Upside: One of the key features on the Orion is its improved connectivity. In addition to the enhanced quad-band GSM support, the O2 smart phone now comes with onboard Wi-Fi which should appeal to those who want to enjoy wireless Web access to e-mail and Internet. While it is not stated in the initial specifications given by O2, we suspect the Orion will also come with GPRS, Bluetooth, infrared and USB.
What's interesting is that even with the added Wi-Fi capability, O2 manages to keep the Orion a tad smaller than its predecessor, the O2 Xphone IIm. At 107.54 x 46.2 x 17mm and 106g, the new O2 is one of the smaller smart phones in the market today. From the images provided by O2, it appears the company has also made some design improvements to the navigation joystick.
According to O2, the Orion features a 1.3-megapixel camera -- not exactly the 2-megapixel we'd hope for, but certainly a marked improvement over the VGA CMOS sensor on the Xphone II. Memory expansion is expected to come in the form of miniSD cards, though this has yet to be confirmed. The new O2 smart phone will run on the latest Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, together with exclusive O2 applications.
Downside: As an upgrade over the Xphone II and IIm, the Orion's 2.2-inch 16-bit colour QVGA screen is a bit of a disappointment, considering that many mobile devices now come with 18-bit colour displays. That said, a bigger and higher-resolution panel will inadvertently add to the load on the batteries, which is already expected to be further stretched with Wi-Fi onboard.
Outlook: With the success of the Xphone II and IIm, the O2 Orion looks extremely promising on paper with its upgraded connectivity options and latest operating system. However, it is too early to tell how this latest smart phone outing will perform in the market.
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another unhappy customer
17/11/2006, 08:49 AM
rating
2/10
I agree with 'anonymous'. Support in Australia is the worst at best!
My XDA-IIs has been giving me problems ever since I got it. For over 3 months now it's been in and out of repair and O2's support is a really bad joke. Nothing but false promises of better and quicker repairs the next time. There shouldn't even be a next time or a next time after that.
Every time it comes back with either the same problem or new ones!
Does a customer have any rights at all? Where does one go? Or can they keep doing this indefinitely?
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19/10/2005, 05:38 PM
Dont trust O2 phones or Australian support network
After having numerous problems with my Smartphone which just stuffs up, and then the support and repair network are just a joke. I suggest potential purchasers are wary of O2 products, as there customer support infrastructure in Australia (own O2 office) is non-existent. If you have a problem with your phone even if under warranty you may find little support. I hope new O2 phones are built better and are strong and protective enough "suitable for their intended purpose" (Office of Fair Trading NSW) as a mobile device. Proceed to sale with caution.
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shanelle
17/10/2005, 04:25 PM
WOW
wow it sounds great to me
i would love to have a mobile phone that damn works mines broken
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