O2 Xda Orbit 2

HTC has to be the most prolific smartphone manufacturer on the face of the planet right now. After releasing the Touch, TyTN II, the Touch Dual and the S730 in recent months, you'd think that it would stop for a breather, but far from it. It's just added the Cruise to its ranks of top quality handsets, and O₂ is the first operator in the UK to take it up.

The result is the rather swanky-looking Xda Orbit 2. It's an extensively modified version of the stock HTC Cruise – but in a good way. The ugly sharp, angular corners have been dumped in favour of a more rounded look, and the controls look a lot more elegant too.

Where the Orbit hasn't seen change is on the features front, but then this phone is already jam-packed with the latest hardware. It runs Windows Mobile 6 Professional and there's barely a smartphone stone left unturned, with quad-band GSM and an impressive range of data connectivity, including WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, EDGE-enabled GPRS, 3G and 3.6Mb/s HSDPA for those in areas that have coverage.

But wait, there’s more… There's also an FM tuner built into the phone and a GPS receiver. Inside there's a generous 256MB of ROM for applications and files, and the same 400MHz Qualcomm processor and 128MB of SDRAM as the HTC TyTN II.

Above the screen is a VGA video call camera and this is partnered on the phone's rear by a 3-megapixel camera. With no flash or focus assist light, however, the latter is going to be of limited use, and image quality isn't wonderful either.

It's an all-encompassing specification, but there are a couple of omissions. The first is a keyboard and the second, a surprisingly low resolution display.

The former isn't too much of a disadvantage, especially when you consider it contributes to the Orbit's low weight of just 130g (a saving of 60g over the TyTN II) and slimmish profile of 15.5mm, but the latter is more of an issue.

With so many rival manufacturers now making the move to VGA screens (Toshiba, iMate and Glofiish all have phones with VGA screens), the Xda’s 2.8in 320 x 240 display feels cramped in comparison.

It's a shame about the resolution, because the screen is otherwise the star of the show. Unlike most smartphone displays, which a set well back into the case with a thick surrounding lip, the Orbit 2’s is perfectly flush with its glossy fascia – just like the Apple iPhone’s, in fact.

Unfortunately, the Windows Mobile UI is a far cry from that of OS X and the Orbit 2 lacks the Multi-touch technology that makes the iPhone such an unmitigated joy to use. Still, it’s not an empty gesture and the screen still works very well – it's sensitive without being overly so and finger taps are registered accurately. In addition to this, when you fire the Orbit 2 up, you'll find all sorts of useful extras added to Windows Mobile to make the process of operating it with your digits easier.

First there's TouchFlo – HTC's proprietary application for panning and scrolling with a fingertip. Then there are a number of other handy enhancements, such as the enlarged, easy-to-tap Start menu. There's also a finger-scrollable A-Z index running vertically alongside the Contacts view so you can jump quickly to specific initial letters.

Windows Mobile’s usually limited text-entry options have also been beefed up with the addition of two on-screen keyboards. One is a standard phone-style three-letters-per-button keypad, the other a large Touch Dual-style 20-button Qwerty keyboard, both of which are very welcome.

HTC has made the toolbar area at the top of the Windows Mobile screen much less fiddly to use, too. Instead of having to tap tiny icons for notifications, volume control and so on, one press calls up a much larger, zoomed view, complete with finger-friendly icons.

Below the screen, the Orbit's array of hard buttons is largely standard fare, with the usual selection of answer, call-end, Windows Start and OK keys, but it seems HTC couldn't resist playing with this area. The four-way directional pad in the centre has a clickable ring around the large chrome button that also rotates for swift navigation of lists and menus. 

A close second to the touch-screen and controls is the inclusion of full-blown satnav software – ALK CoPilot 7 Live Professional, with UK and Ireland maps. Preinstalled on a 2GB microSD card, this is among the best navigation software for smartphone that money can buy, with crystal clear mapping and voice instructions, speed camera data, traffic information over GPRS and all the features you'd expect from a full-blown standalone sat-nav.

In testing the Orbit worked admirably well as a navigation tool. It latched onto and held satellite reception reliably with the sensitive touch screen making address entry easy – you even get a decent gooseneck windscreen mount in the box – but the glossy finish on the screen does make seeing the display difficult in bright light.

Call quality is excellent and there's a raft of other software extras – including Audio Manager, a quick phone profile selection tool (a feature sorely missing in Windows Mobile), Zip for opening archives and compressing files, and the excellent RSS Hub news reader.

Battery life from the 1350 lithium ion unit is about average for a 3G-capable smartphone – we achieved around two to two-and-a half days in normal use without using the GPS receiver or turning on Wi-Fi .

The O₂ Xda Orbit 2 is not your average smartphone. If you don't feel the need for a physical keyboard like that on TyTN II, it offers everything that device does in a lighter, more stylish and slimmer package. It's packed with top end hardware and is full to gunnels with software enhancements and extras. And its controls – that touch sensitive screen and click wheel – are excellent.

More importantly, perhaps, it's very good value. On O₂'s £25 per month 18-month contract, the phone is £199 and for a smartphone this powerful with all the software and hardware you need for in-car navigation, that's an excellent price.