O2 Joggler June 2009

The O2 Joggler aims to be an organisational hub in hectic households

The O2 Joggler is billed as 'your new fridge door' – a calendar, music player, news reader and digital photo frame all rolled into a slick 7-inch touchscreen device. It’s exclusive to O2 and available to O2 customers free as an upgrade – or £150 to everyone else.

To use it you'll need to put the Joggler where it can access the internet (either plugged directly into a router or by Wi-Fi) and a power point. The Joggler is an ‘always on’ device and can only be switched off by unplugging it.

The instruction manual is reassuringly thin – just a few short pages explaining how to get started and an outline of each of its key features.

A straightforward onscreen tutorial takes care of the rest, guiding you through the bulk of the set-up process and explaining how to use calendar functions.

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Calendar capabilities

You'll need to register for O2’s online calendar service to use the Joggler’s primary calendar function. This is free, open to customers of any mobile network and offers the advantage of being able to access your Joggler calendar from any computer connected to the internet. O2 users can also send texts to receive information about today's and upcoming events, as well as add new ones. 

The calendar has a solid range of features, including event reminders, repeat events, multi-day items and the ability to view and synchronise the schedules of multiple family members.

Adding appointments is easy and intuitive using the touchscreen, which reverts into a full Qwerty keypad when needed. This keyboard is effective, although the option to use a stylus would help those with larger fingers.

Once a calendar entry has been added, you can choose to receive free text reminders on your mobile phone. These are easy to set up and arrive like clockwork, but are only available to O2 mobile phone customers.

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O2 Joggler features

View photos, listen to music, play Sudoku and organise your schedule using the O2 Joggler

The O2 Joggler has several other functions. Its 1GB of internal storage can be used to store photos and music tracks uploaded via a USB connection. Both photos and music can be played back using the screen and integral speakers, though compatible music files are restricted to MP3, WAV and WMA – excluding the popular iTunes format, ACC.

The screen is clean and well illuminated. Menus and graphics are sharp, and photos generally benefit from the same good-quality presentation. The Joggler’s speakers are what you'd expect from a digital photo frame. Sounds lack depth and volume, but are perfectly usable in a quieter environment.

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Joggler news, traffic and sports news

Further key functions include a Sudoku game, Sky news, weather, traffic and sports headlines. These extras are a mixed bag – news and sports headlines are genuinely well presented, but we found the Trafficmaster travel information less helpful.

Traffic mapping is crude and lacks detail, with very few roads and place names visible even when zoomed in to the maximum level. Warnings lack a full explanation and it’s not possible to customise the map so it reverts to your home or work location by default.

The weather screens show promise, but the choice of locations misses out swathes of the UK, including large cities such as London, Manchester and Southampton.

The Joggler’s tools menu also provides a calculator, alarm clock, memos and a network application enabling you to view photos and play music stored on other PCs in your network.

O2 promises internet radio access and messaging capabilities will be added from December 2009. These valuable additions are tantalisingly greyed out in the Joggler’s menu at present.

We found the Joggler to be a slick and useful home gadget for those looking for a new way to get organised

Which? verdict on the O2 Joggler

The Joggler could be a useful and innovative addition to kitchens in gadget-loving households where pen and paper are no longer enough to keep track of hectic lifestyles. It’s a slick and intuitive calendar, at its best when used to track the activities of multiple users.

Additional features – such as news headlines, photo viewing and music playback - add extra value, although some need fine tuning to make the Joggler worth reaching for instead of a home laptop or desktop PC.

There’s massive scope for O2 to extend the level of customisation available for the Joggler. Some enhancements have already been hinted at – for example external Joggler speakers, more downloadable games and an internet radio service. 

We'd also like to see a range of useful domestic apps available – for example a shopping list builder, currency converter or home budgeting tool. These will no doubt follow if the Joggler proves popular. Web browsing capabilities would also help the Joggler stand out from the crowd.

Pros: Good multimedia capabilities, useful calendar functions, available free as an O2 upgrade

Cons: Text alerts only available to O2 customers, traffic and weather features lack detail, only one game, radio and messaging tools not yet available