergent devices: The O2 Xda Atom, which heralds from an established brand name and looks the part, and the 818 Pro, brought into Asia by new kid on the block Dopod. We ran the fledgling PDA-phone through its paces, discovering another worthy entry into the wonderful world of mobile-capable handhelds.

Design and Ergonomics
Curvy, petite (by PPC phone standards) and simple: that's the JAMin in a nutshell. The casing's size and shape are unchanged from the JAM, but the JAMin adds a few more buttons. The JAM was aimed at novice users and women (sexist, yes) who might be intimidated by lots of buttons, so HTC made a device with few external controls. The JAMin still keeps it simple, though the number of buttons has increased modestly. You'll find a large directional pad flanked by call send and end keys, OK and Windows Start Menu keys and two context sensitive Windows Mobile 5 softkeys on the front face. The Comm Manager key (launches the triple wireless radio manager), camera and volume slider are on the left side while the power button and IR window are on the right. The full size SD card slot is located up top and the sync/charge connector is at the bottom. The device is finished in matte black and the camera lens and associated self-portrait mirror are on the back above the battery door.

Phone Features, Data and Reception
The JAMin is a quad band GSM world phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) that will work anywhere in the world GSM service is available. It's unlocked for use with any GSM carrier (just pop in your SIM and enter the correct settings for Internet access for your carrier). For fast (but not 3G fast) data the JAMin has EDGE class 10 as well as the older, slower GPRS. Data speeds over EDGE in the Silicon Valley area were good, coming in between 110 and 130k when using Cingular's MEdia Net service, and between 65 - 110k on T-Mobile.
Like all Windows Mobile phones, the i-mate comes with mobile versions of Internet Explorer and Outlook (the email component is called Messaging) so you can stay in touch when on the go. A recent ROM update added support for Microsoft's AKU2 which offers push e-mail for Exchange 2003 users.
Voice quality on the JAMin is quite good with clear conversations and adequate volume when talking directly to the handset. When using the included earbud headset, call clarity was also excellent and volume is more than ample. In our tests of the 850 (Cingular) and 1900MHz (T-Mobile) bands in the US, the JAMin had very good reception that's on par with the T-Mobile MDA, and beats the Treo 650 by a small margin and the i-mate JAM (850 and 900MHz models) by a greater margin. The phone is good in areas of OK to excellent reception. If you spend most of your phone-time in an area where you can barely get a signal with most phones, then it still might do the trick (but then you might want to think about changing carriers too).
The phone supports common call features such as call forwarding, conference calling, call waiting and it has a full duplex speaker phone that's decent but not stellar.
Like other recent i-mate smartphones, the JAMin comes with voice dialing that works over Bluetooth. Yes, that's still not a common feature on Pocket PC phones which is unfathomable since every decent feature phone with Bluetooth can do it. The JAMin ships with Voice Speed Dial which uses voice tags rather than true speech recognition. Yes it lacks Microsoft Voice Command's impressive recognition capabilities and range of commands but MS Voice Command does eat up a lot of resources and won't work over a Bluetooth headset or car kit. You can record tags for any contact in your address book and you can record tags to launch the applications of your choice. To initiate voice commands, assign a hardware button to the application (more expedient than launching it from the on-screen Programs group), press the button or press (press and hold for some headsets) the call button on your Bluetooth headset or car kit to have the phone listen for your command.

Horsepower and Performance
Like the HTC Wizard variants (i-mate K-JAM, T-Mobile MDA, Cingular 8125) the JAMin runs on a 200MHz Texas Instruments OMAP 850 processor (actually 195MHz, but everyone rounds up). That's quite a come-down from the original JAM's 416MHz Intel XScale CPU but the upside is improved battery life. Despite the half-speed processor and slower Windows Mobile 5 OS, the JAMin is usable but you will notice delays launching applications and might find it a tad sluggish for Skype (overclocking the CPU remedies this). Though the Cingular 8125 runs on the same CPU, it feels peppier than the JAMin, and the US T-Mobile MDA feels as responsive as the JAMin. If you're looking for decent performance (other than video playback and Skype reliability at this point), and crave great battery life by PPC phone standards, the JAMin should suffice. The lower the megahertz, the better the battery life, and the JAMin lasts longer on a charge than the faster JAM (when WiFi isn't in use).
The OMAP850is a dual core processor which has one core to handle PDA functions and another that's basically a DSP handling telephony and some multimedia duties. As you can see from the benchmarks, it offers similar performance to the K-JAM and MDA since it uses the same CPU. The JAMin has 128 megs of flash ROM and 64 megs of RAM. Under Windows Mobile 5, RAM is used in the same way it is on a PC: it's the place where running programs execute. The operating system and pre-installed applications live in Flash ROM and the remaining 43 megs are available for you to install programs and data. Should you need more space for programs and files, you can get an SD card to use with the JAMin. Typically there are 25 megs of free RAM which is an adequate amount to run several programs simultaneously.

Display, Multimedia and Gaming
The JAMin has a bright, sharp QVGA 240 x 320 transflective color display that's easy on the eyes despite its small 2.8" diagonal size. The display supports 65,000 colors and both portrait and landscape modes. The screen has very good contrast, pleasing color saturation and is quite bright at the 50% setting (though not as bright as the Wizard). Indoors it looks great, though outdoors fade and glare are noticeable (the same is true of most PDA displays).
Sound out through the included stereo earbud headphones is good when listening to MP3s using the included Windows Media Player Mobile 10 with support for DRM. Likewise movie soundtracks sound good, and certainly much better than the speaker, as is the case with all PDAs and phones. The phone does well with video encoded at 450 kbps or less and QVGA resolution using Windows Media Player and the excellent free TCPMP video player. If you're into high bitrate encoding, the JAMin isn't for you, as you'll notice frame drops above 600kbps which become unpleasant at 700kbps. Volume for both PDA audio and ringtones is average through the built-in speaker.
To test video playback we threw our usual test file at it: "The Chosen" (a neat BMW flick with Clive Owen) which is a 4:26 minute long, 10 meg MPEG1 file recorded at 320 x 240, 308 kb/s. We tested the Cingular 8215 using TCPMP, an extremely fast open source free video player that supports MPEG1, DivX, ASF, WMV and AVI files. TCPMP benchmarked "The Chosen" with a modest benchmarks of :

Average speed: 182.27%

Bench Frame Rate: 43.75

Bench. Data Rate: 564 Mbit/s

Orig. Frame Rate: 24fps

Orig. Data Rate: 310 kbit/s

Bluetooth and WiFi
Comm Manager is your one-stop destination for all things wireless on the JAMin, along with a few other goodies. Launch it by pressing its icon on the Today Screen or pressing the dedicated button on the phone's left side. You can turn the phone, Bluetooth and WiFi radios on or off, as well as controlling speaker mute, initiating ActiveSync and push email. Under Comm Manager's settings menu you'll find items that take you to Bluetooth and WiFi settings applets.
The Wireless LAN applet, similar to other recent HTC-made devices, shows signal strength, current SSID, mode, Tx rate and channel. If offers several tabs for power management (the default setting worked fine for us), manual IP settings if you don't use DHCP, LEAP and secure certificate enrollment. WiFi connections were reliable in our tests when connecting to a variety of public open access points and 802.11g access points using WEP encryption. Range was average for Pocket PCs, which is to say quite good. The device can connect to an access point that's 70 feet away through walls.
Bluetooth's user interface is less replete with features and information since the JAMin uses Microsoft's basic Bluetooth stack and software. Though the software lacks wizards or friendly graphics to guide you through connection management, it does get the job done reliably. Using the software you can make the device discoverable, discover and pair to other devices such as GPS, PCs, headsets, car kits and keyboards. The JAMin has Bluetooth 2.0 which is backward compatible with previous versions such as 1.1 and 1.2 but it does not have EDR (enhanced data rate) found on some recent Mac and PC computers. It supports most all common profiles including DUN, serial port, hands-free, headset, object push and HID (but not A2DP). We tested the i-mate with several Bluetooth headsets including the Plantronics Discovery 640, Cardo Scala and Motorola H500 and all did well in terms of voice quality, volume, call transfer and hands-free features.

Software
All Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PCs come with the operating system, Mobile Office suite including Outlook Mobile and desktop Outlook, Windows Media Player Mobile 10, Terminal Services, Pictures and Videos, Pocket MSN (Hotmail, MSN Messenger), File Explorer, handwriting recognition (print and cursive), Solitaire, Bubble Breaker (the game formerly known as Jaw Breaker), Calculator and support for secure certificates and VPN connections. Outlook on the PDA has calendar, contacts, tasks, notes and email (called Messaging), which you can sync to a Windows desktop running Outlook. In addition you get Clear Storage (wipes out the device to factory settings), Comm Manager, Club i-mate email, the camera application, Voice Speed Dial, ClearVue PDF viewer, Modem Link and Zip (unzips .zip files).
You can add any Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC app you wish and we tested several which ran well, including Resco File Explorer, Resco Photo Viewer, TCPMP, eReader, Opera beta and several current Pocket PC games.

Specification Of Dopod 818 Pro

Physical design
Form factor
Pad

Dimensions
108 x 58 x 18.2 mm

Weight w/battery
150 g

Primary display resolution
320 x 240 pixels

Phone
Phone type
Quadband

Networks
GSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900

Connectivity options
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/GSM, Infrared, USB, SDIO

Messaging features
SMS, MMS, Email, Instant message

Ringtone options
MP3 ringtones, WMA ringtones

Calling Features
Speakerphone

Additional phone features
Supports polyphonic ringtones including Midi, WAV, MP3 and WMA

Multimedia
Built-in digital camera
Yes

Maximum camera resolution
2 megapixels

Camera sensor type
CMOS

Maximum digital zoom
x

Maximum optical zoom
x

PDA
Operating system
Pocket PC

Main processor type
TI OMAP 850

Main processor speed
195 MHz

RAM
64 MB

ROM
128 MB

Expansion option(s)
SD, SDIO, MMC

PC connectivity
Windows

Battery type
Rechargeable 1,200mAh battery

Removable battery
Yes

Installed applications
Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 (operating system); Internet Explorer; Pocket MSN; windows Media Player; Outlook Mobile; Word Mobile; Excel Mobile; PowerPoint Mobile; ClearVue PDF; ZIP; Camera; Wireless Manager

Included accessories
Charger, USB cable, PDA case, wired earphones cum handsfree kit and extra stylus.

Display
Monochrome or color
Color

No. of colors
16 bit

Touch screen
Yes

Backlit display
Yes

Data Input
Method
Pen

Interfaces
Infrared
Yes

Audio
Built-in speakers
Yes

Built-in mic
Yes

Desktop Connectivity
Desktop software included
Yes

Synchronization with desktop
Yes

Cradle included
Yes

Power supply
Batteries rechargeable
Yes

AC adaptor included?
Yes

Warranty
Base warranty
1 year

O2 Xda Zinc

The new Xda Zinc makes sending and receiving messages a breeze with the slide-out QWERTY keyboard. With its built-in Wireless LAN and Intel XScale® PXA 270 Processor you'll be able to transfer files and messages easily, wherever you are. Equipped with Windows Mobile® 5.0 the 3G-enabled Xda Zinc makes video calling, messaging and surfing the web faster and more reliable. With such impressive features, the Xda Zinc is the absolute communication tool.

Design

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.

At a cursory glance, we find more dedicated buttons on the Dopod that provide quick access to frequently used applications for surfing the Web, managing wireless connections, reading messages and voice dialing. But the O2 is not without its merits, either. There's a Hold switch on the left edge and the individual keys on the QWERTY keyboard are larger with slightly better tactile feedback, although some may prefer the softer pitch from typing on the 838 Pro. Over at the back of the unit you'll find a 2-megapixel camera with self-portrait mirror, LED strobe flash and onboard speakers.

What we didn't fancy was the location of the two soft buttons on the keyboard that eat into the W, E, U and I keys. Chances are you'll end up with unwanted keypresses, more so if you are a hasty typist or typing while on a moving train. When you slide out the keyboard, the screen switches to landscape orientation almost immediately. Unlike the slimmer Xda Atom Life, the 2.8-inch LCD on the Zinc has a wider viewing angle, so your friends beside you would be able to watch the latest video clip without having to peer over your shoulder.

In our hands, the QWERTY keyboard was easy to use and lit up adequately for typing in dim light. Larger keys also meant our thumbs had to maneuver a longer horizontal distance which took a little bit of getting used to. If we had our way, we'd have preferred a little more room between each individual key. Overall handling felt very solid, though it would have been better if the keyboard slid out and locked into position more smoothly.

The Xda Zinc charges and synchronizes with the PC via a standard mini-USB port, but falls short with a 2.5mm audio jack (considering its size, there certainly appears to be enough room for a 3.5mm port) which is incompatible with most standard earphones. So you're stuck with the bundled stereo wired headset with microphone unless you purchase an adapter.

Features

The O2 Xda Zinc runs on Windows Mobile 5.0, which allows you to read, view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint (open and view only) documents directly on the handset. You also get the usual multimedia features like Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer and MSN Messenger so you can conduct online chats or Web browsing over Wi-Fi, 3G or GPRS networks.

Other wireless connectivity features on this triband (900/1800/1900MHz) Zinc include Bluetooth, A2DP and infrared. No FM radio or HSDPA support, though. If you're on an Exchange Server, you can also synchronize the device with the server via the ActiveSync program.

Synchronization with the desktop and Outlook is a breeze. Once both terminals are connected, you'll get a prompt to set up a new user profile (if connected for the first time) and the ActiveSync program will go on to sync data between your desktop and the handheld. If you're traveling, connecting the Zinc to your PC would trickle charge the device.

Unless you rip the handheld apart, you won't see the important difference between the Xda Zinc and the 838 Pro: The Xda Zinc is powered by an Intel XScale PXA 270 processor that runs at 520MHz with 64MB of RAM and 128MB of ROM compared with the 400MHz Samsung CPU on the Dopod. Screen-wise, the large 2.8-inch, 240 x 320-pixel touchscreen LCD is easy on the eyes for document viewing, although this appeared washed-out when we were taking pictures outdoors. The Xda Zinc comes installed with a number of proprietary software to enhance user experience. There's AutoInstall, AutoConfigurator (adjusts network settings), Connect (ROM updates), MessagePlus (one-stop place for checking messages), SMS Plus and Phone Plus (additional dialing features). Unless you can remember all 1,000 numbers on your handheld, we'd recommend you install the Phone Plus program when you first power up the device. What it does is enable smart dialing so that when you key in 2, 6, 3 and 8 on the onscreen numeric pad, you'll get a filtered list of phonebook entries beginning with CNET.

Another useful and convenient feature is the O2 Plus program which allows you to switch between open applications by tapping and holding the cross button on the top right corner--the action calls up the list of running programs. Just think of it as a taskbar on your Windows PC.

There are two cameras on this Zinc: One on the front for video calls and the other at the back with a 2-megapixel CMOS fixed-focus sensor.

Unlike the 838 Pro, the camera on the face of the Xda Zinc doesn't sit flush with the surface of the phone and that could result in potential scratches. The addition of the camera could also force some business users to look elsewhere given that some companies or industries don't allow camera-phones on their premises. Unlike the Dopod 838 Pro which uses the microSD/TransFlash card, the Xda Zinc employs the miniSD format for additional memory. You slot the card in on the left edge of the handset. To remove it, you need to press the media further in (having nails would help) and the card will snap out halfway from the slot.

Performance

The Xda Zinc runs on a 1,300mAh Lithium-ion battery (handheld shuts down when you remove the battery cover) and is rated for 5 hours of talktime and up to 220 hours on standby over GSM networks. You can expect the figures to be lower if you're a heavy user who thrives on wireless LAN and streams music to a Bluetooth headset. On regular usage, that is if you make only a few calls, text a few buddies while chalking up new game scores on the machine, the Zinc should be able to last up to 2.5 days before calling it quits.

During tests, applications loaded almost instantly even though there were programs running in the background. Video playback (116MB, 320 x 180-pixel video file at 24bits) was smooth and our music was moderately loud, although it would have been better if the speakers were on the face of the handheld, rather than behind. It wouldn't matter much if you're indoors, but when you're watching a video clip outdoors the audio would be projected away from you and, together with other ambient noise, sound output wouldn't be fascinating. Picture quality, on the other hand, was average at best. Some of our pictures turned out blurred because it wasn't possible to pre-focus on the unit.

During our review, we encountered situations where the time zone shifted to -8GMT (we set to +8GMT as our default) without us having to do anything, which ends up affecting our calendar entries. Problem is, an unsuspecting user could go for his appointments 12 hours later than the scheduled time if he didn't switch back to his local time zone. According to O2, this is a Windows Mobile issue and a ROM update (some time in March or April) should rectify it.

General
Network
UMTS / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900

Announced
2006, December

Status
Available

Size
Dimensions
109 x 58 x 22.6 mm

Weight
175 g

Display
Type
TFT touchscreen, 65K colors

Size
240 x 320 pixels, 2.8 inches

- Handwriting recognition

- QWERTY keyboard

Ringtones
Type
Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3

Customization
Download, order now

Vibration
Yes

Memory
Phonebook
In shared memory, Photo call

Call records
Yes

Card slot
miniSD, buy memory

- 64 MB RAM, 128 MB ROM

- Intel XScale PXA 270, 520 MHz processor

Data
GPRS
Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps

HSCSD
No

EDGE
No

3G
Yes, 384 kbps

WLAN
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g

Bluetooth
Yes

Infrared port
Yes

USB
Yes, miniUSB

Features
OS
Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 PocketPC

Messaging
SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging

Browser
WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (PocketIE)

Games
Yes, order now

Colors
Silver

Camera
2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video, flash; secondary VGA video call camera

- Video call

- Pocket Office(Word, Excel, Outlook)

- Java MIDP 2.0

- Voice memo

- MP3/AAC player

- Video/audio album

- Built-in handsfree

Battery
Standard battery, Li-Ion 1300 mAh

Stand-by
Up to 220 h

Talk time
Up to 5 h