I have a new Atom Life (WM 6 version).
It was kind of a spot decision - I had been thinking of a Touch Dual for weeks and I actually walked up to the WM stall at TechReady (more coming on TechReady and Office Dev-Con soon) last week hoping to buy one but after comparing the specs, I decided to settle for Atom Life instead. Though, admittedly, the Touch series is prettier and I had to give up on the ‘Touch-Flo’ interface, here’s what helped nail my decision in favor of Atom Life:-
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Touch Dual doesn’t have Wi-Fi
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This one has a faster processor (At 624 Mhz, it’s actually faster than my first PC, a 500 Mhz PIII!)
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Dual was costlier by almost $150
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It has a separate headphone socket (unfortunately it’s 2.5mm - still better than a single ‘multipurpose’ socket like on the Touch series or on my old W700i)
As for the cons, there are a few. Most importantly, the buttons for volume control are inconveniently located and I almost always have to make a conscious effort to press them. Infact, the tactile control/feedback for most of the buttons is not very great. Also, the overall WM experience is not as intuitive as that for a Windows PC. However, given the challenge that the small screen form factor is, it’s not bad at all and I guess, will improve over time.
Overall, I am more than happy with the device so far. It looks pretty (that is, if you don’t keep it side be side with a Touch 
). Music is at par with my W700i (which I anyway rate as ‘at par with or better than’ an i-pod). But what really took me by surprise and has had me hooked is the handwriting recognition in Windows Mobile. It just works! Amazingly neat.
