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The phones themselves are OK (the GSM providers sell some of the nicer Nokias too) but the service terms are clearly not that good, probably because there is far more incentive here in Canada to use a land line than in Europe.

And here's something ... my SMS price is lower than yours. I only pay the equivalent of 6.49 euro-cents (10c canadian) per sent message and nothing for received messages. Of course you'll save more than me on the talk-time anyway. And I do believe my phone (which is one of a fairly-nice-but-not-as-nice-as-yours selection) is at least as good as yours as well.

Nokia 7650, all the features of that Motorola thing, plus it runs on the Symbion EPOC OS and has mobile Java built in. Runs SyncML, the standard for synchronising contacts etc between devices.

Good review of a preproduction 7650 here

-- james

If you want a full QWERTY keyboard in a cell phone and have a decent GSM service in your area, I highly recommend the Nokia Communicator. Heck, you can even run Opera on it (see here for details).

-- PhoneBoy
"Forward into the past."

• Full calendar which can synchronise with the desktop
• Pervasive T9 throughout its interface
• It's an open platform, so apps will be written to play MP3s and Ogg Vorbis (though it doesn't come with them as standard)
• 100-150hrs standby
• Speakerphone & good quality audio
• Full colour screen
• Notepad, voice recorder (and voice dialling)
• GPRS, HSCSD, and Bluetooth

For example, someone's already written a MPEG 4 video recorder for the phone, which I frankly find amazing.

Oh, PS... it won't work in the US. But you could wait a few months for the Sony Ericsson P800, which will do.

Except the 9210 has been out for over a year and the 9210i has been out for a few months now.

I currently have converted verisions of ParkWars and Troops loaded onto my 9210 and the movie player does quite a good job with it.

I think that the technology may be more advanced than you think.

Except the 9210 has been out for over a year and the 9210i has been out for a few months now.

I currently have converted verisions of ParkWars and Troops loaded onto my 9210 and the movie player does quite a good job with it.

I think that the technology may be more advanced than you think.

Presumably this technology won't be available for at least a few years, considering that Nokia have not yet launched their full-colour mobiles.

The Nokia 7650 was scheduled for UK release in May but it's been put back to August.

I think I would actually wait for the nokia 6610, and update to the Nokia 6510, which in itself was an update on the 8310 which I currently own (suppose I could wait for the 8410).

No camera though, but then again I would prefer to use the money saved to buy a separate digital camera.

What about the Nokia Communicator. It's been around for at least 3 years (possibly more) in some form or other.

• Sync with my PC: Okay, those Nokia OS menu's aren't that bad. But, it would be really really nice if I could sync it with my PC and edit my address book, prefrences, settings, voice mail options etc.
  
  Instead of clicking those little buttons with your hand while staring into a small little screen, how about dragging and dropping icons for your phone, or downloading voice tones and uploading them to your phone?
• A better alert system: Maybe I haven't looked hard enough on my nokia phone, but I can't find away to have personal alerts. I'm really bad with times, and I don't wear a watch. Actually, I hate watches. And there are many people who use the phone instead of watches. I've been going to community college, and I can easily loose track of the time. I wanted my phone to vibrate 5 or 10 minutes before my class started so I can depart from socializing with friends to my classroom.
  
  Think of how cool I will look! "How does he know he has to be in class all the time?!"
• Website Control: Well, this might not be for the cell-phone makers, but the service providers (Cellular, ATT etc.). It would be nice if I could check my voice mail online, or check my SMS messages (or send them!), or sign up for additional services?
  
  Voice mail Messages -> .wav can't be that difficult.

Here are the Full Specifications as well as a link to the official 7650 page at Nokia.

Here are the Full Specifications as well as a link to the official 7650 page at Nokia.

Keep your eye on this phone ... since it runs Symbian I have seen it (in the lab, in the US) run everything from MAME to an in-house MP3 player. Definitely a cool phone. Let Nokia know that you want this phone in the US.

http://www.nokia.com/securitysolutions/management/ ssh.html

Check this page where Nokia show their new 7650 - supposed to get to the European market at the end of the second quarter of 2002. This features a build in camera for sending images via MMS. I already tried it at the Cebit this year and it looks great ... Cheers, bebroll

I have two phones, and between them they are everything I need. When I'm working, I carry a Nokia 9210, and when I'm out chilling with friends or clubbing, I carry a Sony Ericsson T66.

The 9210 is a real powerhouse of a phone, with a word processor, spreadsheet, internet access, excellent messaging facilities, massive contact database, etc - but it's a bit much to carry around. The T66 is tiny, and yet fully functional as a phone - it weighs in at around 60g (2oz).

I have all but given up on finding the perfect phone for all occasions, I listed what I thought might be my perfect PDA on slashdot a while back, but I can't see it happening any time soon. The only solution to me is to vary my device depending on the circumstances - each device does what it's designed for very well indeed, but one device trying to do everything invariably fails completely.

-- Pete.

Nokia 9210i Nokia 8890 Nokia 8310

Nokia 9210i Nokia 8890 Nokia 8310

Nokia 9210i Nokia 8890 Nokia 8310

release what I wanted :) The Treo 270 (or something similar) embedded into Portable keyboard. The setup should be such that the screen is inside the portable keyboard, when folded together and this all should be in one package. When folded, it would only work as a phone, kind of similar principles as in the Nokia 9210 Communicator - when opened you would have a natural size keyboard and all.

• The WAP Forum: Every knows and loves WAP. Nowadays, the WAP Forum has (thankfully) moved away from the invent everything here mentality, and are trying to see how they can adopt all the existing Web/IM/Java stuff that's out there.
• The Open Mobile Architecture initiative was announced in November as an attempt to standardise what sort of standards your 2.5G/3G phone should support.

The principles of the Open Mobile Alliance are:

• Products and services are based on open, global standards, protocols and interfaces and are not locked to proprietary technologies
• The applications layer is bearer agnostic (examples: GSM, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, UMTS)
• The architecture framework and service enablers are independent of Operating Systems (OS)
• Applications and platforms are interoperable, providing seamless geographic and inter-generational roaming

Most of the requested key features I've been reading here already seem to exist in today's cellphones. For example, all Nokia mid-range models and upwards have a good calendar function which allows you to share notes between calendars, sync with the PC, etc. Reminders, alarms, to-do lists are all there, and the T9 keyboard makes data input fast. Even voice recognition is being introduced in Nokia models (first for dialling numbers, but more and more features are getting added). It's not perfect, but it's getting better.

Just check out the features of some of their models.

N.B. For reading e-mail, many GSM providers (at least here in Europe) offer an e-mail-to-SMS service so it's easy to forward all your mails to your cellphone.

Nokia's site says:
Measuring less than 30" in height, the unit includes a versatile mount to attach to a variety of surfaces.

This unit looks more portable.

Wow, that article sure was light on detail. It read like someone trying to sell the casual reader on how cool BREW is going to be, casually ignoring the fact that every handset vendor on the face of the earth is shooting for the same market with their own technologies. The article mentioned that Motorola was competing with BREW on Java support, as if no other vendors have Java-enabled hansets (not even remotely true). Check out this link, found at the top of a Google search on "Java-enabled phone", for a list of a bunch of Java-enabled phones. The downloads page there lists a whole bunch of Java-based games for handsets.

Last time I looked at the public info on BREW (from the downloadable API documentation), it didn't look like it had any world-beating features to enable gaming. From the article, you'd think that BREW had the inside track on becoming the game development platform of choice for mobile phones.

IMHO, BREW looks like an awfully lightweight, low-feature application-development toolkit, appropriate to use in a low-memory handset. There's nothing here that Nokia isn't offering with their Series 60 platform, or that any of the other big players aren't doing with their own proprietary toolkits, I would expect.

The trick is that BREW has had a Java virtual machine ported to it, and game developers will develop to THAT, not to anything that is really BREW-specific, or even really enabled by BREW. But every handset vendor is doing the same thing with their own toolkit.

Nokia

Intergate, but it looks like they are going away.

-Kahn

I saw the 9210 at Comdex. It's bigger and heavier than most phones. Almost as heavy as a small phone and Palm V combined. The processing power and complexity seem about the same as a PocketPC. It has a viewer for MS Office documents and even runs (bleh) Realplayer.

Personally I'd rather have a simpler PDA like the Palm and a thumb keyboard for typing emails and text messages. The 5510 fits the bill for that, but if you think talking into a stereo faceplate is wierd, forget about this. Also, the screen's pretty small because it's not a flip phone.

WLAN is a short-range solution, GPRS is long (or mid)-range. WLAN provides (if available) relatively high band-width for limited amount of users. GPRS provides more trustable relatively low-bit rate for more users. WLAN is governed by laws of a jungle. GPRS is strictly governed. I quess these are the main differences that the user will see, in addition that the standards are very different.

Nokia sells a card with support for both WiFi 802.11b and GPRS, maybe because the two things are different.

What you might see is automagic switch to 802.11b network when it's scanned to provide better and trustable bit-rate, and switch back to GPRS when the WLAN network fails.

WLAN is a short-range solution, GPRS is long (or mid)-range. WLAN provides (if available) relatively high band-width for limited amount of users. GPRS provides more trustable relatively low-bit rate for more users. WLAN is governed by laws of a jungle. GPRS is strictly governed. I quess these are the main differences that the user will see, in addition that the standards are very different.

Nokia sells a card with support for both WiFi 802.11b and GPRS, maybe because the two things are different.

What you might see is automagic switch to 802.11b network when it's scanned to provide better and trustable bit-rate, and switch back to GPRS when the WLAN network fails.

My phone does that too. But its about 1/2 the size of a plam III. It cost me about US$150 and I pay about US$25/mo for service. It has wireless internet access as well. Its a very good phone too. The down side is that I have to chage it about once a week but I've got a stand for it that charges it if it needs it at night.

I wonder if the large US PDA market has something to do with the lower cell phone take up.

With only one click of your thumb you can now press 3 keys at the same time. Imagine the performance boost. Imagine Billy boy launching his nukes with this - oops! there went Europe as well :)

Seriously, a keyboard is a good idea, but only when you can fit in something at least close to the standard layout and atleast close to the size which makes it possible to press only the correct button. Like in the Nokia 9210.

See Nokia 5510, it has a largeish split keyboard. Haven't tried it, but I'd imagine it's at least some good.

And of course, the Communicator has a normal QWERTY keyboard.

Other Nokia (and most other makers too) have a predictive system. In my 6310i, it seems to work pretty well, although it's not very useful where you need it most often, inputting text in WAP pages. For example, it can't predict your usernames or passwords for wap sites very well...

Not that I ever send SMSs. Well, maybe one or two per cell phone I've owned, just to see how it works.

BTW, WAP version of /. would really be cool, you could read all new things on your cell phone (with GPRS of course). The WAP/HTTP gateways don't seem to convert large html pages to wml very well.

See Nokia 5510, it has a largeish split keyboard. Haven't tried it, but I'd imagine it's at least some good.

And of course, the Communicator has a normal QWERTY keyboard.

Other Nokia (and most other makers too) have a predictive system. In my 6310i, it seems to work pretty well, although it's not very useful where you need it most often, inputting text in WAP pages. For example, it can't predict your usernames or passwords for wap sites very well...

Not that I ever send SMSs. Well, maybe one or two per cell phone I've owned, just to see how it works.

BTW, WAP version of /. would really be cool, you could read all new things on your cell phone (with GPRS of course). The WAP/HTTP gateways don't seem to convert large html pages to wml very well.

Nokia makes a GSM phone with QWERTY keypad, the model 5510.
Oh, I forgot - it's not available in the US so it probably cannot exist...

Nokia is making a go at building wireless broadband solutions. OK, so the original article was about wireless cable distribution with data as a bonus. The "business plan" of going head to head with the cable companies just on price seems unlikely to work, especially with the FCC deciding the spectrum would be auctioned off.

The great thing about programming the P800 (and the Nokia 9210 or 7650 when it is out) is that you are not constrained in what you can do. In Qualcomm's BREW phones and usual Java/MIDP phones you have no (or limited) access to: call handling, diary database, address book, sound etc. All these are possible with Symbian apps. This gives a lot of great opportunities.

To have a go yourself at writing in C++ or Java for such devices you can download full phone emulators and Symbian SDKs for free. e.g. Nokia

So is this phone basically any different than Nokia's 7650?

I doubt the mobile phone companies will be interested though since they have been stuck with a rather large bill for the 3G licenses which no customers seem intested in using.

It's not that we're not interested, it's just that there's nothing for us to buy yet! I think GPRS is the only new technology that's appeared since that auction, and that's really not what 3G is about.

According to Nokia:

* 3G is being on a train and watching clips from your favorite soap
* 3G is being out and sending images back to headquarters
* 3G is using your phone to take holiday pictures to instantly send to friends at home
* 3G is using your phone for a videoconference in a taxi

I think we'd best wait until there's a product that actually does this before declaring that customers aren't interested in the technology!

If you want a phone with PDA function, Sony P800 is definitely your cup of tea. However, if you want a PDA with phone function, I think Nokia 9210i will suit you.

What, you mean like mobile telephones?

In a number of EU countries (like Finland, home of Nokia), it is illegal to subsidize phones with forced long-term subscriptions. This is not quite the same thing, but the net effect is the same: phones are sold at full price. Oddly enough, this actually increases competition, as hopping between operators is much easier.

Cheers,
-j.

I want it.

the Nokia 9290. It does pretty much everything - Wireless Web / Wireless E-Mail / Office Use / Organizer / Mobile Multimedia and of course its a phone too. It states that it hasn't been authorized by the FCC yet, but when it is, I think this will be one of their best ones out there.

3G is marketed for videoconferencing.... How exactly "the miracle of statistical multiplexing" would help there?!

As with the original Slashdot announcement of exactly the same story, it's a shame to see the camera with a poor 320x240 resolution. Even the tiny Nokia 7650 phone can manage 640x480. Huge disappointment in something I would otherwise consider as a purchase.

Phillip.

I've been a loyal AT&T wireless customer for over 3 years now (I'm forced to use it because its a business account) and I've had an 8260 for over 2 years now. My phone is on its last leg but AT&T has not had an exciting phone since the release of the 8260. They have a Motorola V60 but it has no major advantages over the 8260. When are we going to see new phones? Nextel has some really neat phones with a lot of features but their coverage in my area (PA) is sporadic at best. The phone I really want is the 7650 but it doesn't look like it will be arriving in the states anytime soon.

If you are a real mobile phone freak like me, you ought to be interested in the new Nokia 7650 mobile phone. It has a color display, digital camera (640x480), bluetooth, does MMS, has MIDP JAVA support and uses the Symbian OS.

Look at the live CeBIT web-thing demonstration the MMS feature here (it has girlie pictures :-)).

Nokia seems to be using java already

One of their newest phones (the 6310i) uses it. From the specs:

Phone Features
* Tri-band phone - works in three networks on five continents
* downloadable personal applications via Java(TM) technology
* Support of Java applications download via WAP

IIRC the 9210i does as well....

Not tried either of them (yet) but sounds like it works... nokia also just had a java programming compo for their phones

the nokia 7650 is exaclty the kind of phone you're talking about, and it'll be available in the 2nd quarter of 2002 in Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa.

and the Ericsson P800 is the same thing too, but will be available in the 3rd quarter of 2002, but on all of the 5 continents!

So, we're not so behind the Japan... for now.

Looks like it fits my durability bill. Keyboard moan still stands, and having owned a 6210 I imagine that the SMS and synchronisation moans remain too.

Looks heavy too. And ugly. Ah well - trade offs, trade offs...

Cheers,
Ian

This is kool and the gang (esp. since I'm a java developer), but according to the website only the 6310i and the 7210 claim to actually work in America. They are GSM-only to boot, which means you'll have to find a GSM carrier in your area that has roaming partners where you travel. GSM is just getting a foothold in the US while in other parts of the world it's the dominant network infrastructure.

Now I know how folks that had a clost full of Laserdisc movies felt when DVD finally came out.

This is kool and the gang (esp. since I'm a java developer), but according to the website only the 6310i and the 7210 claim to actually work in America. They are GSM-only to boot, which means you'll have to find a GSM carrier in your area that has roaming partners where you travel. GSM is just getting a foothold in the US while in other parts of the world it's the dominant network infrastructure.

Now I know how folks that had a clost full of Laserdisc movies felt when DVD finally came out.