Bad Buzz on the Atom

[Pharmer]

I am considering purchasing the Atom as a replacement for my much-loved XDA2. However, several reviews and user comments in other forums have indicated that the Atom suffers from:
1) Poor quality construction- Cheesy plastic case
2) Buggy/Slow WM5 OS
3) Poor camera

What about the experience here? Do you all agree with the comments above? Would you recommend Atom as a replacement for the XDA2, or another device? Thanks

[Experimenter]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=50054&highlight=

and

http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=49399&highlight=

[Pharmer]

Thanks, Experimenter for your post, but no one has addressed the issues I raised except to say that they love the device. Many more reviews say exactly the opposite....... my favorite "looks good, works bad". Can the users in this forum polear give me some advice on this? Thanks

[Experimenter]

Hi Pharmer,

Well let me address the issues u raised :
1) Poor quality construction- Cheesy plastic case
2) Buggy/Slow WM5 OS
3) Poor camera

Its hard to answer your questions simply because it can be quite subjective.
Best is for u to walk into a shop and handle one yourself, then you can decide on 1) ... try out the camera and decide on 3)

Some ppl complain that the black makes fingerprint smudges obvious ... but really, my peeve, which applies to almost all PDA phones, is when u hold it to your ear to make calls you'll get a greasy touch screen.
I use a casing to protect the screen.

As for your point #2 I've not had problems after the ROM upgrades ... then again, just like a PC, it really depends on what you install into the handheld. Lots of times its the quality of the additional software u install, or if u install and uninstall lots of stuff to try em out.

Software I currently use :
TCPMP to watch movies and listen to MP3 using STEREO bluetooth
HICALC calculator
Resco Explorer and Registry Editor
Pocket Informant
O2 Plus

Not had any problems using my Atom with all these loaded. In fact, I'm extremely pleased with my Atom right now.

As for the camera, yes it has been pretty poor (by my standards for a 2MP) but seems to have improved with each ROM upgrade. Seems to take pretty decent pictures now. I have found you get best results outdoors on a bright day and indoors don't do as well.

well end of the day I can only say that if you are looking for perfection then it'll be a long wait ... every device will have its flaws ...

I made my purchasing decision based on :

1. Decided on Atom's slower wireless 'B' instead of other devices which had faster 'G' as I don't expect to be doin major surfing on a tiny device ... just needed the connectivity for email and occasional browsing if a PC is not available. What is important is at least WPA support which the Atom has. Even the 'B' is faster than my broadband access and I transfer files via active sync or using a card reader so wireless speed not an issue there.

2. Selected the Atom because of the STEREO bluetooth which allows me to watch movies and listen to MP3 in full stereo ... This feature has not been available on most other devices until recently I think.

3. Sleek and small size. Not too clunky, but some ppl prefer a keyboard for SMS so I suppose it may not be for everyone.

[Pharmer]

Hi, Experimenter- Thanks for your reply. As to why I don't just go look at one in a store, you might be interested to know that the US carriers generally do not carry these phones. As far as I am aware, no US carrier has the Atom. In the US, we usually purchase them unseen (except for pictures) from websites. Even T-Mobile US doesn't carry the phones the T-Mobile in Europe carries. As for any carrier-based service- for the phone, forget it.
Anyway, sorry for the rant, but that's why we depend on people like yourself to give honest opinions before we buy. The pictures of the Atom look pretty good, but the majority of the revierws have been bad suggesting that perhaps this is a phone that needs some improvement. My second choice is the 128mb Jam(charcoal). Looks like a similar phone to the Atom but with WM2003se instead of WM5. All the reviews on WM5 indicate that this os needs a little improvement too.
Finally, your comment that none of these phones are perfect is true and I'm certainly not looking for perfection. My MDA2 is still pretty good and perhaps its not time yet to upgrade.

[rickO]

hi experimenter :) i would like to inquire about the atom's camera in the latest official rom.. how many seconds does it take the atom to load the cam? and how long does it take to save pics shot? thanks dude.

about the overall performance, would you give a rough percentage of its increased speed performance compared to the previous rom (it's ok if it's your opinion). thank you very much

[henrylim]

Hi

Giving my 3 copper coins worth on ATOM too, since I am a user since last December 2005. I've been carrying other larger and powerful XDA devices before this, so I think the ATOM has it's hits and misses. IMHO, the usual benchmark on buying an ATOM is based on 2 very important criteria:

(a) Are you a COOL GADGET person?
(b) Are you tech-savvy and able to tinkle a bit on the the WM2005 registry?

I am not sure about the specs of the alternate JAM devices you have mentioned, but I reckon the hardware specs should be similar to ATOM except for the cover design and the OS.

WM2003SE is in the market longer, and there are better support of software. But that will means that it is possible for ATOM to downgrade to WM2003SE as well?

Very few pple however, will do that. WM2005 is here to stay, but as with everything M$, gave every1 more time to tweak the bugs.