By CNET Asia staff
21/09/2007
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39050603,62032520,00.htm

Judges: Damian Koh and John Chan

If you are looking for a compact Windows Mobile PDA-phone, chances are you would have considered both the O2 Xda Atom Life and Dopod D810 at some point. Both these handhelds are armed to the teeth with features and yet manage to maintain their svelte form factors.

The Dopod D810 has recently been replaced by the HTC P3600i. There is no external change in this upgrade, but the newer model comes with more internal flash memory and a faster processor. So, even though the HTC is much newer, it is essentially the same handheld with a few tweaks. Because of that, it doesn't become an obvious choice over the Atom Life because there is no great leap in features. Their prices are also quite similar, another important factor when buying a new handheld.

So, in the interest of those making a choice between these two hot PDA-phones, the Atom Life and P3600i, we have put them in the ring for a fight to the death. Okay, not quite to the death, perhaps to the point where noses are bloody, just before permanent brain damage.

Round 1: Style factor

Their features may shout power user, but no one wants to carry something ugly around. For something as personal as a PDA-phone, style is still king. Our individual judges' ratings are based on a 0-to-5 point scale, which results in a final score of 0 to 10 per round.

	4 The Atom Life wins by a slight margin here with its choice of piano black and silver finish. When everything is in one color, it's all dull and unappealing. Next!	3 Side-by-side, the P3600i gives the impression of "hey, I'm a serious user, don't mess with me" kind of feeling. Nothing wrong with that, it's just the Atom catches our eye more.
	4 O2 got the formula right here. Sophistication without being dull. The strip of silver may just be painted on, but it breaks up the monotony of a single shade.	3 It's black, it's glossy, it's utilitarian. Black and gray will do the job for those in suits, but we suspect many others will feel the need to further decorate their P3600i.
Total	8	6

Round 2: Design

Sometimes, pretty shells can be pretty empty. Beyond the looks factor, we need to consider a product's ergonomics, weight and durability.

	3 Both the Atom Life and the P3600i have glossy surfaces, so fingerprints are what one has to live with. There are two problems with the Atom. One, the buttons on the side don't respond too well to key presses and, two, the silver paint on the stylus has a tendency to chip over time.	3 The P3600i has a slightly more curvaceous body, which may work for some but not for others. Overall, it is also slightly larger than the Atom Life. The placement of buttons is also well-thought-out and I like the scroll wheel which comes in handy for one-hand operations.
	3 The Atom Life is marginally lighter and thinner than its competitor. It has fewer shortcut buttons around the sides, but the directional pad fulfils the secondary task of controlling media.	4 The rounded-ness of the P3600i gives it a slightly pudgier look, though it isn't much larger or heavier than the Atom Life. The greatest advantage it does have is the scroll wheel for volume control and navigation found on its left side.
Total	6	7

Round 3: Usability

Let's face it, these are two Windows Mobile devices, and those aren't famed for user-friendliness. But what manufacturers can do is to provide addons and improvements to their interfaces so you can do simple stuff more easily. Positive hardware aspects like a great screen and proper stylus will also get a thumbs-ups from us.

	4 The LCD screen of the Atom Life (2.7-inch) is marginally smaller than the one on the P3600i (2.8-inch), but the handheld makes up for it with a longer stylus that's easier to hold. O2 also provides several nifty programs for the user. The MediaPlus program is one I find very useful to access multimedia files. There's also a hardware key mapped to the application.	3 The short stylus of the P3600i was a pain to use for longer periods of time. What I like is the jog dial and OK key on the side, which make it easy to navigate the phone with one hand. Although the softkeys on this HTC are larger, it has relegated the speakers to the rear and that could possibly muffle audio when the device is lying on its back.
	4 The modified Today screen here is quite appealing. With one look, you get vital information immediately, including which wireless options are active and battery life. The profiles addon also makes it easy to switch to different sound modes quickly so you don't get embarrassed during an important meeting. That aside, O2 has also provided a host of other applications to make life easier for the user.	3 Though the Today screen looks pretty normal, it does have the HTCHomeplug addon, which gives quick access to vital settings. There is also a Task Manager application which makes closing running programs quicker for better memory management.
Total	8	6

Round 4: Features

More, more, more! Give us those features, and we'll fork out the cash. 'Nuff said.

	4 Although both handhelds support miniSD flash memory, the Atom Life is two up on the P3600i with 1GB of onboard ROM compared with the latter's measly 256MB and also support for FM radio.	4 At one glance, it may seem like the P3600i is going to kick arse in terms of features, but it does lose out in certain aspects such as the lack of a 3.5/2.5mm dedicated audio jack and onboard camera flash. Its quadband GSM radio, triband HSDPA and onboard GPS, however, would appeal to globe trekkers.
	4 So it does have more built-in memory, but given how cheap miniSD cards are these days, it's a tiny consideration. The Atom Life does have that FM radio for those who still ply the waves for music.	5 The HTC packs it in where it matters. It has quadband GSM and triband UMTS, features that frequent fliers will appreciate. These same globetrotters will also love the fact that it has GPS built-in, so it's just a matter of buying the right maps for the right city when traveling.
Total	8	9

Round 5: Performance

It's the last thing we look at, but it's a potential veto factor. No one wants a phone that looks good but can't hold a decent voice or video call. Battery life is also a big deal, so let's see how these two contenders match up.

	4 The Atom Life feels marginally snappier and more responsive than the P3600i. That's probably due to its faster processor, though the difference wasn't significant. In terms of battery capacity, the Atom also has a slight advantage with a 1,530mAh cell compared with the P3600i's 1,500mAh battery.	3 So the P3600i cannot match up in terms of processor speed and battery capacity, but what's interesting is it has a longer rated talktime of up to 5 hours (4 hours on the Atom) and maximum standby of 250 hours (200 hours on the Atom). Interesting, isn't it? In terms of voice and video calls, both handhelds performed decently, so no grouses there.
	3 624MHz is about as fast as it gets on such handhelds. The Atom Life holds out well in performance and battery life. Don't belittle its tiny form factor, it can be quite a workhorse.	4 While it is numerically slower than the Atom Life with a 500MHz chip, I actually found the HTC to be more responsive when multitasking. It's not always about the clock speed, it seems. The battery rating is also longer perhaps because the processor is more efficient, a big plus for those with heavy phone usage.
Total	7	7

The winner is…

Total points
O2 Xda Atom Life: 37
HTC P3600i: 35