Shiny Review: 02 Xda Argon : Shiny Shiny

I know, I've been a little 02-centric the last couple of days, but considering I was unable to get a single iota of signal on my Orange phone within The 02 (bit of a bugger if you get separated from your friends, really, isn't it?), I had a chance to very quickly get to know the new Xda.

The Argon is a replacement for the Xda 11i, and makes no bones about being quite a large device. It isn't for slipping subtly into a pocket, although it is relatively slimline. The advantage of the bulk is that the 3.5" touchscreen is large and manageable for times when it's easier to prod with a thumbnail than flick out the stylus (especially if you've lost said stylus and its replacement). There's also a scrolling button on the side.

Handy shortcut buttons help with the navigation. One for email and one for IE, there's also a Windows button and the usual cursors. That's pretty much it, so the bulk of the interface is definitely screen and more screen.

Ease of use is a given. I tend to like using the transcriber because it's amusing to see "I will meet you there in 20 minutes" turn into something like "I weasel, a pint of your finEST cuttlefish" or something similar. But all this is very familar Windows Mobile 5 stuff: IE, Outlook, Direct Push email technology, Mobile Word etc. As Windows Mobile 6 has only just begun its roll-out across the UK, 5 is still a valid option, but I would wait and see about upgrading myself. If you're getting a smartphone, it's probably at the very least because you want to read your email, so why not wait for an OS that will allow full HTML rendering of emails? Or that will ensure that the top 100 sites people most regularly visit render correctly?

It's a GPRS phone and 02 claim high speed access and downloading through WLAN. Bluetooth, a reasonable 2 megapixel camera and an MP3 player complete the catalogue of what you might expect from a smartphone. The MP3 player is simple to use and sound quality is fine if your headphones are decent. There's a large SD card slot in the top, too, so you should be able to easily access extra data.

Talk time is a fairly average 4 hours - half what the iPhone is apparently going to be packing - which could probably be improved upon.

It does seem increasingly that these phones are much of a muchness, with only navigation and style differentiating between them. Of course not all are 3G or HSDPA and this may make a difference, but at the moment I'd be most inclined to choose between phones on the basis of whether they're Windows Mobile 6 or not and whether there's a proper-sized Qwerty keyboard.

The Argon is never going to win votes for extreme sexiness, but its practicality and list of generous features will mean that it has friends. Those who have used Xdas will probably appreciate its slimmer lines and reliable form and function, but I'm not convinced it will win many new fans, if only because form is very much as important as function in this market.

02 Xda Argon