This is a summary of a full review courtesy of Jim Fowl at 4WinMobile.com.  Read the full review

Design and Form

Aesthetics

I quickly wrested the N560 from its well packaged hiding place, and this being the first time I had seen a Loox in the flesh, I was immediately struck by the exceptional looks of the device. This Loox is one suave and smooth looking device, clad in Blue/Greys, and complemented excellently with silver edges, it looks every inch the sophisticated business machine, whilst retaining a certain sense of style, meaning that it isn't out of place as a device for personal use.

Fujitsu-Siemens have obviously put a lot of work into the exterior design of their PDA ranges, and this effort has paid off. In my opinion, the Loox is the best looking PDA I've had the good fortune to use. Read on to find out if the N560 lives up to the expectation it delivers visually.
 

Screen

Once the dreaded initial charge was completed, I powered the Loox on for the very first time, and at that point I was in total awe of the the incredible VGA screen! It's so clear, crisp and ever so bright, it looks awesome.... I haven't fawned over a screen this much since my review of the Dell Axim X50v many moons ago.

As you can see from the screen shot, PocketPlan from Twiddlebit looks absolutely awesome, and is totally usable on the Loox N560. PocketPlan is one of my most used apps, and is the real reason why I need a PDA with a VGA screen, and the Loox fills that role magnificently.

Construction

Following on from the aesthetics, the N560 is also incredibly well constructed, with no visible gaps along the edges of the casing. The device feels very sturdy in the hand. The keys are superbly made, with a very positive travel when pushed, providing excellent tactile feedback, and finished off with the aforementioned superb backlighting, that all important blue led light!!

Another thing that I noticed immediately, is that the N560 is incredibly light, far lighter than the Dell Axim X50v, the XDA Exec, and definitely a lot lighter the OQO O1. The svelte nature of the Loox made it incredibly pocketable, even in a shirt front pocket. It really is a joy to carry, I almost forgot that I had it about my person.

Buttons and Ports

The Loox N560 is very minimalist in the button arena, I hadn't noticed myself, but in my discussions with the 4WM Admin team, it was pointed out that the Loox doesn't have the hardware buttons for activating the on screen soft keys that devices such as the XDA Exec does.

Obviously since I hadn't noticed the lack of the extra buttons, it isn't much of an issue for me, but it's a very worthwhile thing to point out, so my thanks go to the rest of the team.

Back to the buttons on the Loox, and breaking it down on a side by side basis we have...

The Left hand side, which plays host to the microphone opening, the one touch record button and the Infra-Red Window!! Slightly unusually, the microphone is at the top of the device, make using Skype interesting, although it seemed to have no effect on the call quality.

I can see the reason for this, as it gives me the impression that the device is laid out more like a Dictaphone... You know, you see people talking into their thumbs, as the record button on a dictaphone is near the microphone.

The Right hand side, here we find zilch, not a single button!!

Looking at the top, the SD Card Slot, full SD mind, no mini or micro stuff here, the Headphone socket, comprising of a standard 3.5mm socket and the Stylus Silo!

Earphone socket is a standard 3.5mm jack, and the sound quality through my old Aiwa headphones was excellent (I can't find my Sony's that I bought at London Airport!!).

Moving on to the bottom of the device, we find it carries the soft-reset recess and the Sync/Charge socket. One thing to note, Fujitsu have chosen to go down the non-standard connector route rather than using Mini-USB. A pity, as I have a plethora of mini-USB cables laying around. This meant I had to remember to carry the N560 cable with me when working in other offices, a minor gripe though.

Finally arriving at the back of the device, yes, the back, an unusual place to find connectors on a normal PDA, but not so strange on a phone edition device. Here, the N560 sports an external antenna connector for the built-in GPS, so if you get poor reception, you can boost the signal this way. Not that I had a problem with signal strength when putting the Loox through its paces.

Also note the small grey strip running across the lower back of the device, this isn't just a cosmetic touch, it actually provides a very useful function!! The strip is made of rubber, and when the device is laid on a table, it stops the N560 from moving or sliding around, a neat little touch. Top marks here for this simple but effective design.

Connectivity

The N560 comes fully loaded comms wise, carrying all the essentials that a road warrior needs to remain connected. The built in Wi-Fi provides the industry standard 802.11b connectivity found on nearly all Wi-Fi PDAs. But Fujitsu-Siemens have also included a major bonus, the N560 also sports 802.11g, allowing those with compatible Wi-Fi routers/Access points to benefit from the substantial speed increase.

I do wonder when we will see the first devices carrying the 802.11n standard, should that be ratified any time soon!! (although it may have been already, and I simply missed the announcements).

I had no issues connecting the Loox N560 wirelessly to my Draytek Vigor 2600G router, it worked first time and re-connected every time, allowing me to Sync quickly and easily with my Exchange Server.

Alongside the Wireless capabilities, sits the Microsoft Bluetooth 1.2 Stack, although allegedly, this does contain A2DP. I don't have any compatible headphones to try out this functionality.

The customary Infra-Red is also on board, and I have to admit I do use it occasionally when I can't be bothered to dig out cables. But once used, I always make sure I untick 'Receive all incoming beams' in the hope of conserving battery life. 

Included Accessories

Docking Station

The Loox N560 Dock is a cunning beast, not only is it superbly stylish looking, but, also hides another very interesting feature! At the rear it sports a3.5mm earphone jack. Match that with the ability to control the sound output in the FSC Audio Path program (more later on that!), you now have a handy music capable dock for the PDA.

I don't have a seperate MP3 player, relying on my PDAs to play music, so this ability was a godsend whilst working. I plugged a couple of powered Aiwa speakers that I had laying around my home office into the dock, left FSC Audio Path at automatic, powered up WMP10 and away I went, listening to my own music whilst working, marvellous.... I would have included a desk shot of the setup, but my desk is such a mess at the moment you'll back thankful I didn't!!

Spare Stylus

Not really much to say on this, but thoughtfully included for the careless amongst us.

USB Sync Cable

As with all PDAs these days, the Loox comes with a Sync and Charge cable. The device connector end sports a power connector socket, to allow the device to be charged via the mains adapter whilst being synced. Especially handy if you have a PC or laptop that doesn't output a lot of power via the USB ports. I'll talk about the connectors themselves in the Additional Functionality section.

European Charger, UK Plug Attachments and Head Adapter

The Charging brick, or should that be plug, well let's say transformer, is a pretty standard affair. As seen on the original XDA range of PDAs the charger comes with a standard end-plug, but also has an adapter to allow it to be directly connected to the PDA itself.

Leather Slip Case

Black, good construction, provides good protection for the Loox N560. Sadly, no belt clip, so purely for your pocket or bag. The Fujitsu-Siemens offering compares directly to the standard cases that are provided with the bulk of PDAs today, and it is definitely handy to have straight out of the box, affording protection to your new toy while you scout around for that perfect case.

Pro's and Cons

Pros

 Superb VGA Screen.
 Small form factor.
 Good feel in hand.
 Extremely Light weight.
 802.11g Wi-Fi on board.
 USB Host Functionality (although I couldn't test it!  )

Cons

 Lack of hardware buttons for soft function keys.
 Slow initial GPS lock.
 High battery usage by GPS hardware.
 Comms Manager requiring Registration.
 

Conclusion

There's no doubt about it, the Loox N560 is one sweet device. It packs everything you could possibly need into an extremely small and light form factor. Delivering performance when necessary, but encompassing the very latest features for extending battery life. An all important aspect for the busy Road-Warrior!

The built in GPS is a major draw for this device, and although TomTom told me that the device wasn't one they had tested and cleared TomTom Navigator 5 for use on, I had no issues at all.

I seriously considered purchasing the review model, the only thing that stopped me was literally the lack of available funds, and I don't mind admitting that!! The Cons for the N560 really are minor niggles in my view, rather than full blown show stoppers. But once again, that is my perception, and may not be everyone elses!