[UFO Chicago] phone + PDA combos

Tue Aug 12 14:45:28 EDT 2003

I use the Nokia 6310i on ATT Wireless with Bluetooth.  The phone itself is a
great phone (although a bit larger than some out there) with excellent
battery life, great reception, and VERY durable.  I live in Hinsdale which
has the worst cellular coverage in the Chicago area.  I have used many other
phones and this phone has the strongest reception of any.  This phone has
been dropped dozens of times, I have caught my 18 month old son playing
football with it, and I left it on my deck (luckily face down) during the
rain - still working great.

The Bluetooth is WONDERFUL!!!  It is the greatest thing to happen to
cellular phones.  I use the Jabra BT headset - no more cords - it has voice
control - my cellphone remains on my belt, in my computer bag, or on my
desk.  The light little headset wraps around your ear with a gel bud into
the ear.  It is loud and clear.  People can hear me better than if I was
using the handset - even in an airport or restaurant.  I also use the Nokia
BT card in my laptop which I can use to connect via GPRS - again, no cords -
my phone stays on my belt, in my bag, or on my desk.  I previously used it
with a Palm Tungsten T and the BT worked great there - but the Nokia 6310i
can quickly synch up with my laptop via BT (and beam to/from Palm or laptop
via infrared) so it can keep phone #s, addresses, email, notes,
appointments, etc.  Now, I just use the phone as my PIM and since my laptop
is now truly mobile, I use it instead of a PDA.  No more Batman Utility Belt
for me.

I cannot wait until BT hits other devices.  I would love to use my BT
headset to take calls on my land line and my cell.  I'd never have to touch
a handset again.

-- Steve

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-----Original Message-----
From: ufo-bounces at ufo.chicago.il.us
[mailto:ufo-bounces at ufo.chicago.il.us]On Behalf Of Larry Garfield
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 1:18 PM
To: ufo
Subject: Re: [UFO Chicago] phone + PDA combos

Robert B. Moses wrote:
> My boss just purchased, tried out and promptly returned a Samsung
> SPH-i500 Palm/PCS phone (from Sprint).  It was quite a horror story
> involving trying to hot-sync and getting fatal errors (on the palm) and
> on the desktop (win2k), and finally the phone simply not working at all.
> Verdict: too much time wasted already so back to the store it goes!
>
> What this has made me wonder is, what is the state of PDA/Phone combo
> devices?  The i500 looked like it had real potential, nice size,
> features, etc. I have to this point avoided PDAs because I want to keep
> the number of gadgets hanging on my belt to a minimum (Batman factor). I
> would consider "band-wagon-on-jumping" if there was a rock solid combo,
> but this is an area I know nothing about. What experiences do you all
> have (Larry, I know you are the PDA fiend)?  Have you used PDA/Phones or
> have you had better luck with separate devices? Any opinions on what is
> better for gear heads versus simple non-techie folk?
>
> discuss.

A fiend, am I?  *maniacle laughter*

I've used three hybrid devices to date, the Treo 270 (GSM/GPRS), Treo
300 (CDMA/Sprint PCS), and the Samsung i300 (CDMA/Sprint PCS).  I've
also used the Palm Tungsten W (GSM/GPRS), which is intended more as a
wireless handheld/data device but works for voice as well.

For a phone-centric combo, my current favorite is the Treo 270/300.
(Same device, different radio systems for different networks.)
Especially in Chicago, the Treo 270 on T-Mobile was excellent for me.
It's a bit large for a phone and a bit small for a handheld, but that's
what you get for going with a combo device.  If you're interested in
mostly a data-oriented device, the Tungsten W supports voice only via a
hands-free set (included), but is otherwise a good unit.  See my reviews
online for more. :-)

http://palmos.infosyncworld.com/

You may also want to take a look at the forthcoming Treo 600.
(http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/3711.html)  It's not out yet, and
at this rate may ship under the Palm brandname after their merger (or
whatever the brandname is they go with for the merged company), but it
looks sweet, has all the latest toys, and Handspring is known for
well-thought-out devices.

For me, though, I much prefer a split-device setup.  I just recently
jumped on the mobile phone bandwagon, since it turned out to be cheaper
than getting a landline (or at least about the same price), and I've got
one word for you: Bluetooth.  My main handheld is a Palm Tungsten T (on
loan from the company, I love my job) with Bluetooth, and for a phone I
got the SonyEricsson T68i, also with Bluetooth.  I have the Palm on my
belt in a belt clip case, and the phone, which is quite small, in the
lower pocket of my Dockers Mobile Pants(tm).  (The pants command me!)
Quite a nice setup, and I don't look excessively geeky.

Bluetooth-linked devices are the future for the US market, as according
to studies most users in the States don't want smartphones
(http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/3867.html).  Bluetooth is still
under-utilized IMHO, but it should get better as more companies support
it in their phones and more figure out how to get a good synergy (Ah!
It's that evil word!) between the two devices.  For more on that, see a
column I have yet to write but plan to soon. :-)

One other note: If you get a BT phone, DON'T get the T68i. :-)  The
radio on it is a POS.  I've used 6 phones in the last year on 3
different carriers, all in Chicago, and this is by far the weakest radio
I've ever used.  Being an internal antenna is probably part of it, but I
used another internal antenna phone earlier in the exact same area and
it was much stronger.  I've heard from some people that it's the
Ericsson half, and from others that it's the Sony half.  I don't know
which it is, but I'm hoping that Motorola and Nokia get better BT phones
by the time I'm ready to get a new handset.  (Nokia has a nice featured
one, but it has a really bizarre button layout.)

http://mobilephones.infosyncworld.com/

And just to make this message somewhat Linux-oriented, I'm pretty sure
you can get BT working on the Sharp Zaurus line too, but I've never
tried.  You need a BT CF card.

</commercial>

--
Larry Garfield			AIM: LOLG42
larry at garfieldtech.com		ICQ: 6817012

"If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of
exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an
idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it
to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the
possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of
it."  -- Thomas Jefferson

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