Tracy and Matt

Brody over at MSMobileNews has just told us about the XDA Orbit (AKA HTC P3300 or HTC Artemis) which is now available to purchase from O2 in the UK. It has a slightly different design to the other 'Artemis' or 'P3300' based devices we have seen so far and looks more like 'conventional' HTC devices.

At the moment the XDA Orbit includes free CoPilot Live sat nav software.

"The latest addition to the XDA range, the Orbit is slim, stylish and perfect for both work and pleasure. With built in GPS and FREE Satellite Navigation software you can easily find your way to any UK destination. The XDA Orbit also has Microsoft Windows Mobile 5 built in allowing emails to be sent and received in real time."

O2 XDA Orbit Specification:

Head over to MSMobileNews or the O2 Website for more.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Tracy & Matt, O2, HTC Artemis, XDA Cosmo, XDA Orbit, HTC P3300]

The Holiday Season is upon us and if you're searching for the perfect gift for your favorite Palm OS(R) or Windows Mobile(R) user, why not get them an Astraware Gift Certificate? It's the ideal way to buy games for your friends and relations without having to know device IDs, and also allows you to give Astraware games to people who don't have a credit card.

Buying a Gift Certificate is very simple - you only need the recipient's name and email address. Astraware even offers a choice of gifting options: either buy and print the Gift Certificate so you can hand it to the person directly; or buy the Certificate and send it via email - ideal for those last minute gifts or long distance friends and relations. Astraware Gift Certificates are available in a range of values from $15 up to $100. For more information, visit the Astraware website.

What's more, if you're a Club Astraware member, you can earn points from any Gift Certificates you buy, and those points can be used to treat yourself!

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Tracy & Matt, Astraware, M3100, gift certificates]

Christmas is just around the corner and to celebrate we are bringing you an extra special competition!

Our "12 Days Of Christmas" competition will run from the 1st December to the 12th December inclusive and we will be giving away at least one prize every day. I know it's not the 'true' 12 days of christmas but we wanted to try and get everyone's prize to them in time for Christmas!

On each of the 12 days we will pose a question. The winner of each prize will be chosen at random. The question will be posted at random times over the 12 days so now would be a good time to sign up for our Windows Live Alerts! If we have more than one prize on a given day then we shall pose more than one question at different times.

We'll endeavour to post the details of the winner on the following day.

Here are some of the prizes we'll be offering and who they have been donated by:

3 Excellent software titles from Astraware. Astraware Sudoku, Big Box of Blox and My Little Tank
2.0GB Ultra II memory card in your choice of SD or Compact Flash courtesy of SanDisk.
3 Copies of the brilliant C64 Emulator from ClickGamer.
iPod Shuffle 2 and iPod Nano accessories from JAVOEdge.
A Brodit car holder of your choice from the 968xxx or 971xxx series to suite your device and car. Courtesy of Nemesis.
A fantastic designer Radio-Controlled Alarm Clock with Digital Tuning AM/FM Radio and Barometer courtest of Clove Technology.
Brando Workshops HTC TyTN Music Dock, suitable for HTC TyTN, Orange M3100, iMate JasJam, Dopod CHT 9000 and all other HTC Hermes based devices.
A brand new Sony Ericsson W850i Walkman phone with 1Gb Memory Card and Pay-as-you-go SIM from Orange.
A super Toshiba DVD player sponsored by MSMobileNews.
An amazing Qtek 8500 (HTC STRTrk) provided by Expansys.
A Sony Ericsson HBH-608 bluetooth headset provided by our friend Fabien at Dafabmobiles.
No less than 12 titles from the library of Vito Technology.
A fabulous iPod Nano from the guys at expedIT Ltd.
Some fabulous quality 'Tracy & Matt' branded t-shirts courtesy of Spreadshirt. Probably the most coveted prizes of all! :)
A super goodie bag from the Windows Mobile team courtesy of Jason Langridge.

Each day we'll tell you more about the prize you can win that day and about the company that donated it along with the question that you need to answer.

Keep your eyes peeled for clues being dropped between now and the start of the competition and check back regularly to see when we pose the question. Remember: the first with the correct answer will be the winner.

There are a couple of prizes that will only be open to UK residents due to regional restrictions ie. SIM Locks and Power requirements, but we'll make that clear each day.

The above list isn't final and we hope to offer MORE prizes along the way. In fact if anyone would like to add to our prize list please get in touch and we'll ensure that we make it worth your while! Thank you very much to everyone that has already contributed!

Don't forget, you are always welcome to contact us through our feedback form if there is anything you want to talk to us about or if you want to offer us products for review.

Finally, we hope you enjoy the competition and wish everyone a Merry Christmas or for those of you that don't celebrate Christmas - Seasons Greetings! Thank you to everyone that has supported our site over the past few years. We hope to bring you more news and reviews in 2007!

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, competition, 12 days of christmas, Prizes, Christmas, Tracy & Matt]

Gears for CoolSmartphone has published his review of the T-Mobile Vario II.

It's a decent review with lots of photos to illustrate the the points he raises.

This is what he has to say:

The T-Mobile MDA Vario II is an extremely powerful device. Sure, without the power-saving turned on you'll be needing to recharge it a couple of times a day. Sure, whenever I call someone and the line is busy it goes "BEEP BEEP BEEP" at full volume from the rear speaker for no apparent reason.

Read the full review on CoolSmartphone.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, HTC, T-Mobile, Vario II, T-Mobile Vario II, SPV, Orange SPV M3100, Tracy & Matt]

I’m sure that everyone knows by now that using a mobile phone in your car without some form of hands-free apparatus has been illegal in the UK since the end of 2003.

As I do a lot more driving these days I asked Matt to get me a in-car holder/charger for my T-mobile MDA so that I could use it legally with my Bluetooth Headset.

The trouble, I found, with Bluetooth headsets is that the sound quality isn’t that great for either party during the call. Several we tried seemed to pick up the road noise over and above my voice. The other problem I had was that it was never charged when I needed it!

The other option was to have a Bluetooth car kit fitted to my car. However I really didn’t want to do that. Firstly they seem to be quite expensive and they also need (ideally) professional installation. As my car is new I didn’t really want to have someone fitting anything to it.

When I found out about the Parrot MINIKIT hands-free speakerphone I asked Matt to get me one to try as it looked ideal. No installation necessary, just charge it up and use it!

A few days later the Parrot MINIKIT arrived and we charged it up for the prescribed amount of time. Pairing with MINIKIT with my phone was so simple, exactly the same way as you would deal with a Bluetooth headset.

The Parrot MINIKIT requires only three buttons to operate it. There are buttons to make and end the call plus the big button in the middle that serves as a menu button and volume control. As there is no screen on this MINIKIT the menus are accessed by voice prompt which allows you to change things like the language setting, volume settings and Bluetooth pairing. In practice I don’t think you’ll need to use the menus at all.

The MINIKIT can be ‘installed’ in the car in one of two ways. Firstly, thanks to the soft rubber feet on the bottom, it can be simply placed on the dashboard of your car and used in that way. The feet are soft and ‘rubbery’ enough to stop it sliding around under all but the most extreme of vehicle manoeuvres. The only trouble with placing the MINIKIT on the dash is that it’s on show and you really have to hide it away when you leave the car.

The other way and, in my opinion, the best way to fit it is to attach the metal clip which is included with the kit and clip it on to the drivers side sun visor. In this position it’s at the right height to pick up your voice and also nice and easy to reach in order to press any of the buttons. It also makes it unobtrusive and harder for a would-be thief to see.

So what do I think of the Parrot MINIKIT?
I’m very pleased with it actually. When I first used it I called Matt while I was driving to work just to try it out. Matt didn’t even know that I was in the car as all of the vehicle noise was cancelled out. Matt said that it was just like speaking to me on a regular phone. From my point of view the sound quality was great. The loudspeaker is certainly loud enough and very clear.

Where it is mounted on the visor above my head is also ideal as I don’t have to fumble for a device sitting loose on the dash or look for a Bluetooth headset and pop it in my ear quickly before the caller rings off.

The other thing that has really impressed me about the MINIKIT is the battery life. I’ve been using it for about 2 weeks now and it’s still on the first charge. I know I don’t use it a great deal but the standby time is amazing!

What’s also important to me, being girly, is that there are no cables dangling or trailing from the unit to make my new car look untidy and nothing permanently fitted to my car.

CONCLUSION
I really like the Parrot MINIKIT, it’s ideal for me. I cant find anything bad to say about it! If you are someone that doesn’t get on well with Bluetooth headsets, or wants something a little bit better but without having anything too complicated or that needs to be installed then I would say that the MINIKIT is for you.

At the RRP of £59 I think it’s an absolute bargain!

Parrot MINIKIT Specification:

Bluetooth:

For more information and where to buy, please visit the Parrot website.

Tracy

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Parrot, MINIKIT, Speakerphone, Bluetooth, Tracy & Matt]

MSMobiles have a nice review of the Eten Glofiish X500.

There is an impressive gallery of photographs for this device over at MSMobiles. The Glofiish brand seems to be increasing in popularity as the days go by!

Don't forget our £30 discount voucher for the Eten X500!

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, Eten, Glofiish, Eten Glofiish X500, Tracy & Matt]

Yet another O2 XDA post, this time it's the O2 XDA Apollo that's appeared on the FCC website.

Specification of the O2 Apollo is, as far as I can tell, pretty much the same as the Atom, with Windows Mobile 5, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, MiniSD card slot, 2.7 inch QVGA screen (240x320), WIFI, Bluetooth, FM radio, and tiny 102 x 58 x 18.5 mm size.

I think the O2 Apollo looks great in white, white devices seem to be increasing in popularity at the moment.

EDIT: Notice the video conferencing camera and the WCDMA 3G frequency tests. This is a 3G device! There is no mention in the manual because they just re-used the old one for the Atom. - Thanks Surur

More info on the FCC site.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, XDA, XDA Apollo, O2, Tracy & Matt]

There seems to be quite a bot of news lately around O2's XDA brand. The next smartphone device to come to O2 will be the XDA Graphite.

The O2 XDA Graphite is an attractive looking 'candy bar' style smartphone which, according to the sales blurb, features a "Look and feel that is similar to a regular phone, the O" Graphite offers both familiaritu and ease of use.

Spec. seems pretty nifty too!

O2 XDA Graphite Specification

It's also worth mentioning that the Graphite is NOT manufactured by HTC but rather ASUSTek and is based on an improved version of their Vodafone V1210.

Have a look at the other images at SmartphoneThoughts.

Matt

[Technorati tag(s): smartphone, Pocket PC, XDA, XDA Graphite, O2, Tracy & Matt]