O2 Ann. XDA2 Mini (i.e. iMate Jam) for Asia Market initially

[Guest shadamehr]

O2 have now announced they will be releasing a version of the HTC Magician Reference design, also known as the iMate Jam. Interesting to note the emphasis made on the device being BlueTooth 1.2 compliant.

UK mobile phone network O2 is to bring a more compact version of its XDA II PocketPC phone, though the device will initially only be made available to its Far Eastern customers.

Dubbed the XDA II Mini, the device is based on a 416MHz Intel XScale PXA272 processor, 64MB of RAM and 64MB of ROM. It runs Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, PocketPC Phone Edition, to give the OS its full title.

The compact, iPod-like, 10.8 x 5.8 x 1.8cm, 150g device sports a 2.8in, 240 x 320, 16-bit colour LCD - slightly smaller than the usual 3.5in job PocketPCs ship with - and a 1.3 megapixel camera.

Expansion comes courtesy of an SD IO card slot - O2 Asia is bundling a 256MB card with the handheld - so there's potential for Wi-Fi connectivity to be added to the Mini. However, it does incorporate Bluetooth, tuned to the 1.2 spec.

The Mini is also a tri-band GSM/GPRS handset capable of operating on the 900, 1800 and 1900MHz bands. O2 said it will run for 180 hours on stand-by or provide 4-5 hours' talk time. The handset supports 40-voice polyphonic ringtones.

The XDA II Mini will be more familiar to European PDA and smart phone buffs as the T-Mobile MDA Compact. It will also go on sale in Europe later this month as the i-mate Jam for around £400, SIM-free, less with connection. O2 XDA II Mini pricing depends on which territory you buy it in. In Singapore, for example, the Mini costs SGD1168 (£367/$714).

All these devices are produced by Taiwanese PDA-phone specialist HTC. ®

In my own humble opinion, these 'mini' Pocket PC's boasting a smaller size, but same resolution (320x240) display, are becoming more and more desirable. Here's hoping O2 UK elect to offer it soon too...

(EDIT): I should have picked up on something mentioned in the quote - the boxout mentions that the device supports 40 channel poly ringtones. To avoid any confusion, to the best of my knowledge as this is a PPC and the iMate Jam styled as a Music Player too, the normal feature of allowing full .wma files as ringtones should also apply!)

Source: The Register

[Guest lighthouse82]

and here's hoping orange follows suit.

my contract runs out early february, mr O.

[Guest Exodia]

I wonder if a black/dark gray version will be released... like O2s version of the XDA2S.

http://www.my-xda.com/xda2s_closer.html

Looks better than the silver version.