Pocket PC Mobile Review: O2 ATOM

Although the o2 Atom has been around for some months now it is still one of the best devices one can buy. After more than 8 months in the market it is still the smallest Windows Mobile 5.0 device. The price is at this point is very good and it can leave the average/normal pocket pc user very satisfied.

SPEED: Speed of the device is an issue with the o2 Atom. The performance is not satisfactory on many cases. It seems that O2 is using the same processor on the O2 Atom as it was using on O2 XDA II MINI (Intel PXA272 416Mhz). The difference is that the new device has a lot more features and it is running Windows Mobile 5.0 which is more processor demanding.  Things get worse with speed if you keep the version of ROM (20051129B2) which initially came with the device. If that is your case, then you definitely need to upgrade the ROM to the latest version. Even doing so you will gain some speed performance but still not enough to be consider a “fast” device.

MEMORY: The O2 carries a 128MB ROM and 64 MB RAM. This is sufficient for most users and it is the same memory size that most of the devices have, so it can be consider ok. For external memory you can also use the mini-SD slot. This could be better if it was an SD slot instead of mini-slot since a lot of people already have SD cards from their previous windows mobile devices and in addition they are cheaper than the mini SD.

SIZE: The O2 Atom is the smallest windows mobile device in the market. It’s a small size (58(W) x 102(L) x 18.5(T) mm) and light device very similar to the popular i-mate Jam. The Atom weighs only 140g and can fit comfortably into either a hand or a pocket. The negative aspect of this small “pocket” size is that the TFT LCD display screen is smaller (2.7”) and thus makes the on-screen keyboard smaller and some applications do feel restricted. However compared to some large and bulky devices this “limitation” is not of much importance. In fact we believe that the Atom is one of the stylish designed pocket pc devices on the market.

On the front panel of the device you can find the trademark of O2, a high quality display (240 x 320 dots resolution), and beneath it two dedicated call buttons, a 5 way joystick and two shortcut keys. The display is a 240 x 320 pixel LCD touch-screen which is a pure delight to use, although it is sometimes very difficult to read and understand the display when not indoors. The stylus pen is located at the top right and it is securely tucked into the device so you won't have to worry about losing it.

At the bottom of the unit you can see the USB 1.1 connection that is used for synchronization and for charging (either by the AC adaptor or PC), and a 2.5mm headphone jack. The headphone jack is not according to the 3.5 mm standard so it does rule out using the top line headphones if you have a pair. We did find the maximum volume not particularly loud, and this means that the sound can be difficult hear in “noisy” environments.Another great feature of O2 is the build in FM Radio.

On the left hand side you can see the volume button and on the right hand there are the dedicated buttons to launch the camera, video capture, voice recording as well as the Infrared port. This is a good and simple control layout and this makes the interface organized.

Although the glossy black-finish on the Atom looks great it sometimes can be a problem because of the fingerprints spots, which appear easily. Those of you who don’t like the black Atom can pick a white one (Atom Pure) but for a limited time only.

At the rear of the Atom, O2 has positioned a 2 mega-pixel camera (with self portrait mirror). Unhappily, the quality of the photos with this camera was not as good as we've seen on some other phones, and together with the slow performance of the application, we made us fell a bit disappointed. Overall the camera of this device is not one for the best you can find on windows mobile devices. On the other hand this device is more targeted for mobile professionals, who may not want the best camera on a professional device but may take into account other factors as more important. Anyway, this is what O2 said for defend themselves about the not so good performance of the Atom O2 camera.

CONNECTIVITY:

This is where the Atom really wins.  It has build in support for Bluetooth 1.2, Wi-Fi, Infrared and a USB connection. This is one device you will have no problems connecting to any wireless point available currently. The availability of Bluetooth allows you to use the device with almost any wireless hands free accessory.

PHONE FUNCTIONALITY:

Besides being a pocket pc device, the O2 Atom is also a mobile phone. Atom plays very well the role of a mobile phone. The call quality was very good and it also includes other features such as Call Accept/Ignore, Voicemail, Speakerphone, Call Hold, Conference Calling and Muting. For the security conscious, you can set a PIN which locks the device.

SOFTWARE:

The device runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 and includes mobile office software (Pocket Word, Excel, Outlook and Internet Explorer). O2 has also included pre-installed software to help you organize your media and conduct device self diagnostics. Of course you can buy any software you may want from games to organizers and device mechanics for a very low price, so the pre-installed software is not considered a big issue.

Battery life on this device is around 5.5 hours (talk-time) and aprx. 150 hours standby.