handheld internet

[Jim Miller]

This new phone is a Treo 650, and what a piece of technology it is. It is a phone, a full-featured PDA, a mini computer, and an email/internet device. It fits in a pocket.

I'm sending this message from my car, in the middle of a parking lot, by working this tiny keyboard. Amazing.

 

[Ron Eggers]

Sounds VERY VERY DANGEROUS, Jim.

 

[Tim Hayes.]

 

[Ron Eggers]

Tim, on the other hand, is accessing the internet using Juno on one of those big, black dial phones we used to get from the phone company.

Keep trying, Tim!

 

[Phoneguy]

That would be a model 80, or if you are really old you may be remembering the 40. 40's were made out of bakelite. 80's did eventually come out in colours in the 1970's. Groovy colours. Avacado Green, Hot pink, Kremlin Red, Aquamarine. I have a little collection up on the wall (recoveries from my field tech days)

James

 

[Tim Hayes.]

Nope just auditioning for "Flatliners 2"

 

[David Waldmann]

Originally posted by Jim Miller:
It fits in a pocket.

So will a couple of goldfish...

Seriously, it is pretty small, but I'm waiting for a functional unit the size of a real cell phone. You know, the kind you can forget you have in your pocket.

 

[Jim Miller]

David, you can bet smaller ones are coming soon. Meanwhile, this is a fully functional unit, and I'm not sure I'd want it any smaller.

Cell phones have stayed about the same size in recent years. I think there's a point at which smaller is no longer better. For example, if this keyboard were any smaller, I don't think I'd use it. And if the screen were any smaller, photos, icons, and other images would not be as clearly visible.

With the optional, handy-dandy Bluetooth wireless headset, you can put the device in your briefcase and still answer and initiate calls. The sound is quite clear, and the earpiece vibrates silently when a call comes in.

 

[Dermot]

I’m thinking about replacing my Mobile (Cell) phone with this little baby…….it does just about everything including Web and Email…..

I just need to think if I want to message out that I have this level of availability……I could end up causing myself a lot of grief and disappoint my customers…..

It will cost me about €80 to up grade my phone with the deal on offer and if I pay about €15 a month on top of my Global (€85 per month) plan it will give me an extra 6MB of data………..I’m not sure what all that means……but I’m checking and thinking……I don’t know how much data an average email contains….Oh and I will also be able to link it to my Notebook computer…..

BTW In thinking about this phone in Ireland the Mobile network now covers just about every nook and cranny in the country

http://www.vodafone.ie/phonestariffs/ourphones/phonedetails.jsp?mysterons=6680&type=upgrade

Jim
How do you get on line!!!!…..do you need to be near a hot spot!!!!……or does it work on the Mobile (Cell) network!!!!!!!


Thanks

Dermot

 

[David Waldmann]

I'm looking for some outside the box thinking that would allow a small size but not compromise usability. What specifically? I don't know, or I would probably be in a different business....

 

[Jim Miller]

Dermot:
To log onto the internet or to check email, you simply go to the menu, select the right icon, and click it. This device alsob supports "favorites", so you can make a one-touch key for The G & other sites and phone numbers.

David:
What kind of functionality do you think is missing from devices like this mini computer?

 

[Jim Miller]

Dermot:
To log onto the internet or to check email, you simply go to the menu, select the right icon, and click it. This device alsob supports "favorites", so you can make a one-touch key for The G & other sites and phone numbers.

David:
What kind of functionality do you think is missing from devices like this mini computer?

 

[Jim Miller]

Dermot:
To log onto the internet or to check email, you simply go to the menu, select the right icon, and click it. This device alsob supports "favorites", so you can make a one-touch key for The G & other sites and phone numbers.

David:
What kind of functionality do you think is missing from devices like this mini computer?

 

[Ron Eggers]

Jim, I'm a little jealous of your new super-phone, but I think the 'send' key might be stuck.

 

[Dermot]

Thanks Jim

I'm more wondering where you need to be located to log on...ie. how wide is the area of operation and how many areas will it not log on...what is the log on technology....

Thanks

Dermot

 

[Ron Eggers]

I would think he could access the web anywhere in the service area of the phone's network.

With most national plans, the network is huge.

 

[Dermot]

Thanks Ron

I got it now...it the same for us....though I have managed to get online with my Notebook .....it's great...but the hot spots are few and far between...

To think that I worked for a business many years ago who bought a building because it had two land-line phones in it.......at one time in Ireland it was next to impossiable to get a phone......how times have changed.....

I love my mobile (cell) phone......the # Number +353 87 2575059 I have was the 59 mobile (cell) number to be issued in Ireland..........the phone was the size of a small wheelbarrow.....

Rgs

Dermot

 

[WizSteve]

Yeah, I agree totally with David.. size is the biggest factor for me. Unless it fits in my pocket comfortably I tend to forget to carry it with me. That's why my Palm is sitting at home collecting dust.

I had internet on my phone for a while, but I couldn't justify spending an extra 5 bucks a month for the lousy interface and connection (though I'm sure it's better with other phones and services). Some people might like it, like used book dealers needing to look up books by their ISBN number while out shopping..

I DO like the email option though, as I can write plug-ins for my mail server that processes special emails from my phone and emails me back, or my computer at work can email my phone if something goes wrong with one of our servers..

 

[David Waldmann]

Originally posted by Jim Miller:
David:
What kind of functionality do you think is missing from devices like this mini computer?

Sorry, Jim. I wasn't referring to the current crop. I was referring to a smaller, truly "pocket sized" one that would not lose the functionality of the pseudo-pocket sized ones of today.

 

[Mike Labbe]

I couldnt stand the small size either, and opted for the cable that lets me plug my Verizon Wireless phone into the USB port on the laptop. In the rare times I need remote internet access to support a client, it works at near DSL speeds. (using just regular message units, or free nights and weekends)

It worked fine last year from the hotel at the Atlanta show and on the train home from the NY show, for $0

The downside is that you have to lug a laptop around.

Mike

 

[Jim Miller]

Ron's right - it works anywhere within cellular range. My server is Verizon, reputed to have the widest area & most dependable service in the USA. We'll see.

About that triple post; It's all in the configuration, Ron. Setting up this monster has been a nightmare of blissful ignorance -- Not only mine, but that of the tech support folks who still haven't figured out all of this technology. Wednesday, I spent two hours at their store while they got everything going. It seems to be working.

Can you hear me now? Good.