O2 XDA Venn review

Introduction

The Venn is one of the latest XDA’s from O2. A Windows Mobile 6.1, dual sliding phone with built in QWERTY keyboard. Could this be a contender in the business class of phones?

The O2 XDA Venn

The Venn has been on sale for a while in the USA as the Pantech Matrix Pro on the AT&T network and is also known as the Pantech Mustang 2. For those of you unfamiliar with the Pantech or the Venn it has a unique trick up its sleeve in that it has a dual slide action with both a numeric keypad and and full QWERTY keypad.

What’s in the box?

AC travel charger
Battery
Headset
USB cable
Quick start guide
CD Full user manual
Fabric sleeve

Have a look also at Matt’s O2 XDA Venn unboxing video.

O2 XDA Venn Specification:

Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard
Qualcomm 528mHz CPU
128MB RAM
256MB ROM
2.4" QVGA (240×320) transflective display
Quad Band
GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA, HSUPA
Bluetooth 2.0
MicroSD memory card support
2.0 megapixel camera
GPS(?)
Weight: Dimensions: 106 x 51 x 21mm (H x W x D)

General

Front: LCD Display, menu buttons, phone speaker

Rear: Battery compartment, camera, loud speaker

Left side: Volume controls, REC button, QWERTY flip

Keyboard/keypad:

Right side: Camera button, charging port

Bottom: Keypad flip, microSD slot

Highlights

Very good battery life
Dual sliding
Looks
Solid, robust feel

Lowlights

Bulky
No WiFi
microSD card slot difficult to insert card
No camera flash
Non standard charger/data connector

Review

When I first saw the Venn, I couldn’t help but think it was a bit on the bulky side but with a nice blue metallic Motorola-esque finish. The keypad sprung up with a nice solid action to reveal the flush fitted keys. The keyboard also opens with the same reassuring robustness. The raised keys are nicely spaced out, slightly larger than my Blackberry Bold, and with some spacing between each key. I tried to insert my microSD card into the covered port at the bottom of the unit, and ended up having to ask my wife to get it to lock as my fingernails were just too short. The charger/data port is not of the mini USB design so you will have to add another cable to your collection.

In its closed form, it is a thick device but it also has a stealthy factor, with its metallic paint and smooth lines, it is quite an attractive phone. The Windows Mobile is an established, reliable platform which is simple to use without too many of the thrills, you wont find anything like Touch Flo here. The camera is average as far as 2MP goes but 2MP really doesn’t cut it these days where 5, 8 and 12MP camera phones are becoming the norm and I don’t think that saying "it’s a business phone" is a resonalbe excuse either. A flash would have been nice too.

My biggest gripe with the phone was the lack of WiFi. I thought that something like that would have been standard, especially as it is trying to sell itself to the business market.

The battery life is really good, stated at 5 hours talk and 250 hours standby, this is a very good selling point as most of the ‘all singing, all dancing’ phones tend to suck the battery dry a lot quicker. I think 250 hours is optimistic for day to day use, but I have not needed to charge it for 3 days and that is very good going.

Matt did mention GPS in his unboxing video and there is mention of GPS in the specification online (depending on which you read) however I can find no evidence of GPS on the Venn that we reviewed here. I can only assume that the Pantech Matrix Pro has GPS and that some of the specs. listed elsewhere online have not been updated to reflect the UK hardware. If anyone else can confirm this then let us know!

Software

Being Windows Mobile you do have access to the Microsoft office software, internet explorer and mediaplayer (the sound from which is pretty good). It makes the transition from your desktop to your phone an easy one.

Conclusion

A good texting/emailing device for the Windows Mobile lovers, with a very good battery. This might not be as good as the blackberry’s for emails, the iphone’s for toys or better at taking pictures than the 5-8MP phones out there, but as an all rounder it fairs well. All in all, a robust phone on a robust platform.

Review by: Gary