Even if you are a big smartphones fan, the chances are you won't have heard of MWG before. The branding is new to the smartphone scene, and devices are only available SIM-free.

None of this stops the Atom Life being quite compelling. There is a definite multimedia bent to this Windows Mobile 6.0 device, which is quite rare and rather nice to see. So, for example, there is 1GB of built-in memory. This might not seem like a lot to those who like their dedicated music players, but it is a lot for a Windows Mobile device.

You can cram the memory and then use a miniSD card to add more. The miniSD card is a bit larger than the microSD card and not as widely used, but cards are widely available and the Atom Life supports SDHC so you can use cards with plenty of storage on offer.

The Atom Life manages to sport stereo speakers and the navigation pad has built-in music controls for moving between tracks and changing volume. When your own tunes become a bit boring you can switch over to the FM radio.

All of which makes me wonder why the Atom Life can only run to a 2.5mm headset jack when surely most of us would prefer a 3.5mm jack. Ho hum.

When it comes to smartphone credentials the Atom Life does quite well. This is a 3G handset with HSDPA, tri-band GSM, GPRS and EDGE thrown in. There is a front-facing camera for two-way video calling and a 2-megapixel main camera for shooting photos, complete with flash and self portrait mirror. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are built in, and even old fashioned infra-red makes an appearance.

It doesn't stint in the looks department, either. The size and shape are similar to many other Windows Mobile devices: 106mm tall, 58mm wide, 18mm thick, 145g in weight and a 2.7-inch, 320 x 240 pixel screen. But the black shiny casing is appealing and distinctive and much more the kind of thing you might expect to find on a consumer grade handset than a fully fledged smartphone.

Add in Windows Mobile 6.0 with its calendar, to do list, ability to create and view Microsoft Word and Excel documents and view PowerPoint files, plus mobile e-mail and synchronisation with your PC, and you'll see that the Atom Life is a well featured smartphone that could be ideal for the music fan.

1GB of built-in storage might not stand up to some other phones or to portable media players, but for a Windows Mobile device it is a lot. And there are other features here to lure the music fan too.