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O2 XDA Orbit 2: Hands-on with the nifty navigator

Behold the O2 XDA Orbit 2, a phone that won't just keep you in touch wherever you are, but also tell you how to get to where you need to go

Andrew Lim

The XDA Orbit 2 is O2's version of the HTC Cruise and from the little time we've spent with it, we think it's out of this world (Haha! Ha. No?).

Combining aspects from the HTC Touch and HTC P3300 -- aka the original XDA Orbit -- the Orbit 2 offers email, high-speed Internet on the go and GPS with CoPilot 7 navigation software. It even has a little style going on, with the sleek and the black.

There's no slide-out keypad, so everything is done on the touchscreen. This can be fiddly, requiring you to use the stylus. Boo. You can also interact with the Orbit 2 by using HTC's TouchFLO interface, which lets you flick up a finger-friendly menu and access apps and features.

Packed with business features, such as Microsoft Office Mobile and support for push email, the Orbit 2 also lets you listen to music or FM radio, take pictures with its 3-megapixel camera and browse the Web on Pocket Internet Explorer. It'll also let you install a variety of third-party apps, such as Google Maps.

If you're wondering what's underneath the bonnet, the Orbit 2 runs on Windows Mobile 6 Professional, has 265MB storage and 128MB RAM, with the option to expand onboard memory via a microSD slot. It uses a Qualcomm MSM7200 400MHz processor and packs both HSDPA and Wi-Fi. Expect a full review soon. -Andrew Lim

Update: Read our full O2 Xda Orbit 2 review