Good news for all you O2 fans, the much anticipated O2 Zinc will finally see a January Release, so start saving up. However for now it will only be available to our British friends and I guess the rest of us will just have to twiddle our thumbs. The O2 XDA Zinc is a tri-band GSM handset that supports 3G connectivity and is a Windows Powered Smartphone.

The Zinc is powered by the Intel PXA270 520MHz processor and is equipped with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 2 megapixel camera. Some other features include; Bluetooth 2.0, 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and all the Microsoft Mobile Applications. No word on pricing.

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Thanks Michael

Getting lost has never been so much fun! No I have not lost it (so to speak) but with the newly announced O2 Xda Orbit, UK users will be able to access full GPS functionality thanks to the built-in GPS chipset. Thus there is no need to invest in a separate navigational device as the O2 Orbit gives the best of both worlds!

The O2 Xda Orbit come pre-loaded with the CoPilot Live sat nav package from ALK Technologies which includes complete maps of UK and Ireland and can calculate detailed routes in seconds. Other navigational features also include; London Congestion Charge avoidance, automatic day/night settings, avoid toll roads, fastest or shortest routing and walking mode. Via the nifty Planning mode one can calculate and review complete trips in advance and through the CoPilot’s integrated internet tracking, messaging and destination sending service, you can view a location in real-time.

Let's not forget that the O2 Orbit is actually a smartphone and thus one comes across features like; 2.0 mega pixel camera, MP3 player, radio and WiFi functionality and the Windows Mobile OS 5 software. It is equipped with a 2.8 inch colour TFT LCD touch screen and also includes video capabilities, FM radio (87.5Mhz–108.5Mhz) and MP3/AAC player. The O2 Xda Orbit with the optional CoPilot SatNav pack is available now at the http://www.o2.co.uk/ and prices vary according to rate plans.

Thanks Felix

Prepare to drop your jaw to the ground! Cos the O2 Xda Flame (called as) is coming! Well, folks at Pocketpcthoughts, were lucky enough to get snap shots of this new behemoth of a phone, the O2 XDA flame. If you are wondering why am I drooling so much over it, here's a small list of specs that O2 has planned for this beast in 2007.

According to the sources, the feature list includes, a huge 3.6" VGA display, 2GB ROM, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, USB On-The-Go, a 2.0-megapixel camera, SRS Mobile HD surround sound support, and TV-out support. If that's not enough, it gets an NVIDIA GoForce 5500 GPU for next-generation mobile graphics and delivers a sucker punch with an Intel XScale PXA270 processor running at clock speeds of a staggering 520MHz, which is (quiet embarrassingly) 20 notches higher than my CPU clock speed! Well, folks before you go crazy over it, let me remind you its just too good to be true. However only time will tell though. But we will make a conscious effort to keep you updated about this beast of a phone.

Via Engadget

Looks like the O2 Mars is not someone’s figment of imagination and now an image of it has been spotted online. After viewing the image comparisons with the O2 Xda trion are inevitable as this one too has a slide out keyboard. Nothing else is known right now but do keep watching this space for more info.

Via Unwired

Here are more leaked images and this time it concerns the O2 Xda cosmo Windows Mobile Smartphone or the phone which was formerly known as the HTC Excalibur. This new windows device is outfitted with a thumb QWERTZ keyboard and operates on Windows Mobile 5.0. Connectivity option include; GSM/GPRS/EDGE, W-LAN and Bluetooth. There is also the now mandatory 2 Megapixel camera and a bunch of extra features. No word on pricing or availability.

Via Mobility Site

HTC's devices are better known for coming out under big banners than their own brand. It's no surprise that O2 will be bringing out the new O2 XDA Trion - which is actually the HTC Hermes. This quad-band GSM phone from O2 also supports HSDPA for high-speed internet access on the phone as well as GPRS on most networks across the globe.

The Wi-Fi proponents will be happy to note that the O2 XDA Trion will also have integrated Wi-Fi. It goes without saying that the device will also carry supreme Bluetooth 2.0 radio waves with it.

Powered by a 400MHz Samsung processor, the O2 XDA Trion runs Windows Mobile 5.0, with 64 megs of RAM, 128MB flash ROM and an essential 2 megapixel camera. First the i-mate Jas Jam, and now O2 XDA Trion. HTC is one happy company.

Looks like the much anticipated O2 XDA IQ is going to hit the market very soon. For those who are not aware the XDA 1Q is a state of the art smart phone which is also wi-fi enabled! So you may wonder what’s new.? Well unlike other wi-fi enabled phones this one isn’t bulky at all and sports a very stylish and sleek design. Weighing just about 110 grams, the O2 XDA IQ includes integrated wireless LAN support and Bluetooth. Other features include infrared, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a mini SD slot, quad-band, GPRS, EDGE and Wi-Fi connectivity.

The O2 XDA IQ runs on the Windows Mobile 5 platform and receiving and sending emails is also a child’s play. However the only disappointing feature found on the phone is its screen which displays 64k colors. But hey nothing in life is perfect right? No word on availability or pricing yet but we will keep you posted.

Via Crave

I've always wanted to get my hands on this little beauty, but never had an opportunity. But this time I didn't let this opportunity go begging when I saw a loaned unit of this new O2 mini. The phone is a GSM 900/1800/1900, GPRS class B, multi-slot class 10, EDGE phone which runs on the windows 5.1 software. It is mainly aimed at Australia/Asian and European markets.

Pros : Fast processor, Unique additional software, Size, Quad-wireless capability, Upgraded ROM, FM Radio And Camera with flash.

Cons: Battery life, No hardware softkeys, No speakerphone, No keyboard, Very expensive device.

The phone, when compared to the likes of other PDA phones like the Motorola e680i and the Toshiba e800, there is a huge difference in size and it's not the only thing that sets it apart. It's appearance follows HTC's mini design very closely. It sports a solid black, shiny, plastic casing which leaves fingerprints easily. The Atom succeeds in shaving off 6mm in length from the Xda II mini's specifications and compresses all it's components into a 102 x 58 x 18.5mm frame. However, the struggle for estate space means some sacrifices have to be made. The manufacturer therefore chose to implement a 2.5mm audio jack, which is incompatible with all your standard earphones, and a miniSD expansion slot that effectively renders all your existing SD memory cards useless. It boasts a 262K TFT coloured screen and aside from the bright screen, only the call and end keys are lit up in green and red respectively. None of the other keys are lit, not even the Windows keys and the O2 media key found below the screen.

The 2-megapixel camera with flash (1600x1200 pixels) can do video capture a 320x240 pixels. But the camera is very slow, it takes ages to fire up the camera application. The camera has a 8X zoom and the picture on the viewfinder looks really clear. Photo files are stored in the JPEG format and another good thing about the camera is that picture frames are good for livening up your pictures, especially when you want to send a photo to a friend via MMS, or to simply store it on a regular computer or photo website.

The O@ XDA Atom may be the smallest PDA phone, but it packs a real punch with a 416 Mhz PXA272 processor, 50 MB available RAM and 43 MB of flash available to store data and install applications. It's 128MB of ROM is sufficient for a normal user. Power users can simply purchase a high-capacity miniSD card and install more applications on the media. The Atom also comes with persistent storage which retains all your data when the battery runs out. Also the most talked about feature in the Atom is the FM stereo, which you will need to plug in the headset if you want to enable this function to work. Voice notes can be accessed either from the main menu or via the shortcut button at the right side of the device. Voice dialling can be programmed into the device via the voice speed dial application in the programs menu.

On the Connectivity side, the phone comes with a bluetooth and Infra-Red. The infrared port can be found on the right of the device, next to the voice recorder hotkey. Also in addition there is a Wi-Fi connectivity, which was missing in the previous Mini phone and also EDGE is supported all the way up to class 10. And of course!! USB port, as mentioned, is found on the bottom of the device, and this is probably the best way to connect to a computer.

Other useful features are, an equalizer for sound, GPRS monitoring, voice speed dialing, a self-diagnostics utility, O2 Plus (similar to the vBar functionality that lets you close applications instead of just minimize them). On the multimedia side of it, as mentioned earlier, it includes FM radio and the O2 Media Plus worthy of their reputation. The O2 Media Plus is an interesting effort to bring a full multimedia experience with video, pictures, radio and music under a single full screen application.

The battery life here in this device is defnitely a cause for a concern. It is too low for my liking. Not only for me, I think it's way below par for such an expensive device. It includes a 1530 mAh 3.7V battery and that's one of the biggest batteries shipping with any phone today. It manages 10 hours of mp3 playback, which is way below HTC's 5 days and 15 hours respectively on a 1250 mAh battery.

The O2 XDA Atom is available at a whopping cost of $950 (USD).
Overall Rating: 7/10

Looking for something smaller than the XDA Exec? Well, O2 has introduced the new XDA Mini S Windows Smartphone in the UK. The XDA Mini S is a variation of the HTC Wizard and sports a slide out thumbboard. The device comes with Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 OS and switches between landscape and portrait modes on the fly.

The XDA Mini S features