Review: XDA Atom Life (Part II)

This review was made possible by PNW Communications who are selling it for $375. You can contact them at +1 (425) 344-6577 or view the items they have for sale here.

In Part I of this series of review, I explained why I was doing a review on the O2 XDA Atom Life. Even though this device was released over a year ago, at this point in time, I have not seen a Pocket PC that clocks in at 624MHz and packs 1GB of ROM. Couple that with the price that you can get it now (at $375.00 from PNW Communications) and you have one great device that makes a great gift for both the novice and experienced user.

As I start on Part II of this review, I wanted to share with you some up close shots of the Atom Life. Seeing the stock photos is one thing but here, I will describe them to you as well. While not as great as experiencing it yourself, it would be pretty close I reckon.

Outlook

The Atom Life has an almost all black covering with a silver border running around its side. It looks really professional but wait till you handle it. Due to the nature of the reflective material (think earlier generations of the iPod), you tend to leave your fingerprints a lot on this device. Now this might not be such a big issue to some users but I like my device to be as spotless as possible so this is something I am not too keen.

However, if you keep your device in a case at all times, such an issue would not arise. The size and weight of the device feels good to hold. It’s neither heavy nor light (coming in at just under 150g with batter). It’s also neither too big nor too small, too wide nor too tall. Would I call perfect? For me, I would say so but then again, with different individuals of various sizes, it might not be the case for all.

The Front Features

So what can I say about the shortkey buttons? It’s really well placed. The buttons (2 softkeys, send and keys as well as Start and Music) while initially I thought were too close together, are greatly position such that I did not have to shift my hands when manipulating the device. Just a firm grip and my thumb is within easy access to any of them.

That being said, I felt that the buttons corresponding to the softkeys were rather small. There’s still some space at the top of it which got me wondering why O2 (now called MWg) did not expand the keys. It wouldn’t hurt and would make for easier pressing.

Speakers

Most Pocket PCs have their speakers on the back but the Atom Life is not like most Pocket PCs as its speakers are located on the front. There’s a reason to it which I will get to in just a while. Why I like front facing speakers is that when you rest your device on any surface say a table or floor, it would not be covered so you can hear when a call comes in for example.

Now why are there 2 speakers you ask? Well that’s because the sound coming out from them is actually stereo, unlike mono which is what you get from most Pocket PCs. So sounds sound richer and better on the Atom Life than on my Glofiish X500. As O2 puts it, “Recreate a 3-D surround sound experience with the SRS WOW HD and groove to the latest beats.” As to their position being on the front, well I guess when you are playing music or watching videos, it would be better to have them in front rather than on the back right?

DPAD

It’s pretty unique actually. Unlike most DPADs that either have arrows or are just plain, the DPAD on the Atom Life actually has symbols which you would find useful for manual playback. True, it’s not much because any Windows Mobile device’s DPAD would serve the same function when used for media purposes but it’s a little thing that might just go a long way with some users.

Mini SD Card

The Atom Life uses a mini SD card and is located at the top of the device. There is no dust cover there which is a shame but O2 has instead provided you with a plastic in the shape of a mini SD card. Leave it in the slot so that dust does not enter or replace it with a mini SD card of your own if you plan to use it. At 1GB, you might not even need a storage card

Buttons

There are 5 other buttons, 2 for volume on left, 1 for power at the top, 1 for voice recording and one for camera/video on the right. Being a right-hander, the power and volume buttons were easy for me to press. Can’t say the same for voice record and camera/video button. Left handers (I presume) would find these 2 buttons and the power easy to press with the volume buttons not the case.

When I say it’s hard to press, it’s because you can’t seem to press it with the bottom of your finger. Sure you can still press it easily with your finger tips or nail but if you have a habit of activating the side buttons with your base of your finger/thumb, you might have to make some changes with the Atom Life.

Lanyard Hole

Here’s something that you don’t usually see on a Pocket PC. It’s a lanyard hole that you can thread your lanyard through thus allowing you to carry your Pocket PC around your neck. Or you could attach one of those photo keychains if that’s something you prefer. It does look strongly built though I did not test the strength of it.

2.5mm Headset Port

With more and more devices sporting proprietary ports for audio, O2 has kept the 2.5mm ports which means you can easily use the headset of your choice. I tested them with my headset and so far, they’ve not suffered from the problems encountered by many 2.5mm ports. That is the device still thinks the headset is plugged in when it has been removed. This is usually due to bad workmanship but that does not appear to be the case in the Atom Life.

FM Radio

OK it’s got an FM radio on board which makes for a great device while you are commuting but did you know that it also supports RDS? That’s Radio Data System and you can read up on Wikipedia what it is. Basically, it allows data to be sent to your device through FM broadcast and is being used by some navigational software to update traffic in real time. So, while the Atom Life does not have an onboard GPS chip, it does have something which might be just as useful if you want to use the device for navigational purposes.

Infrared Port

Yup, it’s there at the left side, towards the bottom of the device. I am not an infrared user to be honest with you, instead preferring to bluetooth my files for wireless connections. However, for users who still need a device with such connectivity, the Atom Life is one you can consider.

Phone Speaker

Wondering where the status LEDs are on the Atom Life? It’s right there under the speaker grille which I think is pretty cool. Not sure if O2 did that intentionally for style or saving space or both but it’s definitely a nice touch. Having a silver grill against a black backdrop is also a nice touch for the phone speaker. A great example of form mixed with function.

Camera

Well there are actually 2 camera, the front facing is used for video calls while the rear facing is meant for taking pictures and videos. That being said, you can still use the front facing camera for taking self portraits if you wanted, even though the rear facing one does have a self portrait mirror. The LED flash on the back makes it useful for taking pictures in the dark and I will definitely have some photos for you to look at in another part of this series.

What I like about the front facing camera is that it is nicely concealed and does not stand out like sore thumb. It blends in well with the design of the device and I am sure those looking for a good looking device will come to appreciate it. In addition, the cameras are buried instead of being flushed with the cover. While some may not like it, I think it’s a good move by O2 as it would minimize scratching of the lens.

Back

The back is pretty plain save for the camera but it does come with something really useful. That’s the feet of the device which props it up when you are resting it on a surface. This provides additional protection for the camera’s lens, LED flash and self-portrait mirror, though indirectly. It’ll also protect the rest of the back of your device as well. Good thinking O2.

Screen

Nothing to shout about here. qVGA screens are pretty normal for Pocket PCs and this one is no different. What I did find different was that it was really bright when I set it to maximum brightness. Now you may have encountered devices with very bright backlights but I seldom do. In fact, I think that when my Glofiish X500 and the Atom Life are both on maximum brightness, the latter beats the former.

One thing about the screen is that it is also buried just like the cameras. This would be hard to say if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. Good because it protects the screen when you place it on its front. Bad because chances are, you can use your fingernails to access the corners of the device. So I guess it depends on what kind of user you are.

Now the screen is sized at 2.7″ and I thought initially that this might effect user experience as I was using a 2.8″ screen which is commonly found on Pocket PCs. I thought that because it is already small at 2.8″, anything smaller would not be a good idea. I would like to change my stand because even with the 0.1″ reduction, I did not notice any difference at all.

Battery

Battery is rated at 1530mAh. Good or bad, that would depend on your usage. I have been able to use a similar capacity batter on another device for 1.5-2 days but that device only had EGDE connection. The Atom Life, with it’s UMTS connection, might not fare better unless you plan to not use 3G connectivity. That being said, I got about 2-3 days of moderately light usage on a full charge with the device which is not too bad. Then again, bear in mind that it’s only dependent on yourself.

Conclusion

One thing I have noticed about O2 devices from past to present is that they always have great looking devices. Even when HTC released an OEM and the carriers rebranded it, O2 always had the best looking or one of the better looking devices. The O2 XDA Atom Life follows suit with it’s design that balances design and function nicely.

I would have changed the material to something that does not really leave fingerprints and maybe enlarged the softkeys but other than that, I think what O2 has done with the Atom Life is a work of art.

That concludes Part II of this review. In the next part, I plan to go the software that comes with the device so you’ll want to stay tuned for that. Here’s a teaser: I have never seen so much useful applications on a device before.

This review was made possible by PNW Communications and they have it for sale at $375.00, among other devices. You can contact them at +1 (425) 344-6577 or view the items they have for sale here.

Related posts

• Review: XDA Atom Life (Part I) (0)
• Review: XDA Atom Life (Part IV) (12)
• Review: XDA Atom Life (Part III) (6)
• Thinking Of Getting An Atom Life? (0)
• MWg To Be Launched In Europe (0)