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Which Mobile Device Should I Buy?
I haven’t used an organizer like a Palm since 2002. Once I no longer had someone else keeping my schedule, it was more convenient for me to keep the schedule in iCal on my laptop. The gadget freak in me has looked at Treos and Blackberrys and thought it would be neat to have one, but I’ve not wanted to carry around a phone as big as a boat anchor for the limited utility I’d get from the organizer functions.
Lately, however, the connectivity of these devices has led me to think I might be willing to carry one around. I increasingly want to be connected when I’m mobile and find a phone interface to be too limiting. I avoid going online just because I don’t want to futz with the phone keys. I’m also using SMS more and more and, again, the phone interface just doesn’t cut it. I have to admit that it was Dave Winer’s announcement on news rivers that pushed me over the edge (no pun intended).
So, I may be ready to bit the bullet. The question is device should I buy?? I’m partial to the Blackberry just on looks, but I could live with a Treo if it’s a better team player or has significantly better features or hardware. I want something that works well with a Mac, has Bluetooth, and can be used as a modem (preferably over Bluetooth) with my OS X laptop for network connectivity. I {d|w}on’t use Exchange for email. I want a full keyboard, unless SureType is just so good I’ll never know I’m not using a full keyboard. I’m using Cingular now, but would change carriers to get the right device.
Recommendations? Would I be happy with a Blackberry 8700? Has Cingular disabled any key features that I could get with another carrier? Should I get a Treo? I’m in no huge hurry, so if I should wait for a few months, I can do that too.
Posted by windley on August 26, 2006 1:54 PM
Comment from Scott Laird at August 26, 2006 2:09 PM
Take a look at the Nokia E61. I bought one off of ebay and it works well with OS X and Cingular. It's not flawless, but it works better then I'd expected.
Comment from Doug Kaye at August 26, 2006 2:21 PM
In January I switched from a Sprint Treo 650 to a Cingular Blackberry 8700C. Reasons were (1) I wanted international (GSM) service, (2) the Treo isn't a very good phone, IMHO, although with a Bluetooth headset it probably doesn't matter, (3) I like Blackberry's email much better and it's a very good phone, other than being large. The only disadvantages are (1) I no longer have a camera -- don't care, and (2) I can't use the BB as a modem for my laptop. With the Treo, I was able to trick it into being a 64kbs modem for free. Now I actually had to re-activate my Sprint account in order to get their EVDO card. I like it very much, but it costs me $79.99/month since I don't have a mobile-phone account with them. This would save me $20/month or so.
Comment from Bernard Goldbach at August 26, 2006 3:04 PM
I like the Nokia 9500 but it's probably too big for most people. I use it on a pure-data plan which means I get all my mail, web browsing, and assorted tunneling for no more than $60 a month.
I also carry the Nokia N70 and I like its two-button Flickr publishing using Zonetag.
Both Nokias run FreeNews, the best newsreader I've found for mobile phones.
Comment from Susie at August 26, 2006 3:35 PM
Get a Nokia E61 - easily the most versatile / powerful thumboard mobile phone. Or wait and get the E62 on Cingular (a US version of the E61 without Wifi).
Comment from Josh Bancroft at August 26, 2006 3:56 PM
Are you tied to a specific carrier? If you're not tied to Cingular, the new BlackBerry "pearl" (much slimmer, has a 1.3MP camera, etc.) is coming soon to T-Mobile. No idea if Cingular has plans to release it.
If you're able to switch to Sprint or Verizon, the Treo 700p or 700w would be a great choice. If high speed data connectivity is important to you, you'll want to go with Sprint or Verizon and an EVDO capable phone device.
Hope that helps!
Comment from Bavo De Ridder at August 26, 2006 4:27 PM
If you can wait a few months, it sounds like you don't really need one. However, being a gadget-man myself, I understand your case ;)
Just make sure the price does not outweigh the number of times you will *really* use the device.
I myself own a Palm T|X which is great on battery power and good on all the rest. I cannot compare with a Windows Mobile Device however.
Comment from Hugh at August 26, 2006 4:50 PM
I'm still waiting for apple to release something before I decide and I realize it may never happen.
Comment from Johan van Rooyen at August 26, 2006 5:28 PM
Thee more I use my Nokia 770, the more I love it. The 800*480 screen is such a pleasure to behold and its wifi connectivity means it costs me zilch per month to run!
Comment from Jake Savin at August 26, 2006 5:30 PM
If you don't mind using MSFT products, I recommend the Verizon XV6700 running Windows Mobile 2005. There's a ton of software available for it, it's quite fast (faster than the Palm), and has a decent-sized slide-out thumb keyboard. The Verizon EVDO service has good coverage and great speed. The only issue you might have with it is that it won't work in Europe (no GPRS -- only EVDO).
At least Cingular is selling their own version of the device, and I think Sprint is as well. The actual manufacturer is UT Starcom, and the carriers are rebranding under each of their respective names.
There's a 3rd party app for MacOS that should do the syncing you need. It's called The Missing Sync (I think), and costs about $40. (It's not iSync though.)
Comment from Nicholas Paredes at August 26, 2006 5:39 PM
Watching Dave's use of the Blackberry is intiguing to say the least. I'm a big believer in the power of text, and enjoy the evolution of lists. The BB is the most interesting of devices with the exception of the lack of camera and the ability to use the thing as a modem. Both a critical to me. I also would rather access Gmail as opposed to getting yet another email address. Google should buy them! (YMMV)
Having used the Nokia tablet my concept of mobile device has changed. I like the "mobile as portable router" concept, but don't really want yet another device.
Still watching, but my current mobile is the SE 910... The 990 will be interesting!
Comment from Mark at August 27, 2006 12:44 AM
Having expansion card slot is important. Palm 700p/w uses regular SD.
Best wishes.
Comment from E. Heinenberg at August 27, 2006 8:39 AM
Very interestig informations with the possibility to compare the opinions! Useful for me - thanks!
Comment from Vaibhav Arya at August 27, 2006 1:43 PM
If you havent made the decision yet, consider that the Treo has a touchscreen. This makes much more of a difference that you can imagine. You never navigate with the joystick/direction-pad; you just click where you want to type. The web-browsing experience is amazing.
I dont think blackberry has a touch screen version, infact thats whats been holding me back from replacing my ageing Treo 600.
Comment from james at August 28, 2006 8:06 AM
I too, am currently considering the same. I have narrowed it down to Motorola Q and the Treo 700P. ( VZW client ) Have read reviews that say the Treo is not the best "phone" but that it runs the apps well. But, I need the phone to be pretty good....I do find myself text messaging more and more. I do have a friend that had Treos and kept dropping them. He switched to Blackberry and the dropping has not damaged it. How is the Blackberry's "phone"?
j
Comment from Reed Wilson at August 28, 2006 9:41 AM
I use the Motorola Q, and think it very fine device. I think Motorola hit it on the head by making this a phone first, contact manager second, and Windows Mobile 5 device third. Now then, I go against the author's aim--I use Exchange as the backend, and love the full integration out of the box. However, many tools/techniques will allow for integration with whichever backend is needed.
Comment from Anthony B. Coates at August 28, 2006 11:04 AM
I also have a Nokia E61, which I can recommend. The available software isn't quite as mature or functional as on a Palm PDA/phone, but it works well enough that I'm happy with it. Being able to connect to a wireless LAN as well as 3G means that when I'm at home, I'm not downloading any more megabytes over pay-as-you-download 3G than I have to.
I got the inbuilt VOIP to work with "Gizmo" (www.gizmoproject.com), but the quality was too low to make it usable.
Cheers, Tony.
Comment from AdamB at August 28, 2006 4:30 PM
I have the Q (loaded the "beta" firmware to get good exchange compatibility aka push email). Love the Q so far but battery life is so-so. If you need GSM for international stuff, look at the BB 8700 (I have that through Tmobile + their $20/mo. unlimited international roaming plan). HP is releasing a new HW6900 ipaq/phone this weekend (cingular) and that is supposed to have GPS which should be cool.
Comment from Daniel Nowak at August 28, 2006 4:53 PM
I just got a Blackberry 7130e from Verion. I looked at the windows based phones and almost picked one. There were a few issues that put me over the top to pick the blackberry. First I didn't have to pay to sync it with my Mac. Secondly I have a Dell Axim. I tried to do everything that I would want to do on my coll phone with the Axim. I generally found out that I could do everything I wanted, but only after i bought several shareware programs. I understand paying for good software, but it is hard to justify paying more when my internet conectivity already cost me $60 extra on my cell phone.
The Blackberry only has one issue that I am aware of. Tethering you internet service does not work on the mac. There is a temp work around for users with an intel based mac. Alex King is offering a prise for the first person to get it working on the mac. I hope it wont be too much longe before someone works out a solution.
Comment from owen at August 29, 2006 11:36 PM
I'm a long time Palm user using a GSM Treo 650 with my OS X laptop. It's an awesome pair (I was accessing the Internet on my Powerbook via bluetooth on a remote beach in Greece this summer).
I'm waiting for a GSM based Treo 700 using Palm OS so I can take advantage of the higher speed data plans. With 1 MB and an unlimited plan, who needs wifi? (There's a GSM Treo coming out for Europe soon but it has Windows Mobile - the Palm OS version is not quite here yet. GSM is important if you travel and/or want the ability to use SIMs in other countries otherwise the Treo 700p on Sprint or Verizon rocks).
BBs have the advantage of push email (they show up and alert you) but I don't care about that. The big downside with BBs is they require proprietary server software - you'll *have* to use your networks email and forward any mail you want (or key in your authentication credentials) to access emails from your other accounts.
The Treo is a true IP device with email programs that will let you have multiple accounts with POP/IMAP/SSL etc...
Comment from vicknaraj at August 29, 2006 11:53 PM
I think, the Nokia 9500 would suit your needs, as i had the same initial problem some years ago with the Tungsten W. Currently i am using the Nokia 9500 which also has a user friendly keyboard, and the modem connectivity works through the bluetooth as well, plus it also has wifi. The only minus point is that it doesnt have touch screen, so if you were used to using Ipaq and plam devices the migration would be a slight challenge.
Comment from markc at August 30, 2006 1:01 AM
I've used the Treo 700P for some time now. Integrated with exchange due to work. Love the Verizon EVDO, Windows mobile is frustrating, keyboard is too small, but it does what I need it to do. What finally hooked me was adding PDAnet, now I connect it to my laptop on my NYC commute and am pretty much online for a 45 minute train ride.
I've looked at the Q -- love the expansive screen, scroll wheel, but hear bad things on battery life and the feel of the keyboard (but its layout is much better than the Treo). Also, BB is great, but can't use it due to work.
Most important for me? A scroll wheel on the side (Treo's biggest failing), a keyboard your fingers are comfortable with, and a good screen. Much is a matter of personal preference and how you plan to use it.
Comment from Valdis at August 30, 2006 5:21 AM
I'm a Mac person using an 8700 on Cingular and happy with the combo. PocketMac makes syncing the two a breeze for iCal[alarms too], address book, and even sticky notes. I find myself lugging my Powerbook around less and less since I got the 8700. Never used it as a modem, and have not found a good PDF reader for it. It is a great Google device... search/mail/maps.
Comment from dean collins at August 30, 2006 6:25 AM
wow how off the mark are so many people on this list.
I guess thats what happens in a US centric forum.
Blackberrry's whilst great for email, still haven't really made the jump to phone.
Motorola Q is great...if you never leave the country.if it comes out in gsm it's a great option.
Nokia e61 is great if you have any desire to do a SIP wifi connection to your IP-PBX (and if you dont have oone in the office how about installing asterisk in your home).
However if you are a true gadget man....why are you wasting your time on current technology. A phone is a device you will be using for the next 1-2 years, look whats coming rather than whats here already.
So if you are a true gadget man and are happy with the size and bulk of a treo (motorla q is the next option if you are not) then the only choice can be a HTC TyTn.
Quad GSM
Tri-Band UMTS
Wifi
Bluetooth
large key board
dual camera
http://mobilitytoday.com/articles/htctytn_first_look.html
Comment from Jason Moore at August 30, 2006 7:00 AM
i just got the nokia e61 and love it. Sexy looks, full keyboard, and wifi! It has a little joystick and a great little web browser (i installed opera but never use it). Built-in email client works with SSL-encypted SMTP, POP and IMAP, and you can get the push-email stuff if you're into that. You can run Google maps, Azarius (IM client). It has built-in VOIP capability - but i found that to be a bit flakey and am still experimenting. I'm still exploring what this thing can do!
Comment from Burl at August 30, 2006 8:03 AM
Personally, I need a PDA phone to sync to Outlook so I can easily access my Outlook phonebook and view my calendar. I got a T-Mobile SDA recently as that at this was for me the most cost-effective way to get that functionality.
But what I need more, and maybe Phil of IT conversations here as well as other readers -- which maybe readers here can help with -- is the ability to listen to speech-quality audio files like MP3s through a bluetooth headset.
The current Bluetooth version in my SDA, does not impliment a profile which can stream the music output from Windows Mobile through my headset. I understand that the Bluetooth A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) is required to stream audio (including hi-fi stereo audio) to a Bluetooth audio device like a headset. I've seen web posts that say that A2DP is supported under Bluetooth 1.2, but for some reason T-Mobile or HTC, the manufacturer of this phone, didn't implement it. Maybe it's possible to flash the firmware or upgrade the software (or yeah, buy a new phone) to enable A2DP, but I haven't seen a way to do that.
I am in no hurry to upgrade my phone, of course, since I just bought this one, but even if I was I I will bet that A2DP phones will be slow in coming, and as they come on the market they may be marked up in price to make money off of kids who will buy it as a stereo music phone, a handy replacement for their banged-up ipod and cellphone.
What might more help me and others would be a software fix in the meantime, like an audio player, which runs on Windows Mobile for Smartphones (or for others here Windows CE, or for you Palm people, the Palm OS) which can play audio over a Bluetooth 1.1 or 1.2 device without requiring A2DP to be enabled. I don't really want or need an expensive stereo headset, I already have an expensive DSP-equipped mono headset I use for the phone. But it's good enough for speech, obviously, and if I could use it to listen to talk shows -- like IT Conversations -- it would be very useful to me, and I'm sure others here as well.
Does anyone have suggestions for software that can do that?
Comment from Niklas Jonason at August 30, 2006 8:10 AM
I have a history with several Palms and Qteks through the years. This summer I changed to Sony Ericsson M600i. Its thin and slim. It has a keybord that fits to my (small) finger tips. It has 3G and an Opera-browser. It can open and edit MW-Word and MS-Excel. A mail client with push. It has all the tools you can whish for except a camera (I prefer a real one) and WLAN (sucks to much battery anyway). Ok it is the first release - the synchronisation does not reach as far as Windows mobile and the software is a bit byggy. And its a bit slow. However its the best PDA I have owned - ever. The 2nd relase will be a big hit.
Comment from Steve Holden at August 30, 2006 8:21 AM
I have been using a Cingular 8125 (Windows Mobile 5) for the last three months or so. It was an upgrade from the Nokia 6630. I is a pretty good 'smart' phone and I don't have any major complaints other than you can't usually hand a smart phone to someone who hasn't used one (like your wife) to make a call without any training. Blackberry units are my works primary communications tool and they seem to be working relatviely well for those that have them. I'm usually the one using something other than the standard. - Steve
Comment from Ron at August 30, 2006 8:52 AM
Another vote for the E61. Some things others didn't mention-the minimap browser is a killer app. Looking at webpages on the E61 is pretty uncompromised. And even better, jandr.com is selling the E61 with a T-Mobile contract for $150! (I'm not affiliated in any way) That's a pretty nice price...also, must plug e-series.org, a good resource for learning about the device...
Comment from Warren Keuffel at August 30, 2006 9:02 AM
Check out the Sidekick from T-Mobile. I synch mine with my Mac using Missing Synch from markspace.com. Works great.
Comment from Patrick Curtain at August 30, 2006 10:29 AM
I've been carrying the Danger Hiptop for years now. In PDA's since they started (including some time as a Newton developer). I'm also watching for an Apple solution.
But until then, the Sidekick "Just Works"(tm). Truly.
Seamless user interface in email, IM, web and PIM functionality. I use MissingSync on my MacBook and Intellisync on the PC to keep my calendars and datebooks sync'd.
Highly Recommended.
--p
Comment from John McCluskey at August 30, 2006 4:05 PM
Last word... The phone that Phil needs is one that can be used to record a podcast (in a pinch). Currently, this means either a HTC Tornado, OR, my choice: Gigabyte G-Smart-i with 128Mbytes of ROM and 64 Mbtes of RAM. This phone will RECORD your calls, and incidently, act as an answering machine. I'm currently waiting for the Gigabyte G-Smart i300, which replaces the useless TV receiver in the base G-smart with a GPS receiver. Audio recording of calls is the feature I'm after, and I suspect Phil could find use for it as well.
Comment from rawstock at August 31, 2006 6:12 PM
I had a Cingular 8125 for two weeks and returned it. I found it unusable as a primary phone (I keep no land lines any longer), and the laundry list of complaints besides ensues from there (and begins with Windows Mobile 5). If you're a big Windows Mobile fanboy, you might like it, though you're likely to find it very slow compared to any other WM device on the market you may have used/tried.
I purchased the device after using the (more powerful CPU of the) Verizon version of the HTC. Now, I just sit around and miss my Nokia 6820 (AT&T) which could not be replaced through Cingular.
If you want a good phone in your package, I've yet to see a "smart phone" that fits -- they're all secondary devices as far as I'm concerned.
Comment from Mats Bergman at September 5, 2006 1:31 PM
The Sony Ericsson M600 is a really nice personal organizer and with a full QWERTY keyboard and a large high-resulotion screen it´s great to use for email jotting down thoughts on the go.
Plus, it´s small form factor make it less bulky in the pocket than the Nokia/Treo/Blackberry equivalents.
Comment from Stuart Hunter at December 18, 2006 3:36 PM
Nokia E61 - without a doubt. Mine runs BlackBerry Connect, I make free/cheap calls using Truphone VOIP which saves minutes on my plan and I use the free Nokia Podcatching app to listen to podcasts downloaded over Wi-Fi.
And the battery life is excellent.
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