Windows Phone Thoughts: O2 XDA Atom Reviewed

Camera
While camera-equipped cell phones have usually been subpar, I wish O2/Quanta had done a little better than what they gave the Atom, especially for a device that praises itself on multimedia features.

The Camera application can be used in portrait and landscape mode with icons all around the screen. The flash feature is not a constant light, but it's not an instantaneous flash either. The reason being is that the camera program is so slow to capture and save the image, that shooting inanimate objects and scenery is the only thing it's good at. From the time you press the button to the time it registers the shot could be upwards of five seconds, and everything in between can end up as a blur. If you do get a good shot, the image itself could look washed out.


Figure 16: I believe there's still hope for this 2.0 megapixel camera.

I've been told that the previous ROM versions had even slower capture times and lesser image quality, and that the next firmware update does already make things better.

Equalizer
While third-party media players include some sort of software equalizer, it's nice to see that O2 included their own in the hardware. You can make your own setting or use the various presets to really hype up the audio output to your liking (the FM radio output is unaffected). The bottom slider can even boost the sound to make it incredibly loud out of the internal stereo speakers or your wired headset.


Figure 17: Now you can finally tweak the output on Windows Media Player.

O2 Connect
A much appreciated feature for someone who's on-the-go is the O2 Connect program. It provides an easy way to get the latest information and updates for your device. From this application, you can pick up programs such as O2 Plus, a full-featured task manager with bonuses such as automatic profiling, Today plug-ins, call diverting, battery and memory meters, and whole a lot more.


Figure 18: Programs downloaded are in CAB format, ready to install.

O2 SMS Plus
If you're an avid text messager, you'll truly appreciate what O2 did with the SMS Plus program. It basically turns your SMS messaging into a chat-style format, with quick text and emoticons.


Figure 19: Long SMS conversations are handled better here than your Inbox.