After years of service (and torture), my XDAII has finally bit the big one. It’s a shame since I really wish it would hold out for another year.

I’ve realized that for my purposes, the Windows Mobile (WM, formerly PocketPC) is the definitive platform to have for a smartphone. Having said that, I’ve always budgeted at that price-point should I ever need a new one.

I have to admit though that these days, the Apple iPhone has made it difficult for me to decide what type of replacement I would want. There’s no doubt the iPhone would be an awesome phone. But I’m not convinced by the iPhone just yet. There are so many legitimate “concerns” in that phone that are keeping me from just making the switch to MobileOSX (I just made that up, I don’t know what the OS is officially called). Yet it still has massive iconic appeal, a marketing approach which Apple has polished to perfection. While all logic tells me to stick with the tried and tested Windows Mobile, the geek in me really wants that shiny new iPhone.

Having said that, I’m pretty much 50/50 on the matter. Which is why I would’ve preferred that my XDA conk out when the iPhone was finally out (an supported in our country); so that I can actually try and compare it with a WM device it and decide once and for all which type of phone would better fit my needs.

Alas, life isn’t that kind; my phone died a year too early. And hence I have to buy a replacement phone. Sadly, there’s really no choice for me other than a WM device or the iPhone – and since the iPhone hasn’t hit Philippine shelves, nor the bulk of its “features” currently supported by our network providers – there really wasn’t a choice to be made in the first place.

Since I was already going to spend quite a bit for the WM phone, might as well get a good one. I decided on a WM device that was small, as well as handle all possible networks you could throw at it. As of the moment, there’s only one unit that fits all of those criteria: The XDA Atom Life.

The unit will be arriving tomorrow afternoon.