14 DAY TRIAL // If, for some odd reasons, you have always dreamed of having a Vista Pocket PC, your dream can now finally come true, thanks to a new mobile device named O2 XDA Vista. At first, when I stumbled upon this device, I thought that maybe O2, the well-known global mobile operator, made a fabulous deal with Microsoft in order to use the Vista branding on a new Pocket PC from its XDA line-up.
Well, no, O2 hasn't made any Vista deal, nor did Microsoft license the use of its latest OS (or of its name) for any mobile device on the market. The mystery behind the handset called O2 XDA Vista can be found in China, where the Pocket PC was made and where, according to IT168, it will be on sale, for retail prices of around 3,500 yuan - the equivalent of $510 or 325 Euros.
To make it clear, O2 XDA Vista has nothing to do with either the real O2 or with the real Vista. It's just another copycat device, but one that has the "merit" of cloning and ripping off quite a lot of handsets and brands.
When closed and seen from the front, the O2 XDA Vista looks like a Nokia handset, as its navigation keys are made in such a way that they resemble the ones of an Eseries smarpthone (E90, for example). When seen from the back, the XDA Vista unveils a 3 Megapixel camera as well as the logos of O2 and Windows Vista - both put there without the consent of their true owners.
When open, the O2 XDA Vista unveils a full QWERTY keyboard, bringing in mind several HTC devices as well as the Toshiba G900. The display packed by O2 XDA Vista is a 480 x 800 pixels touchscreen one, a la Sony Ericsson Xperia X1.
What's funny is that, although it bears the Vista name and logo, this new Chinese Pocket PC doesn't even run on the latest Windows Mobile 6.1, but only on the 6.0 version.
The rest of the features packed in the XDA wannabe apparently include: GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G connectivity, mobile TV capabilities, Music player and an Intel XScale 520 MHz Processor.
What's left to say is that the company that made the so-called O2 XDA Vista should seriously think not to release it on the market, as there are at least three giants that can easily accuse it of ripping off their work - O2, Microsoft and Nokia.
