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The supplied headset is required as an antenna for the FM radio, and you may not by now be surprised to learn that the headsets provided are identical for each device, as is the radio software.

It was irritating not to be able to use my preferred headset with the radio – remember I said the headset uses that mini USB slot to connect - but on the other hand its presence was useful and FM radios are still something of a rarity for Pocket PCs.

Bluetooth is present in both the O2 XDA Orbit and T-Mobile MDA Compact III, but T-Mobile has seen fit to disable Wi-Fi in the MDA Compact III while O2 has left it intact in the XDA Orbit. T-Mobile has lost a lot of cachet in doing this. During testing when I had both devices set up and ready to use, invariably I grabbed the XDA Orbit knowing its Wi-Fi was there should I need it.

Extras

T-Mobile earns back a few brownie points by including a little applet called X-Button, which allows you to actually turn off running applications by tapping their top right hand corner ‘X’ rather than just minimising them as Windows Mobile Pocket PC prefers. This is a memory management feature that is available as a software extra from various third parties, but it is nice to see it provided out of the box.

Both devices also have a Zip file manager and a little applet called Mouse Mode which puts a cursor on the screen which you can manipulate with the miniature trackball. I found this far from a speedy alternative to simply tapping the screen, but if you like the idea, it is there for using.

The Co-Pilot Live 6 navigation software is an optional extra for the MDA Compact III, but comes with every XDA Orbit. If you are looking to buy fresh this may influence purchasing choice, as both devices should have no trouble running any alternative navigation software designed for Pocket PC.

With the differences between the devices so finely poised, it is worth listing what comes in each box. The XDA Orbit box also contains: Stereo headset (mini USB connector), mains power adaptor, mini USB to PC link cable, spare stylus, CD containing Microsoft ActiveSync and Outlook 2002, CD containing Clearview PDF viewer a GPRS usage monitor and wireless modem USB driver, printed user manual and quickstart guide.

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