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The availability of the Idokorro SSH client for my BlackBerry is a killer feature on my phone. I'm a network engineer, so being able to check up on our boxes when I'm not in the office is essential. Why would Apple make such a big deal about having an embedded version of Mac OS X if that OS is hamstrung by not being able to run anything? Lame. It would have been a stretch to ask my company to pay for this anyhow...

Maybe out of the box, but there's a bunch of great 3rd party software for Blackberry.

For example, I can't live without my wireless VNC and SSH software from http://www.idokorro.com/, though I think they make some stuff for Palm too..

I had a 7100 before I returned it for an 8700, and the fonts were no better there (actually they were pretty much exactly the same, but the 8700 has a few the 7100 didn't). Yes, there is the option for antialiasing, but it's half-assed antialiasing that barely does anything and doesn't help improving the appearance of the fonts. They're extremely readable, but hideously ugly (when BBMillbank Tall, size 8 bold is the nicest-looking font on there, something's wrong). Compare the fonts on a BlackBerry to those of a Windows Mobile 5 device, and there's just no comparison (text on my Axim looks almost like ink on paper). As for an SSH client, there are a few, but this is the best one I've found.

You can run Idokorro's Mobile SSH on a Nokia 6820. Don't know how much the phone will cost you, but in my part of the world it's 140 EUR without a plan. Only drawback is the small screen resolution of a Nokia 6820.

I have to agree with the previous posters. Blackberries haven't been much of a problem at all (compared to supporting other wireless devices). At least there's a full end-to-end solution, and I can centrally manage everything really easily. And security problems aren't as much of an issue - no cameras, etc.

Plus I can't live without my Idokorro software for mobile end user support :)

have you looked at http://www.idokorro.com/ I manage my servers thorough ssh, (guess I don't need gui to do it) And how long does your treo last on a charge? What about having to wait for your e-mail!! yeah treo rulez (note the sarcasm)

Who doesn't have a fully capable ssh client in their shirt pocket?

PuTTY works on Symbian S60 and S90 and QIC and PPC and lots of other things, as does Mochasoft.

ssh for blackberry is at http://www.needtext.net/shell/index.jsp

ssh for palmos is at http://www.sealiesoftware.com/pssh/

ssh for native Sharp Zaurus (i.e. without replacing the OS) is at http://www.killefiz.de/zaurus/showdetail.php?app=1 035

ssh for Pocket PC is at http://pocketputty.duxy.net/viewtopic.php?t=5

ssh for Symbol industrial handhelds is at http://www.pragmasys.com/HandHeld/industrial_pocke tvt_index.html

ssh for non-smartphones (i.e. regular phones that have a JVM) is at http://www.idokorro.com/imsshphone.html

I couldn't find ssh for the Newton, I admit. But that doesn't fit in a shirt pocket.

Did I miss anything? Anyone ported it to the ipod yet?

It is quite silly to think that Email is secure in today's day and age, however what none of these bankers considered was using ssh and then say something like silc to have a secure conversation. Most large institutions with RIM have the BES and thus using ssh is an option. which is certainly more secure than email, but is it totally secure? Or still prone to eavesdropping?

Idokorro offers SSH clients for most J2ME phones, including the various blackberry devices, and also offers one for the Nokia phones with the flip-over keyboard (can't remember the model number). Try Idokorro

After initializing the card for the first time (using windows, it needs to update the firmware, etc.), the card works like a regular com-port/modem. Beware of wvdial though, i had to patch it to make it work reliably with the AirCard. Also see http://centerclick.org/aircard555/

I recently dumped the aircard and replaced it with a GSM phone Nokia 6820. Which not only has a fold-out QWERTY keyboard, both a commercial and a free ssh client, and bluetooth, but also an IR port which emulates a modem when put next to the IR port on a laptop. Then just dial *99# and you're in business, even when traveling abroad. (The AirCard doesn't support data calls outside of the US.)

I think it's a better deal than the dedicated wireless cards, unless you're planning on using it constantly. It appears that the speed on the 6820 (with AT&T / Cingular service) via IR is better than the AirCard too.

The idokorro mobile ssh http://www.idokorro.com/ client is descent. On the Nokia 6800 device the screen a little bit small, but on the BlackBerry 7510 device it's awesome.

Hi,

I really looked at the Hiptop/Sidekick when it came out, but I heard bad things about durability and reliability, at least of the older units.

I decided to go BlackBerry (the new color 7280), and I haven't looked back since. They are not as beautiful or fancy as Hiptop/Sidekicks, but boy, they are built like tanks! I've dropped my BlackBerry from 3.5 feet to concrete a couple times, with only minor scruffs to its ruggedized plastic case.

BlackBerry is more expensive to buy and run, and you still need to pay an extra monthly fee to get SSH/AIM/ICQ/MSN/Yahoo chat, and the only SSH/telnet apps are still expensive.

The reliability has been stellar, and emails are amazingly fast (faster than SMS even) in that four seconds after clicking SEND on any desktop computer, the email is already on my Blackberry -- no 15 minute email polls, it's a realtime 24/7 email connection to a Blackberry email server (you can still do POP though, but at the cost of a 15 minute poll instead of realtime -- or use both POP accounts and Blackberry email).

File attachments now work (documents, spreadsheets, etc), there is no tangible message size limit for me, and I've got unlimited email.

The color 7280 can be upgraded to have full color HTML browsing (Either by getting Reqwireless, or an extra monthly fee for Hosted BES, or using the 'RBRO' trick).

The chat software is WebMessenger which does AIM/ICQ/MSN/Yahoo and the telnet/SSH software is Idokorro MobileSSH. There is also now an open source ICQ program caleld BlackChat ...

I made a FAQ at HowardForums (A big cellphone discussion website) that describes the present cheapest way to get full TCP/IP access on a Blackberry (via Public MDS or via Hosted BES), which is a sticky thread at the top of this HowardForums forum page.

Reception has been great so far -- much better than Hiptop/Sidekick in my experience. But that may be explained by the extra GSM frequencies (850 Mhz) and continuing network improvements. I had nonstop reception between a few major northeast cities (both USA and Canada), the Blackberry sends emails very well even when reception is only 1 bar, and the store-and-forward quickly downloads (doesn't stall excessively) as soon as there's a smidgen of reception.

The Blackberry keyboard actually feels better than the Hiptop/Sidekick keyboard, and I was able to thumb-touchtype at 363 keypresses per minute (I'm pretty fast with thumb keyboards). I'm not as fast as that old Treo 180-series guy that went 84 words per minute in the Dom Perignon III Contest (at Fitaly) - do a google on "Dom Perignon III Contest" for more info. But at 72 words per minute (363 divided by 5), that's damn fast for a thumb keyboard!

And I hope the rumors that I heard are true that they are going to finally include TCP/IP with Blackberry OS 4.0 (at least on some networks) with full gateway access. The upcoming Blackberry model 7290 which is rumored, may also include a way to connect it to a laptop to use it as a modem (finally; they've been lagging so long). They make these devices too secure for some of us prosumers that we can't even use Internet on them until recently; they are more designed for businesses than for people like me.

BlackBerry has gone a long way from the early black-and-white models, and are starting to be more appealing to prosumers like me.

The company I work for, Idokorro Mobile, has a working client (in beta) for the Nokia 3650 & 6800. Cool stuff.