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This pocket-sized fusion of phone and PDA has enough features to satisfy both general and business consumers, but a premium pricetag places it squarely in the corporate camp.

O2 says that mobile email is this model's key feature, using Direct Push technology for wirelessly downloading email, contacts, appointments and tasks from a Microsoft Exchange mail server.

You can also set up POP email accounts, with the email client automatically supplying settings for services such as Hotmail and Gmail.

The Messaging program doesn't have the same richness of functions as the desktop version of Outlook, but there is enough there to keep most users happy, such as extensive attachment support, the ability to use multiple email accounts and basic functions such as signatures and priorities.

Frequent email users beware though: during testing we accessed between 100KB and 1MB a day of GPRS usage, so a generous data plan is needed. You also need good eyes and a steady hand to tap out email messages on the small on-screen keyboard.

The $130 price difference between the Atom Exec and the original Atom gets you a gunmetal grey finish, a faster processor, more built-in memory and extra software.

The same 802.11b Wi-Fi, tri-band GSM/GPRS support and Bluetooth 1.0 have been carried over from its predecessor, but given the Exec's positioning as "a vital tool for professionals on the move", we would have expected an upgrade to quad-band GSM/GPRS at the very least.

There are a few consumer-friendly features such as multimedia playback and a two-megapixel camera, but these are gimmicky. You need to buy a separate mini-SD card to take advantage of the Exec's multimedia capabilities and the two-megapixel camera produces shoddy pictures.

A worthy successor to the Atom, but frequent email users would do better looking for a smartphone with a built-in keyboard.

Labels: O2

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