O2s and the all those cool looking PDA phones. But do you really need them? Here’s the evaluation from – if it pleases you – a bunch of sour grapes.

These days, even the most basic phones comes with the standard PIM (Personal Information Manager) functions, similar to that of Outlook – Calender functions with appointment reminders, alarms etc; Notes; Task list. It even comes with a synchronisation program that allows you to sync with your Outlook. So there, one function you can’t do without avaiable also on your normal phone.

Next, applications. How often does one use the Pocket Word or Excel on that thing anyway? Not to mention with a screen so small, it’s probably quite a pain in the butt to do so. And if you talk about the ability to install programs on the O2, well, there are phones which you can install applications on it too. But the real question isn’t what you can or cannot put in, but rather, how often do you use it?

What about surfing the internet? Wireless LAN (WLAN) features? Come on… surf the web on that little screen?! I have better ways to test my eyesight than that! And what can’t you do on GPRS that you actually need to do it on the O2? In fact, I don’t even think you can do Internet banking with the browser on that thing, since I don’t know there’s anyone locally who has actually managed to load some kind of JVM – Java Virtual Machine – on that thing. That’s not mentioning I can get movie tickets off my old Nokia 6100 without any problems at all.

And how about games? There is also a large number of games for mobile too, and even some titles on the PC is available, for e.g. Age of Empires II, for some Sony Ericsson models! And you are really supernatural if you don’t feel tired staring at that little screen playing AOE II.

There are really few people I know who would need an O2, and in extension, a PocketPC, anyway. The techie geeks, the financial advisor aka insurance agent, and maybe even your recently despised Tai-E-Loan, are the few people I can think of who will need one.

In other words, it is my considered opinion that a lot of people are getting an O2 simply to show off, or to try and prove they are computer savvy. I don’t want to talk about that moron in my office who brought one, and don’t even know how to toggle it between keyboard and graffiti mode. It reminds me of the time I was listening to Tchaikovsky to act if I am a cultured person when I don’t even know that Tchaikovsky = 柴可夫斯基! Malu siah!

Then of course there are those who are buying because of peer pressure and a matter of face. ‘Everyone in my office also buy I don’t buy how can?!’

And guess what? A piece of useless junk like these get sold at obscene prices starting from like $800 a piece! If you really have too much money, you can always put into my bank account.