O2 announces new XDA2s, hint at Smartphone futures?

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

Tekguru is reporting here (with pics) on 2 new XDA2s coming from O2.

Not Smartphone related, but an interesting sign of what technology could be around the corner in HTC Smartphones perhaps? (1.3MP cameras?)

Great to see O2 reaffirming their commitment to working with HTC too.... :)

Click the link above to view the full article, and excerpt from which follows:

O2 ANNOUNCES PLANS TO FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HIGHLY ACCLAIMED Xda® II

(Note this is an Tekguru exclusive advance copy of the *draft* press release which will be issued in full shortly)

Having secured over a third of the UK’s wireless handheld market* with the Xda II, O2 today announced the introduction of two brand new Xda II devices, the Xda IIs and XDA IIi. The new devices will include new enhancements to the integrated PDA and mobile handset, whilst retaining the core functions of the original Xda II platform that have proved so popular with both consumer and business customers. The Xda IIs will be available in the UK and Ireland on 1st November 2004, Germany by December 2004, and the XDA IIi early 2005.

Aimed primarily at the professional user, the Windows Mobile™ based Xda lls offers a number of new features over the original XdaII. The biggest addition is a 39-key, slide-out QWERTY keyboard for added usability. This user-friendly addition enables customers to use the device more easily for applications such as email, contacts, calendar, texting and editing using well known Microsoft Office tools. The new device will also include BlackBerry® Connect™ from early 2005.

The Xda IIs also boasts a 25% increase in battery life over the original Xda II, as well as enhanced WLAN capabilities and quad band connectivity, all of which will be of particular benefit to those customers frequently out of the office or those that travel regularly.

The Xda IIi runs on the latest Windows 2003 2nd edition software and is faster than the Xda II due to its advanced Intel PXA270 processor, which runs at 520MHz. The device also upgrades from a 0.3Mp to 1.3 Mp camera, which gives significantly higher quality pictures. This makes it a preferable option for those who regularly use the camera function and want a device with a slightly faster performance.

:lol:

P

[Guest neilg]

I notice that ARne Hess over on PPCW.net has also shown T-MObile are announcing the same devices but with the addition of the HTC Magician device as well (as the SDA and SDA Music Edition) PPC finally heading towards smartphone size.......

http://www.ppcw.net/index.php?itemid=2059&catid=20