After a complete makeover, O2 has released the Xphone II, a feature-packed smart phone that wouldn't look out of place in a Boss or Armani suit pocket.
The phone we received for the review was a test model, so some features may have changed or been improved by the time it is readily available. In addition, we received no instructions or PC software for the phone, so we were left to our own devices to fully explore the features available.
Design
O2's designers have really excelled themselves and given the Xphone II a stylish and modern appearance. The generous colour screen takes up around half of the front of the phone, nicely balanced by the dark grey graphite-coloured keyboard and shiny centre joystick. Although the case is predominantly plastic, it feels quite solid and not likely to loosen up over time. The rear of the phone sports a VGA camera lens and self-portrait mirror, but no photo assist light or flash. The entire handset weighs in at 102g and measures 107.5 x 44.5 x 18mm, pretty similar to Sony Ericsson's popular K700i.
The layout of the keyboard, joystick and buttons on the Xphone II are pretty standard and practical to use. We found the joystick to be more accurate and user-friendly than most, but an occasional incorrect option can still be chosen if not careful. The tiered keyboard, although quite solid and precise, might take a few minutes to get used to, as the keys are quite small in height to allow more space for the TFT screen.
The Xphone II's 64K colour TFT screen is one of the best we've seen, vibrant and clear regardless of the lighting conditions.
Features
The Xphone II is a tri-band capable phone with all the standard connectivity options, such as GPRS, Bluetooth and infrared. But being a smart phone, it has more options for Internet connectivity and mobile computing. After setting up a simple GPRS connection, we were able to connect to the Internet via WAP and access a few Web sites without drama. However, without instructions and more time for the review, we decided against trying out a VPN or Secure WAP connection. We had a quick look around all the related menus and all conceivable options seemed to be covered, so professional users should be well catered for.
You will also find basic smart phone features such as photos, videos, MP3 player, calendar and the likes. In practice, we had some concerns with a few basic phone functions that seem to be missing from the Xphone II, such as the ability to have a vibrating ring tone in conjunction with a standard tone and handy shortcuts to everyday functions like the alarm clock and calendar functions.
In addition, we also experienced a few glitches with the SMS editor where it occasionally threw in random words or omitted words we had typed when finally sending the message. On one occasion, the popup menu available from the right hotkey appeared miniaturised, making the options on it impossible to read. A quick reboot had the desired effect and all was right again. We were left with the uneasy feeling that maybe the phone is a little too much like a PC and this type of glitch might occur quite regularly.
The phone's more than decent 64MB memory is expandable by putting a miniSD in the slot beneath the battery.
Users can also change the type of features they have on the background and have the option to show the most recently accessed functions, like on a PC desktop.
Performance
Performance-wise, the phone was able to deliver quality voice calls and even good SMS messages when the glitches don't act up. However, we found the speakerphone to be quiet. We also found that several calls were missed because the ring tones were quiet and had no vibrating alert.
We also found that there is some delay between pressing the button for photos and when the phone actually takes the photo. There seems to be a theme of slowness among the phone features. The menu was slow to come out; access to the Internet was slow and the video was slow.
The battery life was good, lasting around 5 days between charging even with regular use.
Overall, the Xphone II has the potential to become a popular smart phone. But with the rapid emergence of better smart phones with lesser glitches, the Xphone II might find it hard to convince users that it is the phone for them.
Justin Levis contributed to this review.
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lokesh
19/06/2007, 07:32 PM
rating
7/10
hi this is lokesh iam using o2 x phone II model i want 2 change keypad & joystick where i can get it please reply me
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anilkool
02/01/2007, 03:23 AM
rating
8/10
Just bought one at 15k at bangalore,india ...thrilled that i can connect via usb cable to laptop and browse/download etc without gprs..and all my outlook/imap mails are downlaoded perfectly..
Pros: win2003 os..good ..lot of application like clearvue avl for office dox reading..msn chat works perfect..as also yahoo mail/gmail..i am happy.
Cons: 28MB memory builtin is pretty bad..ad i am not sure whats the max size it can support..some say 512 and some 1 gb..well chking it with o2 beforebuying
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John
23/08/2006, 11:57 PM
rating
8/10
Good solid smart phone at a good price
Pros: good solid phone. Just got it and so far im loving it.
came from a HP Ipaq smartphone and the biggest thing that does it for me for the O2 is the size. So what if it doesnt have Wifi, spreadsheet, Word and a Stylus. When i had the Ipaq i realized i hardly used anyway. So so far the 02 is really something i enjoy.
Cons: the joystick lacks feels. sometimes its difficult to really know which is center. they should have made the joystick like the center navi key of the treo. Start up is a bit slow but im not such an impatient person so i forgive it for that. Coming from such a big phone im still readjusting because of the size. this phone would have been a 10 for me if not for the joystick gripe and the OS speed
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26/03/2006, 05:53 PM
great
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26/03/2006, 05:52 PM
excellent
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26/03/2006, 05:52 PM
very good
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gobi
17/11/2005, 08:55 PM
see this
out look lovely!
and others is ok. not bad
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xeryus
30/08/2005, 07:11 PM
Good Phone/PDA combination
Good compact professional looking phone. Much smaller and lighter than the other PDA/Phones. Does one really Need to view an Excel Spreadsheet on your phone on the go?? Hardly ever..so I think it's captured the basic useful features.
Buttons are small but surprisingly manageable. Included Predictive Text helps heaps. Terribly let down by a flimsy joystick though. Hopefully next version will improve on this and also increase speed of OS a little.
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11/08/2005, 10:50 PM
awesome little phone
this phone is awesome and yet it is small for the amount of features it has. it can be compared in size with non-smartphones. it is very convenient for alot of people and it fits in your pocket perfectly.
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snoop
12/07/2005, 08:06 AM
awesome phone
i have used a large number of phones from nokia, samsung etc... but the Xphone II is the best one by far. im positive that its the best decission i have ever made. i would recomend it to everyone who want cl**** and style with no compromise of performance. and the features you can pack in it are limitless thanks to the windows platform.(only limit is the size of your memory card). the only thing i would like changed is the screen colours from 65k to 256k clolurs.
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