An O2 Christmas
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It does seem to be rather incongruous to be sat next to a large fan busily attempting to reduce the temperature to a bearable level while writing about possible items for Christmas wish lists. However that is the situation I currently find myself in as I check through the different products that O2 feels make ideal presents for many users.
As a leading provider of mobile services to both consumer and businesses, O2 has a range of goods on offer. Lets start with some mobile phones that we can look forward to seeing on dealers shelves and, if O2 has its way, being our communication device of choice. Three mobile phones, supporting GSM Tri-band and Class 10 GPRS, are due to appear over the coming months. Described as the simple way to stay in touch this Christmas, the X1b has an integrated camera and 65K colour screen. Its Tri-band capability means the phone can be used anywhere in the world while a Bluetooth feature allows for hands-free operation. Available now, the X1b has been priced at £59.99 when purchased as a pre-pay phone.
The O2 XM phone promises to turn up the volume on mobile music. It is claimed to be the only branded mobile device with an integrated music player that allows the user to search, preview and download full length tracks using the O2 Music Service (185,000 tracks covering a range of genre). The phone utilises Intel Media Technology and has an integrated 1.3 mega-pixel camera. As standard the phone comes with 10MB of memory plus 64MB of storage on a data card. Expect to pay £99.99 for this phone on Pay & Go.
The third phone is the X2i. This has a built-in VGA camera and 65K colour screen. Weighing 95g, this phone will provide up to 5 hours of talk-time with its Bluetooth feature turned on. The X2i is expected to be available in November. No price information is currently available.
Earlier I mentioned the O2 Music service which has access to 185,000 full music tracks. Although these tracks cover genre such as dance, pop, indie, rock, jazz and more, the number available is rather small fry when compared to sites such as iTunes total of 1.7 million and Napsters one million plus offerings. Pricing is hardly competitive with tracks costing from £1 to download. As part of its music service, O2 phones feature an integrated O2 Active menu which provides access to information about featured artists and bands; news and gossip; gigs, events and charts; plus the ability to download tunes as polyphonic ring tones.
O2 also has numerous add-on items to enhance the mobile phones capability. Compulsive snappers might be interested in the ImageMate card reader/writer that can provides the means to quickly transfer images to a computer for printing or editing work. Both 12-in-1 and 5-in-1 versions of this device are available with prices starting at £17.99. Hands-free enthusiasts will appreciate the Bluetooth IBSH-200 headset and dongle for a stereo audio experience (£89.99) or the more sporty appearance of the O2 Karuna headset with voice recognition activation (£39.99). Finally an O2 Dongle (£29.99) enables the capability to transfer data from a phone to computer without the need of extra cables. So isnt it time you started that letter to Santa?
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