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The Ultimate Phone/PDA?
P800guy writes "Psion Place has a review of the SonyEricsson P800 available in Q3, this looks to be the best PDA/phone combined in the world. Running Symbian OS v7.0, 208x320 color touchscreen, triple-band GSM compatible, Multimedia Messaging (MMS), Bluetooth, GPRS always-on internet connection,
built-in digital camera, support for HTML, xHTML, Java, iMode, WAP, Word, Excel, PPT. Check out the pictures,
open, closed.
In the US it'll work on Voicestream,
ATT Wireless, and Cingular just don't expect it to be offically supported from day 1 of release." Getting closer- now if it just had a few gigs of memory for MP3s ;)
My Newton is showing its age...
Where is the instant "Call Ms. Cleo" button?
The upside is it can do all those things - the downside is its very expensive!
Video Game cheats, hints a
I was on the beta testing team of the next-generation Nokia Communicator which also uses Symbian OS v7.0. It was pretty snappy and responsive and the hardware is sleek, but I was less than impressed by the 'office software' capabilities: In their attempt to support proprietary Microsoft formats they've neglected to offer export filters for open file formats. For example, the word processor can only export Microsoft .DOC, not .RTF or even .TXT. Similarly, the spreadsheet can only export .XLS and not CSV or tab-separated data. This is a step backwards, IMO, but sadly I doubt that few mainstream users will complain. It's just a bit ironic that even the office software counterparts in Microsoft Windows CE offer file filters for 'open standard' formats -- why can't Symbian?
... if it says "Barkley's" on the box, keep away.
(Barkley's Lounge is an opportunistic shit hole)
On GDC (Game Developers Conference) I saw this thing demonstrated and had time to play with it.
:)
Its small, smaller than the image suggests. Its fast, screen is awesome. The biggest worry "running time on one battery charge" couldn't be answered, the guys said the hardware wasn't final they had.
Also the flip cover with the keys simply presses the touchscreen below it. Advantage: saves hardware, disadvantage: flimsy plastic look on the back and the display has to be fully powered all the time.
They showed Lord of the Rings as MPG on it and demonstrated some PC-Phone connection stuff which looked pretty polished.
This is a phone for me, can't wait
Not that I have a cell phone, a PDA, an MP3 player, a laptop, or anything else portable. Except for my really spiffy digital watch. But this thing is amazing!
Now all i need is one that costs less than twenty bucks.
How much is this thing gonna cost? Also, how wide and thick is it? I almost bought the Kyocera QCP 6035(I'm a sprint customer right now.) before, but I dont think I could stand a phone that bulky. There must be more specs posted somewhere.
I'm determined to reclaim my karma. Now, if I can only find a groundbreaking article and something witty to say....
Cool phone, but I wonder how long it'll take for that little screen to be covered in ear wax. I want it to plug seamlessly into the brain instead!
where does the keypad go once its open? he pictures look like it just get taken off entirely :(
Many companies will not permit you to use a third party phone on their service.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Geez, with all the product placement, slashdot could double as a Britney Spears movie.
Yes, it's sort of a neat phone, but there are a *lot* of neat phones coming down the pipe. I hope they don't all merit a Slashdot commercial.
Here's a link to a Samsung Camera with a digital camera too. The camera even sounds nicer than the Ericsson.
Sorry for being such a wet blanket, but I just don't see a whole lot remarkable about this topic.
What ever happened to the 'ericsson adding windows to their phones' project? I guess they realized that symbian is pretty good (altough nothing can beat linux...).
I think that many mobile phones can be thought as somekind of pre-PDA thing. You can check email with them, use calendar etc. Do we really need very colourfull screen on PDA's & mobile phones because it uses lot of battery? For some people it's a good thing but, I wouldn't actually really want it now.
Just waiting for a new release of nokia communicator.. (it'll rock)
Can it run Linux?
The register has another review that's a little more in-depth...
Hey! You broka my freakin phone, Ima gonna breaka every bona in ya body.
Sure, everyone wants a giant killer attack robot to do evil tasks... but have you ever had to pay the liability insurance on one of those things?
Legally, in 19 states you are *required* to carry liability on giant killer attack robots, so it's not like you can ignore it. I'm not sure if this applies to the small and large classes of attack robots or not.
And don't even get me started on the attack robot taxes...
I want to see what Nokia will come up with. But if I see one of those stamp-sized screens I'm gonna scream in terror.
The new zaurus keyboard on their latest is, imo, much more useful. I realize this is a 'phone' with PDA capabilities second, but it seems that these things are converging more quickly and if someone would keep all capabilities equal (PDA v phone v whatever else) the ultimate handheld device would be the outcome.
creation science book
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.
ah yes but im in australia, much smaller, ill just hold the entire country to ransom,
they charge me taxes ill just vaporise the prime minister.
actually then id be doing a nation a service and be hailed as a national hero.
hmm i want to cause chaos any suggestions?
- matt w
A picture of the camera on the back.
My karma ran over your dogma
where did you find the price?
I dont' understand the people who design this stuff. We have the technology, we just don't use it properly. I want a cell-phone sized device that is also a PDA, mp3 player, and digital camera. take a cell phone, replace the numbered buttons with a GameBoyAdvance style LCD screen. Use an IBM microdrive. Companies keep making all of these things seperately very well, but they can't seem to combine them correctly. I'm not going to buy one until they have what I want.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
http://www.sonyericsson.com/3Dphones/p800/p800.htm l shows very nicely how this thing works.
I couldn't get the plug-in to work in Opera and had to use IE instead. Now I feel bad... I have sined...
Viva la Newton!
I have found that using duct tape to connect my ipaw to my mobile phone is much more cost effective.
Sony makes some of the best PDA stuff out there. There Clie line blows Palm and Handspring out of the water in my opinion, and this thing looks like it will give the other PDA/Cels a run for their money.
The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.
Isn't that what this article is about?
The 800 does all of that. It is a PDA, it is a MP3 player, it is a digital camera, it has a touchscreen..
??
I bought the first EPOC (what later became EPOC32 and Symbian OS) device in early 93: a Psion Series 3. It was incredible. A PDA with a (modest) programming language built in. The Newton came only later that year, not to mention Palm or WinCE.
Since around the time WinCE was launched things went downhill. EPOC32 tried to become the better Windows. Unnecessary features cluttered the screen and hampered usability. New machines with faster processors were noticably slower than older models (seems that even faster CPUs took care of that). I ended up switching to a Palm, which offered less than even early Psion models, but made it simple to get simple stuff done. And of the proprietary PDA platforms, Palm seems to cater best to people who don't use the Windows/MSOffice combo.
Symbian could have been cool, but the only apparent advantage over WinCE/PocketPC is that it's not made by Microsoft. A dubious advantage in the market place, as consumers don't care at best.
Getting closer- now if it just had a few gigs of memory for MP3s ;)
/Domo
Why? I would agree with a few hundred Mb (to 1 gig) for data storage, like text files, cache memory, ect, but gigs for mp3's?
The whole point of this phone is to be connected all the time, every where. So I would like to download, or stream my mp3' from an online data storage medium, like my home computer or a music service.
I don't know if GPRS, is allready fast enhough for this kind of usage, but UMTS will.
Why are people so intent on merging PDA/Phones? They are not very size compatible. Like for example, I take my HandSpring Visor with me to school, but I just stuff it in my backpack and use it in class, but my phone I take *everywhere*. So I have to have a small phone (Nokia 8290). They serve two distinct purposes, and I refuse to merge them. I don't want a smaller PDA, its fine, and I don't want a larger phone, its fine.
I wonder what functions the API will provide access to? One of my peeves with 3G (or near 3G) devices is the inability to programatically control the telephony functions of the device. For example it would be very desirable to be able to filter incoming calls. Particularly all the phone spam that these devices are going to be magnets for. If this device would allow for this then that would be *very* cool. At any rate, I want one!
I would rather have a network (blue tooth) or something like that that could keep my personal devices (as will as information on my laptop and desktop) synced. I want the phone lists the same and be able to pull a number form an email on my pda and dial it on the phone. It would also be nice if they backed each other up. So if my cell-phone gets smashed I can buy a replacement and the data will fill in from my other devices. (like a RAD array).
is this so different?
Sorry for my complete unfamiliarity with overseas phone systems -- Is this a phone that you could take abroad and use then?
How does that work? I've heard that pretty much everyone else in the world uses GSM. Is that enough to use your phone on their networks? How do they bill you?
Thanks in advance for enlightening me!
Weight: 158 grams, Height: 117 mm, Width: 59 mm And it's 27 mm's thick. Stand-by time: 400 hours, talk-time: 13 hours. My wild guess is, that it's gonna cost as much as T68 costed when it came out.
Find it a bit astounding to see something with the Sony name on it that doesn't have a slot for memory stick. Would be handy for media xfers.
Fighting in the domestic entertainment appliance arena today are:
Microsoft:
XBox - success uncertain
Other attempts at (non-hardware) domestic entertainment products
MSN - dissapointing - not very profitable - failed to unseat AOL
Microsoft Bob - 'domestic OS' - laughable failure
Pocket PC operating system for phones and PDAs - moderate success, not a significant revenue generator yet
Various TV/cable ventures - moderate success or failure
Microsoft games - successful and profitable
Sony
TVs, music systems, VCRs, DVD players etc - very successful globally over many years
Sony Walkman, personal stereos, mini-disc players - very successful globablly over many years
PlayStation 1 and 2 - very successful worldwide
Mobile phones - increasingly successful collaboration with major service providers
Other domestic ventures (not hardware):
Sony entertainment products (movies, record lables), generally successful or very successful over many years.
Who would you bet on winning in the domestic appliance ring - the 900lb gorrilla or Godzilla?
http://theregister.co.uk/content/54/25054.html
_
-
And I thought James Bond had it made.
:)
With GPS via Bluetooth and a built in Camera, all we need now is a miniature high-powered laser or other such energy weapon capable of burning through steel and this thing would be ready for use by all '00' agents.
Regardless if it has the laser or not, I'm getting one of these killer P800's the day they come out with one for Verizon, since they just got the 3G wireless services up and running here in the Bay Area, it's time I got a phone capable of using the uber-network that floats in the air around me.
And the idea of taking a picture and sending it over my phone to some one in an instant is just way too cool. I think that's going to be all the rage: take a picture - add a note and send it off.
That's the ultimate in communication right there...
Next time I'm running late for a meeting, I could just snap a quick pic of the nightmare traffic I'm stuck in and send it to the people waiting on me
"...this looks to be the best PDA/phone combined in the world." This thing would get you laughed off the subway car in Tokyo (by high-school girls with more advanced tech).
Several years ago, NTT Docomo released a phone in Japan that could store and play mp3's. The problem with the concept was a combination of price and target audience. The average person who desired to have their phone double as a walkman was college age and younger. The phone was priced at a modest $600 which most college students couldn't afford.
The idea of the camera in the phone is quite useful and has been available here in Japan for quite some time and is very reasonably priced. Almost all the phones over here have a great deal of PDA functionality and connect to the internet which is very useful.
But we return again to the target audience. The novelty of the phone being able to play my favorite mp3's and mpg's is going to wear off about two seconds after I read the price tag. The reason being is that like most salary workers, my day is fairly evenly divided up between work, commuting, eating, sleeping, and trying desparately to have something called a social life. Aside from amazing my friends during the "social life" part of my day, I have no time to play with gadgets, nor do I have any professional use for playing mp3's or mpg's. I didn't even get the camera phone over here because the cost didn't justify the very few times I would actually use that feature. IMO the P800 looks really cool for a technology demo, but I don't think they will be able to produce it at a sufficiently low cost for it to succeed. It's simple economics....when you have to pay rent/bills, support a girlfriend/wife/kids, and still manage to feed and entertain yourself, you find yourself seriously asking, "How often would I REALLY use this?"
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I've dirtied my hands writing poetry, for the sake of seduction; that is, for the sake of a useful cause. --Dostoevsky
I don't think I want my PDA to run Symbian. Am I wrong?
I've always found that the most useful part of my PDA was software support. With PalmOS, I get Vindigo, which is one of the most impressive parts of my Pilot. I get AvantGo for stationary web stuff (I guess that's void with net-access pda) and I get a few closed-source medical databases of meds and prescription data. (I'm a MD.) I think all 3 of these are closed to other operating systems.
It seems like I'll lose all this when I switch to a different OS? Am I wrong? Has anybody had a great experience with an OS besides Palm?
Sam
When are the companies out there going to get a standard that we all can use together? 802.11x, Bluetooth, The funky Intel stuff, etc. It would be nice if I go over to a friends not to have to make sure we buy the same standard. At least some of the 802.11a people are making it so they do 802.111a and 802.11b.
www.starvinggeek.com
Ultimate PDA should be light to carry and of reasonable size (no larger/heavier than eg Nokia 62?? -series, IMHO).
I can't find that information in SonyEricsson site and neither this nor The Registers review has any mention of the dimensions of this thing...
I find that a bit confusing. Usually "forgetting" to mention these little details imply vaporware.
Otherwise this thing looks very desiarable indeed.
Look at the number pad on your keyboard, and then look at the number pad on your phone. They're opposite. The keyboard starts at the bottom and works it's way up, while the phone starts at the top and works down.
Each are standard in their own field; You'll never find a keyboard with a phone-style pad and you'll never find a phone with a keyboard-style pad, but they're opposite from eachother. When I finally get a computer/phone combination, what kind of pad will it have? And who was the monkey that allowed these standards to differ so drastically?
Sam
Perhaps a stupid question, but if this is a PDA, how do we input data? I don't see an alphanumeric keypad, and there's not the familiar PalmOS text input area.
If it has Newton-style on the fly handwriting recognition, that would be WAY cool.
Even cooler (but unlikely) would be voice recognition or OCR via the camera module
ScienceSeeker.org
IIRC, Trolltech was hired by Ericsson two years ago in order to develop for upcoming PDAs.
Did they lose this deal?!
Since I had to break out the calculator to visualize these specs in English units...here's what it comes out to.
H: 4.6in
W: 2.3in
D: 1.1in
Weight: 5.6oz (.35lbs)
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I've dirtied my hands writing poetry, for the sake of seduction; that is, for the sake of a useful cause. --Dostoevsky
They managed to combine a flimsy flip-cover, guaranteed to snap off within a year with an exposed keyboard, guaranteed to accidentally dial people while the phone's in your pocket (yes, I know you can lock most phones, but can any regular cell user tell me they've never forgotten to lock the phone even once?)
At least it looks like the flimsy cover isn't actually wired, so replacements won't cost an arm and a leg.
Or at least they did; I used non-Voicestream hardware on their system about two years ago. They may have become more restrictive since then.
Its got Java so yes you can program apps for this phone. The java will be the J2me edition.
/b
[Please type your sig here.]
Ill wait until it has tricorder-like capabilities. Sure its great to have a ppt presentation on your cell phone, but what if you need to scan for alien life forms, detect neutrino emissions, or tell if somone has a tribble lodged in their -*Radio Edit*-? Plus tricorders have more blinking lights on them, so you cant go wrong with that.
Just bought one of these ingenious gadgets for my T39:u lt.asp ?VareID=355
http://www.wanna-save.dk/specialtilbud/defa
Price: About $50.
I plan on buying a P800 ASAP (MP3 or not - it ROCKS) and sent SONY-Ericsson a letter asking about MP3 support, they answered:
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for contacting Sony Ericsson,
With regard to your enquiry, the P800 does not have a built in MP3 player.
Details of compatibility with accessories are not currently available.
For further available information regarding this product you should log onto
our website www.sonyericsson.com
Should you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to
contact us.
Kind regards
Mike Rowlands
SonyEricsson Customer Support
Telephone: 08705 237 237
Fax: 0845 300 2439
Email: questions.gb@sonyericssonmobile.com
-----Original Message-----
Sent: 23 April 2002 18:49
To: questions.gb@support.sonyericsson.com
Subject: Contact form CWS
Product: MP3 Handsfree HPM-10
Opinion: Buying a HPM-10 I wonder: Will it work with the P800 or will the
P800 have a more practical builtin MP3 capabilities and a flashmemory
expansion slot of sorts? (yes, I can actually imagine listening to music
during a boring meeting).
Thanks
Best regards.
I would have to diagree that 'most providers require a 12 month contract'. Most providers have Pre Pay SIMS available that allow you to top up your account via phone cards/credit cards. In fact in the UK its something 85% of phones are on PrePay accounts. Getting a new SIM when you travel is good for price but then you lose the ability to receive calls on your normal number. Its a trade off between price and convenience....
And to back up your statement on availability:
DualBand GSM phones work in most countries apart from the US. TriBand phones work in the US as well as other countries. A quick check on Vodafone UK's website (http://www.vodafone-roaming.co.uk/) told me that I can use my phone in 132 countries. So pretty much anywhere. The only problem I have had while travelling was in Brazil where I could not get service.
[Please type your sig here.]
http://www.symbian.com/developer/index.html
These cellphone/PDA things look great, the problem is the cost, typicall over $500 (USD). I think the device is going to be the Danger HipTop. I saw this thing at CES and it totally rocked. It only cost $200 (USD) and then $25/month of unlimited data airtime. Pretty cool.
Can you imagine a Beowulf cluster of these babies?!
Look at the picture with the numpad showing. You can see the hinges and how there are slots in the base phone compartment for the hinges. Now look at the picture with the numpad opened up. There are no hinge slots at all in the phone. Where did the numpad go?
I also see the shadow of the pen looking like a artists mockup. Shouldn't there be some reflection?
If they can build this it looks good for those who insist on having a phone AND PDA in one device. I personally like the option of wireless connectivity between phone, pda, headset, etc. Keep the phones disposable and pack as much as possible into the PDA. IMHO.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
I've seen computer keyboards that are designed for use in call centres where workers can dial out via the modem in the cvomputer & the computer's in effect also gets used as a phone.
When used with the dialer software the number pad changes to the phone layout, while otherwise it uses the standard PC keyboard layout.
To add to the confusion the keys have both numbers on it.
So for example the '7' key has a little grey '1' printed on it next to where the '7' is printed, & 'home' is printed underneath. While the '8' key has a little grey '2' printed next to where the '8' is printed, & also has the up arrow printed on it to. Etc, etc.
I really like it, the whole pda and a phone together, and because I usually find the buttons on a regular phone small the bigger size of the smartphone is a plus for me. But the type of internet conection on it STINKS. the interface is slow both in layout/usablity and in the speed it carries out commands. It took me 15 minutes to send a few AIM messages, and I couldn't even figure out how to use a custom message. But I find the always on feature of this phone very very interesting. Why shouldn't it be always on...if I have a digital signal when I'm not sending data I really don't use any bandwith, its just a matter of making the system leave a digital path open. I could actually leave AIM on then so people could message me and always have it get straight to me.
LinuxWorx
Spelling errors are intentional as are gramatical error
The white paper(PDF) on the on the SonyEricsson P800 has plenty of details. I'd recommend taking a look if your interested in this great new platform. I'd really like for Symbian gain popularity in the US.
So is this phone basically any different than Nokia's 7650?
http://www.expansys.com/img/big_Z700.jpgw ww.expansys.com/img/big_P800.jpgn sys.com/img/big_T68I.jpg
o oks like this baby will cost $399!)
http://
http://www.expa
And... http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=T68I
(L
Although I'm still skeptical about the success of hig tech PDA's in general, this has a couple of things that make it interesting for me:
1.Small size - the Nokias with the folding screen are slightly too big
2.Java - be nice to try out an self written app or two in a language that doesn't cost me the earth.
3.Camera - I think with i-mode now coming out in Europe and in the US as well I presume, the ability to send and receive images will be a hit
4.Colour - Maps, games, etc look better in colour
5.Practical case design
6.Nice OS - not owned by a certain company
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
.The picture may be a mock-up, but these phones exist. The Symbian Expo last week had a good number for people to play with, make calls with and I've heard these things are pretty stable beasts too considering we're not expecting them out till October or so.
It would be interesting if you could install a Voice over IP app on there. One thing I can't find anywhere is the resolution of the cam. The Nokia one is 640x480.
Phillip.
Property for sale in Nice, France
>>> 6.Nice OS - not owned by a certain company
Palm??
Offtopic: Yes.
Man, you posted this same article 19 times. What do you think this is here? Spam Central?
for both dial screen and built-in blackberry keyboard.
-Avi