New contract , what to replace the Orbit XDA with ?

DingleRoad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 50

I've been pleased with my XDA orbit and the natural progression is to go for the XDA orbit ll , but I was wondering whether there was anything even better. Not bothered about a keyboard as it's a bit bulky, just want to run my Tom Tom and OS memory maps.

Just one other question. Is it true that Tom Tom will no longer be supporting Windows mobile. if thats' the case maybe I'd be better with CoPilot live.

mikealder · Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 6:51 pm Post subject:

The Orbit-II is a decent unit, but I might be tempted to sit and wait for a few weeks and see if O2 decide to release the HTC Diamond or Raphael (although this latter unt does have a keyboard), or see what T-Mobile do as they are about to release the Vario-IV which is a badged Raphael.

One thing I have noticed with the XDA Orbit-II is that it feels sluggish in use compared to the Artemis (Original Orbit was based on this device) but you will get Co-Pilot Live thrown in with the phone for free - Mike

scarymonkey · Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 8:50 pm Post subject:

Personally I went for the Orbit 2 and haven't come across many problems at all yet. Most of those I have can easily be classified in the 'stupid user' category.
CoPilot is nice, but I still prefer TomTom because of the way it handles user POIs and thus PGPSW speedcam database. I am thinking of moving to iGO8 though as I have seen it in use and it is very good (although again its POI handling isn't up to TomToms).

If you are on a contract with O2, it is worth speaking to retentions (disconnections) as they have the authority to offer some nice deals to keep you as a customer. For me they gave me the phone (should of been £49.99) and then £10 per month discount on my tariff on an 18 month contract.

DingleRoad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 50

Ok thanks for the replies. That HTC Touch diamond does look nice though.

Do you know about Tom Tom not supporting Windows Mobile in the future ?

mikealder · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 6:59 am Post subject:

It is hard to say what TomTom are up to with the PDA based software as they won't comment on this issue. The HTC Diamond should have the TT Nav 7 application pre-loaded to its ROM, but considering it is already available for sale throughout Europe they might have missed the boat with that hardware platform.
The Navigator 6 application is still very good when compared the offerings from other manufacturers, BUT it is let down by very out of date maps, and for this reason alone I would never recommend the product for use on a PDA. Consider Co-Pilot, Route 66 - I would like to add I-Go to the list but it comes preloaded to a memory card that it must be used with, the Diamond has no card slot so cannot use this nav package - Mike

DingleRoad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 50

OK might still go for the XDA orbit ll, can't find many people who don't like it.
The trouble with the HTC touch diamond for me is the fact that it's max memory is only 4 Gb, with out the posibility to add more. I would struggle to get all my OS maps on to that with Co Pilot as well.

Many thanks

DingleRoad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 50

Actually the Samsung i900 Omnia is due out next month and it looks fab.

Do you reckon these phones that boast a GPS receiver include the Sirf lll chipset ?

scarymonkey · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 4:43 pm Post subject:

It varies but the Orbit 2 uses an integrated Qualcomm chipset. In use though it performs for me as well as the Sirf III in my TT1. I work in an office with no windows and can regularly get a GPS fix (no idea how it manages this with no line of sight).

DingleRoad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 50

Just got the Orbit XDA ll and I have to say I am VERY impressed with the GPS. It gets a fix well before my Tom Tom 510 and also quite a distance from any windows.

It came with Co Pilot 7 , but I have to say I really don't like it compared to Tom Tom. I'm tempted to uninstall it and go for the TT mobile when I've got a bit of spare cash...even if the maps are'nt as up to date. Speed cameras and POIs from this site are far better on TT.

lbendlin · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 8:48 pm Post subject:

now that you have the Orbit II - are you missing the trackball or not?

I still think the original Orbit is as close to a perfect WM device as you can get (and I keep using mine even though it is now so old Shocked

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DingleRoad · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 08, 2006 Posts: 50

No I don't miss the track ball. I use the stylus far less than I did on my old XDA.
I was going to wait for the Samsung Omnia i900, but I can't see the GPS being as good as it is on this one. I'm using the Memory Map OS maps on it for walking and it's near perfect. The only slight criticism I have of it is it's shiny screen which can make viewing difficult in bright sunlight.

Mullet · Frequent Visitor Joined: Dec 12, 2005 Posts: 1051

5 months to run on my MDA Compact III (similar to Orbit), watching the iPhone v2 (speculation and rumours). 3.5" screen appeals to my fading eyesight. Shocked

pennyandchris · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 44

Mullet · Frequent Visitor Joined: Dec 12, 2005 Posts: 1051

Thanks for the heads up but its not the actual interface taht got my attention, (although Steves demos do look cool) its the physical screen size that interests me.

mikealder · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 4:52 pm Post subject:

As a comparison for screen and device size between a few of the HTC devices:

Bottom is the old O2 XDA IIs with a 3,5" screen, left and right are the HTC Artemis and the T-Mobile version without WiFi both with 2,8" screens, top is the O2 XDA Orbit 2 with its 2,8" screen, centre is the HTC Athena with a 5" screen - great device but it is a brick to carry around! I was going to include the HTC Universal but it won't power up, as the battery has died.
For a more modern PDA based phone with integral GPS and a 3,5" screen have a look at the HTC 6500 Here its an unusual device with two memory card slots, but I have not seen this offered by any of the main mobile phone companies - Mike

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