Dopod D810

While larger devices may have an advantage when it comes to features, some of the smaller handhelds don't fall too far behind, either. The O2 Atom Life is a fine example of that, packing in a slew of wireless connectivity options as well as a powerful processor in its tiny form factor. The Dopod D810 is about the same size as the Atom Life and manages to pack in one more wireless feature, GPS.

At S$1,298, the D810 is less expensive than the Atom Life. This price goes even lower when bought from operators with a contract.

Design
The D810 measures in at 108 x 58.2 x 18.4mm, which makes it just marginally larger than the Atom Life. At 150g, it's incredibly light and will fit into any pocket or handbag without weighing you down. The material used on this handheld gives it a glossy finish on the outside. This makes it a fingerprint magnet, especially the back which is almost entirely in glossy black. The other color on the D810 is a gunmetal shade along the sides and bottom of the device. Looking beyond the smudginess of the plastic, the D810 is a very attractive device and will appeal to a wide range of tastes.

All the buttons and connectors are found along the non-black areas of the D810. The phone buttons along with four shortcut keys are found on the front, surrounding the direction pad and selector. An alternative to using the direction pad is the scroll wheel on the left side. This is meant for use with the right thumb and also functions as a selector when depressed. The best thing about having a scroll wheel is that volume control becomes incredibly easy during phone calls. Even with the D810 plastered to your face when taking a call, the scroll wheel is easily accessible to increase or decrease the volume of the other party's voice. Right below the scroll wheel is also an OK key for getting out of applications and menus.

Along the right side are the power, voice command and camera shortcut buttons. The D810's miniSD card slot is also found there, beneath a plastic flap which fuses well with the design of the handheld when closed.

The 2.8-inch display has a resolution of 320 x 240, the most common screen resolution for Windows Mobile devices. It is sufficiently bright and sharp, displaying both text and images clearly. Two cameras are found on the D810, with a VGA above the display for video calls and a 2-megapixel camera on its rear. Regrettably, the device's speakers are also found on the back, which is less than ideal when in a video call or watching a video clip. Also, we would have liked a sliding cover for the camera lens to protect it from smudges that may cause blurred images.

The stylus on the D810 is found on the bottom right corner of the device. While we had no problems with the stylus or the position of its silo, we did find that the paint around the stylus slot got scratched off after a period of use. This was a result of the frequent removal and insertion of the stylus.