We couldn't deny that the ASUS-built O2 Xda Zest was a real, live, breathing mobile, but at long last the carrier has made the phone available for purchase. Hailed as the first O2 Xda to be offered on a Pay&Go prepaid plan (as well as a traditional postpaid plan), the Windows Mobile 6.1-based unit can be acquired on November 17th for £249.99 ($392) with the Pay&Go option or as low as free on certain Pay Monthly contracts. As a refresher, this one brings a 2.8-inch display, a free fortnight of the CoPilot Sat Nav software, a 3-megapixel camera, multimedia player, WiFi and HSDPA.

Sure enough, the ASUS-built O2 Xda Zest is more than just a figment of someone's imagination, though speaking of imaginations, we simply can't hear this phone's name without thinking about the soap. Sorry, just can't do it. All that aside, the handset has finally made its way onto the carrier's "Coming Soon" page, where we're told that it will include Windows Mobile for opening up Office documents, a 3-megapixel camera, 3G, WiFi, 356MB of internal memory and a microSD expansion slot. Looking for more? Strap yourself down and wait until November, vaquero.

[Via CoolSmartphone]

Last we'd heard, O2 was well out of Asia with remnants of the firm regrouping as MWg to forge ahead with some of O2's remaining projects and start blazing a new trail. Be that as it may, IT168 appears to have details of a clearly O2-branded "Xda Vista" with a WVGA display, NVIDIA graphics chipset, Windows Mobile 6.1, GPS, and pretty much every other feature a Windows Mobile power user is clamoring for these days. Those are downright modern specs, which means this thing was likely crafted after MWg came into existence -- or at the very least, after it was known that O2 Asia would go away -- so we're not sure what's going on here. Is it a fake? If not, will it end up getting rebranded as a MWg model by the time it's released? Then again, with a WVGA display and HSDPA, do we really care what it's called?

[Via Slashphone]

Given the carrier's history this really comes as no surprise, but the::unwired is reporting that O2 Germany will definitely be adding the just-announced HTC Touch Pro to its lineup later this year as part of its long-running Xda line of Windows Mobile devices. Typically, Xdas have diverged from HTC's standard designs for a given model, but it appears that O2 has stuck with the Touch Pro formula here -- wisely, may we add -- only swapping out the stylized rear for a more subdued soft-touch one. That already puts the carrier count for the Touch Pro in Germany at two, while most of the world's fine nations are still at zero. Seriously uncool, guys!

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in one of those meetings once in a while where product names get hammered out. Seriously, what possessed Movistar to latch on to "Touch Find" for this one? Was HTC's own name, Touch Cruise, not good enough for 'em? Or heck, how about the Xda Orbit 2 (pictured) moniker used by Movistar's own O2 subsidiary? Alas, yeah, the latest rumor here is that the Touch Cruise will be christened Touch Find for Movistar's networks, featuring 3.6Mbps HSDPA, WiFi, GPS, and a 3 megapixel cam. We don't know for certain whether the Touch Find will adopt the O2's same pebble-esque case or the Touch Cruise's harder lines, but it certainly seems like it'd make more sense to be consistent within the company ranks and go Xda Orbit 2-style. Then again, the name change itself doesn't seem to make much sense, so who knows?

[Via Unwired View]

It's bad enough that we're getting teased with the HTC Touch Cruise from afar, but to hardened customers in the US, the fact that O2's offering the Xda Orbit 2 for as little as £0 is just icing on the hate cake. The phone looks arguably even better in O2's very customized trim, too, sporting a glossy black case in which to stuff its 3 megapixel camera, GPS, 256MB of ROM, and WiFi. Were it not for the 2100MHz-only HSDPA, we'd be liable to smuggle a few across the pond, we reckon.

[Via CoolSmartPhone]

Seems like a pretty egregious error on O2's part to throw up a promotional image of its upcoming HTC Kaiser variant with a big, fat typo up top -- but at the same time, we have an easier time believing that they're coining it the "Xda Stellar," not the "Xda Stella." The text below the picture uses the Stellar name, so that's what we're going with for the time being until we hear otherwise. Anyhoo, by all appearances, this is pretty much the same Kaiser everyone else has gotten, and with a projected release window in December, we're a little surprised to see O2 so far behind the curve here. Too little, too late, or is HTC's finest QWERTY device still going to find droves of buyers by the time it finally launches?

[Via MoDaCo and Mobiholics]

Update: O2's already corrected its mistake, it's officially the Xda Stellar. Makes more sense that way, eh? Thanks, Gears!

Time flies, doesn't it? Seems like it was just a few months ago that HTC announced the HTC Touch. Ah, that's right, it was just a few months ago. Anyway, time stops for no phone in the wireless industry, and HTC's been hard at work re-upping the Touch with twice the RAM and ROM -- now up to 128MB and 256MB, respectively -- and O2 Germany, T-Mobile Germany, and T-Mobile UK have all snapped the new model right up into their inventories. Get 'em now, if you're lucky enough to be within range of such a carrier.

[Via the::unwired]

Read - T-Mobile UK
Read - T-Mobile Germany
Read - O2 Germany

Didn't take long at all following HTC's official announcement of the Touch Dual for carriers to start getting on board. First up is O2 German with the "Xda star," continuing O2's longstanding tradition of appending somewhat random words onto "Xda" to come up with names for its smartphone hardware. The Xda star's design differs slightly from the Touch Dual reference design -- note the retooled button layout below the screen -- but specs are otherwise unchanged. It'll be available in the SureType-esque 20-key layout only when it launches next month for just shy of €30 (about $43) on a two-year contract. Man, can we get it for $43 on contract, please?

O2 has a track record of running largely different product lineups between its European and Asian operations, but German subscribers might be delighted to hear that they're getting a particularly strong import from their cousins on the other end of the globe. This here device, sold in the Asia Pacific region as the Xda Atom Life, is getting rebranded as the "Xda comet" (yes, lower case "c," as annoying as that is) -- and it's picking up an upgrade to Windows Mobile 6 as part of its transcontinental transformation (though Atom Life owners have access to an official upgrade now too). The handset holds its own with 3.6Mbps HSDPA, Bluetooth, WiFi, a healthy 624 megahertz of XScale action, 2 megapixel cam, and a full 1GB of storage onboard; the lack of a slide-out keyboard might be a deal breaker for some, but otherwise, looks like HTC's got a solid bit of Bavarian competition on its hands. Look for it to hit in October for a yet-to-be-announced price. [Warning: PDF link]

[Via the::unwired]

Germans on O2, relish in this moment, for you are much of the world's envy. After promising a Windows Mobile 6 upgrade path for the Xda trion (that's the HTC Hermes / TyTn for lay folk) not long ago, the carrier has now made good by rolling out the package. Walk, don't run -- it'll wipe your data -- but we figure it's more than worth the hassle nonetheless.

[Via the::unwired]

Windows Mobile 6 fever: catch it! That's slowly but surely getting easier to do on carriers around the globe -- including, surprisingly, one of our own -- and O2's the latest to add a bit of upgrade cheer to its lineup with support for the Xda orbit and trion. Known to HTC as the Artemis and Hermes respectively, both devices are well-suited for the splendors that Windows Mobile 6 Professional has to offer; in fact, AT&T's variant, the 8525, is scheduled to get its own facelift in the next few months. In the meantime, though, might we recommend staring longingly at the official upgrades across the Atlantic?

[Via the::unwired]

Read - Xda orbit
Read - Xda trion