O2 XDA ORBIT

 

As well as O2’s excellent and confidence-inspiring slide-out packaging and the usual top-quality documentation, the Orbit comes with a free copy of CoPilot – satnav software with seamless door-to-door navigation, notionally worth around £100 (T-Mobile ships with TomTom).

 

That alone makes the Orbit the best buy of the Artemis implementations, and it makes sensible use of the integrated GPS receiver. Also there on the standard Windows menus are a couple of O2-specific icons for quick access to the network’s functions. The basic package includes a surprisingly good FM radio, the most recent version of Windows Mobile 5, and WiFi support to help you get on to the Internet at wifi hotspots and the like (EDGE support too if you’re in mainland Europe).

 

The phone itself is the most elegant of HTC’s keyboardless touchscreen smartphones, nicely styled with a mix of slightly rubberised matt black cover and brushed aluminium edging. It feels comfortable in any pocket and in the hand. No 3G, though, the 2mp camera isn’t great, and the processor does seem surprisingly sluggish on some applications.

 

• If network choice isn’t an issue, O2’s CoPilot offer just shades T-Mobile’s TomTom. Not much in it, though.

 

 

SPECIFICATION
Size
Length 108mm
Width 58mm
Depth 16.8mm
Weight
127g
Main display
TFT touchscreen, 65K colours, 240x320 pixels, 58x42mm
Camera
2MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video (QCIF)
Connectivity
Quadband GSM, USB, Bluetooth 2.0
Battery
Standby 200h
Talk time 4h
Features
Windows Mobile and Office apps, built-in GPS receiver and CoPilot software