I recently purchased a Motorola Razr (V3) from my local Cingular shop. I have a 2 year agreement there but my contract isn’t up yet so I had to pay for the phone outright. I am serious about my phone and the Razr, in my opinion is one of the best multi function flip phones out today. According to c-net.com, the Razr is the top flip phone available. In case you don’t want to take their word there are 425 user reviews. Combined with good looks and size the phone has many features, such as a USB port (you can charge the phone with your computer), camera that is capable of making videos with some modifications, Bluetooth, mp3 ring tones, voice records, and much more.
Probably the best thing about this phone is the customizability. When the phone boots, shuts down, and the phone is open there are silly Cingular images. With the help of motomodders.com I was able to hook this phone up to my computer to get it to charge, customize the start up, shut down, and outside graphics, create custom ring tones or choose from the large amount of tones they have for free, and a lot more stuff I haven’t tried.
On howardformus.com, an incredibly large cell phone community, I found a thread that detailed how to use a phone with a Cingular provider as a modem. The phone is connected o the computer via Bluetooth, USB, IrDA, what have you and the phone is recognized as a modem. Either via a custom Cingular utility or manipulating the modem’s hardware strings the computer can use the phone’s internet connection to connect to the internet. I am using Cingular as my provider and I am not sure of the specific steps to get this to work for other providers, but I know there are ways for this stuff to work with T-Mobile and Sprint providers. There is a downside to this method however and certain requirements must be met. First, you must pay for the $20/mo media works or media net service. Second, you must make sure pay per usage is turned off from your features list. Last, there is a possibility of having a large bill for using this feature. Tethering is not allowed with media works; however the only stipulation is that you can’t be charged, just removed and banned from using media works. Posters on howardforums.com insist that anyone who was charged a large amount of money for tethering had PPU on their features list. Be wary if you decide to take advantage of this.
So I can hook my laptop up to my phone, practically anywhere I have a signal and battery power, and check my e-mail, but I want something more. Having to lug a laptop around isn’t really that mobile, especially since my laptop has an energy hog P4 processor, it isn’t equipped with Bluetooth, and the battery doesn’t last long. I want ultra portability, be able to surf the internet, get my e-mail, and do a lot of other stuff as well. I have two choices and more options from there. I could go with a smart phone or a pocket pc.
General (loose) requirements for an ultra portable device:
Bluetooth
Qwerty keyboard
Touch screen
Not flipable
Has a stylus
IrDA
Wifi
Windows Mobile 5.0
Expandable slots (SD min, CF(?) if available)
Above is the stuff I want in a smart phone. Processor speed really isn’t that important. Below is what I am considering.
Smart phone
There are lots of options in this area, but due to my pickiness there aren’t very many. Motorola is going to debut a smart phone in 2006 called the Q, other codenames are the Razerberry and Franklin. This is an awesome phone and has lots of features, including a 1.3 mega pixel camera. If I had this I could get rid of my Razr. Be sure and check out the pictures in the link. This will be the thinnest smart phone available. However, the phone is not equipped with wifi or a touch screen. A wifi SD card might be available; just wait and see. Also, the Q doesn’t come out until 2006, will probably cost $600 without a contract renewal (not available to me until November of 2006), and will be riddled with bugs because that is just how things are. If I were to get the Q my best bet would be to wait until November when hopefully they have worked the kinks out on this thing (and if not I will know what they are and may have had a chance to demo one) and I can get it at a discount rate. I really don’t like the prospect of having problems with a new phone so I doubt I will cough up $600+ to deal with a crappy piece of junk.
Another option is the Treo 650. I could live with the Palm OS (not really) because where I work as a Goodlink server. Goodlink really kicks ass. It makes the Treo 600 or 650 (and soon to be other smart phones) work just like black berries do. However, there are too many downsides to this phone. For one, in order to get Goodlink working I would have to get my firm to purchase a license ($300); something I don’t think they would do for one of the lowest people on the food chain here. For two, the phones aren’t that reliable. I have to install Goodlink on them after every time they need a firmware upgrade and even then the install doesn’t take and I have to reload Goodlink. For three, Cingular doesn’t provide insurance on these phones. I went through 3 Ngages in less than a year. Not happening with a Treo 650.
There are lots of other smart phones available but I just don’t like them. They are either flip phones, too bulky, don’t run windows mobile, or aren’t covered by my provider. Seems to me the best option is….
Pocket PCs
I am still discovering many different options as far as these babies go. The biggest reason I am lured towards these are that I get to keep my Razr (big plus) and they have massive computing power for such a small device. For example, the newest pocket PCs run at 624 mhz , 64mb RAM, and a 16mb graphics processor. My firm still runs mini tower computers slower than that. Not only that but a lot of them meet all of my requirements above with the exception that some don’t have full Qwerty keyboards. (easily solved with a Bluetooth keyboard). Right now I am looking at the Dell Axim line. The x50v is the flagship and the X30 is the only other viable option. I am lured to the slower model x30 because of the price and I can purchase a tiny keyboard that snaps to it. However, the x30 is very clunky looking, has a goofy stylus, and is severely lacking compared to the x50v.
With windows mobile I can use MS Exchange Server 2003 and direct push everything, just like Goodlink, but without a NOC. Even if I can’t direct push for some reason I could active sync over Bluetooth and I am fairly sure I could active sync over the internet, I need to do more research in that area. I can listen to radio stations that are streamed from anywhere just about, play games, watch ripped movies if I wanted to, surf the web with a fully functional browser, the whole 9 yards. There is software available to emulate Ti-8x calculators which will come in handy for school. Multiple programs exist to emulate a TV remote control. I could tether the device to my phone and use it just like I would a smart phone. I can do just about everything my laptop can just with a smaller screen. Of course, I would need the more powerful word processor and other office apps, but I can compose drafts and other basic items for review later. The best part is, I have only begun to scratch the surface on what these things can do.
It might be a while before I purchase an Axim, after I go to Vegas for sure, but I will get one. If I happen to not like it these things can pull 300+ on ebay easy. For my wife I am going to get the Ipod/Cell phone combo. She wants an mp3 player for when she is exercising.