O2 describes the tiny XDA Atom as a PDA-phone. And so it is, but it's also a 2 megapixel CMOS camera, an FM radio(!) and an MP3 player. Nor is it a slouch on the connectivity front, offering as it does Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE phone network compatibility, Bluetooth support, IrDA linking, as well as USB and Wireless LAN compliance. And all this functionality is managed with a touchscreen rather than a keypad.
To take full advantage of its considerable feature set, you'll need a personal computer running Windows XP or Windows 2000 (service pack 4 or later) and Windows Outlook. If you are so equipped, the bundled software allows you to synchronise email, calendar, contacts, task lists and notes between the XDA Atom and your computer. While using many of these tools requires resort to the phone's stylus, I found that I could make phone calls by tapping the number pad display with my fingernail.
Naturally the bit I was most interested in was the test unit's 2 megapixel camera - but then I'm funny that way. The XDA Atom has a generous enough display (it's 68mm across and the resolution is 240 x 320 pixels with 262K colours), and the controls are simple and obvious. However, when photographing outdoors, the image on the display was very difficult to see. This is a criticism we often level at compact digital cameras, but it nonetheless made framing a somewhat hit or miss affair under bright conditions.
Image quality from the test unit was adequate, but unspectacular. The tiny CMOS sensor is pretty "noisy" at low light levels, so it's just as well that there's a small LED flash built in. You won't be using the flash to light a room full of people, but for close ups it worked surprisingly well. In daylight conditions the colour quality and image sharpness was acceptable, but if you wanted to make a reasonable print (as opposed to sending the image in an MMS or displaying it on a computer monitor), you'd want to spend sometime tweaking it in your favourite photo editing software first. Of course to be fair, this is something one can say about the images from most of the current generation of camera equipped phones.
As a package, the XDA Atom provides a very impressive range of features for Windows users in particular. If my provider offered me an upgrade to one, I'd take it. Well worth a closer look if you're in the market for a new mobile and want to get one with a usable camera as well.
Image sensor: 2 megapixel CMOS
Memory: Flash ROM: 128MB in total. RAM: 64MB
Display: 2.7" TFT LCD display with touch panel, 240 x 320 dots resolution, Supports 262K colours (65,536 effective)
Interface: Infrared IrDA 1.2 SIR (115kbps at 30cm), Mini-USB connector for USB 1.1 connection and power charging, SIM card slot, MiniSD memory card slot, Audio jack (2.5mm ø)
Connectivity: Bluetooth Bluetooth SIG version 1.2 compliant
Size: approx. 58(W) x 102(L) x 18.5(T) mm
Weight with battery: 140g
Platform: Microsoft Windows Mobile™ 5.0. Integrated personal digital assistance, tri-band EDGE phone, FM radio, high-resolution camera, Bluetooth, and Wireless LAN
Processor: Intel PXA272 416MHz
Audio: Stereo speaker, Speaker with receiver, Omni-directional mono microphone
Ringtone support: 64-chord MIDI, MP3, WMA, WAV
Playback support: MIDI, MP3, WMA, WAV, AMR
Battery: Removable rechargeable Li-Ion battery, 1,500mAh
Operation time: Standby: 150 hours, Talk time up to 5.5 hours (battery life may vary depending on RF conditions and actual usage)
AC adapter: AC input: 100~240 Vac, 50 / 60Hz