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.

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.