[gaz2923]

im about to upgrade to either the exec or mini xda

does anyone have experience of these phones?

my intended use is as a part time phone, using it mainly as a pda and mainly for sat nav in my car

any comments welcome

[Tomdale]

Now that is a difficult question. And I have both of these!

As a phone the Exec is just too bulky. Never use it a phone. As a pda it is excellent. Good screen and keyboard. Great for wireless access. It also has 3G but that, to me, has no advantage at the moment.


The Mini is better as a phone and although larger than a normal mobile is still potable. It also depends how protective you are of the phone. You canb carry it in your pocket where it main be prone to scratching or in its case attached to your belt. I also still use my SE K700i alot due the size
- I transfer my sim depending where or what I am doing. Call quality is OK - not near as good as my SE K700i. I get a few complaints about it being tinny!


Both carry out similar functions at similar speeds. For sat nav I imagine the Mini would be neater in the car.

It is up to you and how you wish to use it - as a main phone or a pda. I am happy with both (got great deals at the time when O2 made the famous pricing faux pas).

In general I use the mini more due to its size and has all the functions I require.

[gaz2923]

thanks mate, to be honest i have 2 other normal nokias that i am happy to use when i go out on the town etc

the xda will be mostly for sat nav i expect and i will try and use it as a pda although i dont think i will have much need for a pda to be honest

in all honesty the internet etc wont interest me much and my dad is paying for the upgrade as a present from christmas as he has an xdaii

so i guess its mostly for sat nav, the main reason i was edging towards the exec is that it has bigger battery, bigger screen (for sat nav) and more than twice the processor that the mini has which should make it a bit more future proof i hope

are there any problems with the swivelly bit on the exec, looks a bit flimsy

[Tomdale]

I have had no problems at all. If I had the choice gain between these two I would go for the Exec because of the screen and keyboard - it will not be often that you can get a pda with such good features and easy to use.

[gaz2923]

thanks for the help mate, i was mainly worried that one had some massive design fault

but if the exec is all good then im going to get that one probably ssen as im not paying for it

[Ulink]

BTW - O2 xda exec, Orange SPV M5000 & Vodafone Qtek V1640 are all the same, just different colours!

You then realise there's a lot of parallel threads going on!

I got the V1640 yesterday - v impressed so far, but as Tomdale mentions too big as a phone, so I'm using the old Nokia for that.

[gaz2923]

thanks mate, please check out my other thread about tom tom 5 as thats my next dilemma

[gaz2923]

right disaster strikes

went to o2 shop to actually hold the phones in my hand

the exec is absolutely far too large for even a pda so it looks like im going to go with the mini

anyone have anything bad to say about the mini?

[Uridium]

Nothing at all! best phone I've ever had!

far better than the XDA2s I had last

Uridium - I am also thinking of this phone will be used as Mobile a lot with texting as secondly a PDA/Tom Tom Equivilent - woudl you say the sound quality is up to scratch on this unit.

Thank you

[Uridium]

Once you get used to texting with your thumbs the slide out keyboard is pretty good for texting/email/surfing etc..

Sound quality isn't as good as some phones I've used (K750i/D500 in particular were a bit better) but it is far better than my old XDA2s and more than acceptable IMO.

[gaz2923]

thanks guys, ive seen a lot of info about starting up the mini and not installing the o2 software

is there anything i should bear in mind when first turning it on and getting it running?

i will be using it as a phone, sat nav and for the internet now and again so wont want to rule out any of those options when starting up

[Uridium]

Down to personal preference really, some folk seem to like the Corporate install then install the MMS app and GRPS config yourself and some prefer the Basic install and manual removal of the O2 stuff.


I'd suggest you try them both and see which you prefer.

The XDA Developers website is a wealth of information on this device (HTC Wizard) and makes essential reading.

Couple of useful Cabs I've downloaded from there are one that enables 802.11g on the Wi-Fi card and another that installs a full screen dialpad.

but there are literally hundreds of tweaks avialable on there including full Roms if you want to.

[meansizzler]

Originally Posted by uridium

Nothing at all! best phone I've ever had!

far better than the XDA2s I had last

The Xda2s was a great phone, much more stable than the mini S, and better call quality, if you use the latest O2 rom with co-oporate mode, 09/05 then it runs great..

[Uridium]

Originally Posted by meansizzler

The Xda2s was a great phone, much more stable than the mini S, and better call quality, if you use the latest O2 rom with co-oporate mode, 09/05 then it runs great..

Sold mine before that ROM so never had a chance to test it.

Used to constantly have problems with no audio on incoming or outgoing calls and the keyboard kept coming loose on mine.

Like you say probably better on the most recent Rom but at the time I couldn't wait.

Stability wise - personally I've never had a problem with the Mini S, goes weeks without a soft reset and battery standby is 3 times what I used to get out of my IIs.

Also the first Pocket PC phone I've had that can genuinely be used one handed like a normal phone without resorting to popping the stylus out every few minutes. mainly down to the two extra softkeys at the bottom of the today screen.

Camera's still not great though!

And it is a bit slower than the old IIs but I can live with that.

[gaz2923]

excuse my newbie stupidity but whats soft and hard reset and what do they do?

[Uridium]

A soft reset is just like rebooting your PC if it locks up or something, and all your data is retained.

A hard reset is used if you want to revert the device back to the way it came from the factory.

after a hard reset you will get a default Windows install then the "Extended rom" will run and install customisations from your provider (O2/Vodafone etc..)

[gaz2923]

ahh right, ok well its arriving next week so ill be having a read of the instructions about installing all the software in the best way

thanks for all the help guys