Selecting a PDA/Cellphone Combination?

zrk asks: "It's coming time to replace my cellphone - way out of warranty, physically broken, the coverage isn't what it could be, and so on. My initial thinking here is that I should replace it with a combination PDA and cellphone, but I have no clue as to which way to go. The selection process seems to be along the lines of either getting the cellphone service/coverage I want OR getting the small computer I need and living with passable phone service. Another possibility is to get a phone and PDA that easily interact. I live in the north-eastern part of the US, and given that I travel occasionally, I'm concerned with phone service. Verizon seems to have the most complete coverage, but they don't offer all the devices. AT&T also seems OK, but there have been a lot of complaints about bandwidth. Sprint is OK, but coverage is spotty as you go more rural (insert your own Axe Gravy Soap joke here). I know of Handspring's various products, some of the Pocket PC type devices, and also the Kyocera Smartphone lines (still waiting on the 7135!). Which way do I go, George, which way do I go?"

"If you're going to recommend something, have some questions I'd like you to answer:

• How is your PDA functionality - limited, annoying because of size, etc?
• How is the phone service?
• What do you wish your PDA/Phone could do that it can't?
• Is it worth buying a combo unit or should I consider elements that interact properly?

The problem is that there is NO one place to get the sort of reviews I require, except perhaps through an Ask Slashdot posting, so whatever stories and experiences you share will be most appreciated."

Comments

Danger Sidekick through T-Mobile

[Crutcher]

I've got a Sidekick. Its a new platform, there developer program isn't even open yet. The service is through T-Mobile.

But, the hardware itself is awesome. Its a JVM based system, and the hardware has:

Qwerty Keyboard, spin wheel, D-pad, USB, IrDA, a Phone plugin, 16M ram.

Current Apps:
Email, AIM, Calendar, Asteroids Clone, ToDo, Notes, A NICE Address Book, Web Browser, SMMS Messages, Phone, Tetris Clone.

And the "Desktop Interface" is unbelievable. You go to a website, login, and you have access to all of the application features of the device. It just keeps everything synced. And these aren't pared down interfaces on the web. It's a good email client, a good calendar, etc.

Re:Danger Sidekick through T-Mobile

[daviddennis]

I don't think there's any significant doubt that the Danger Sidekick is the superior product, as a product, but when I bought mine it had horrible coverage problems, and they just kept getting worse.

When I first bought it, I could have lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and check the Internet while eating. When I last tried it, before giving up in frustration, I could not; there was no data service at all.

Now it has a problem with its card, so I have no recent data. I'm going to take it to a T-Mobile station pretty soon and see what's up with that, but until then I can only recommend the unit if you get decent coverage in your area.

In the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, coverage is lousy and - as I said - has gotten worse over the last few months.

I met a Sidekick user, and he said that the external antenna really helped. This is a piece of copper that mounts directly under the SideKick, leaving the form factor unchanged.

The bottom line is that the design of this device was superb, but ask other people who live in your area, and the other areas you plan to use the device, about coverage before you plunk down your $250-odd.

Sorry to be so discouraging, because based on the other comments here I'd rate it significantly superior to the Treo. The keyboard works great, and although it's a bit small and the type is a bit tiny, it's clear, crisp and readable.

D

CNET reviews

[JonRock]

CNET seems to have a comprehensive list of reviews. In addition to the product lines mentioned by the poster, I would like to hear user stories of the Samsung SPH-I300.

Re:Limited plan options

[EatHam]

I had a Visor with the phone attachment. I *highly* recommend not using this one. It is almost completely useless as a phone. Decent PDA, but terrible phone. Problems are:

• Difficult to dial because the buttons are on your screen
• Next to impossible to dial from your phone book with one hand
• Very difficult to answer the phone while driving (I know, but I had hands-free).
• Vibrate mode eats batteries, and ringer is very quiet (uses Visor's speaker), so it's difficult to tell when you're getting an incoming call.
• Mine used Voicestream's service which at least in the New York/New Jersey area is spotty at best.

Would love to try something else, but for me, this one stunk.

Sprint PCS, Treo 300, Travel a lot

[jsimon12]

How is your PDA functionality - limited, annoying because of size, etc?

Functionality is good on the Treo 300, talk time is only 2-3 hours though, but it is enough, size is good compared to carrying a PDA and a cell phone, as phones go it is a little big but not too much so. About the only annoying thing is the screen isn't great in bright light, so unlike PDA's like the iPaq which have a great reflective TFT that works great outdoors it sucks to use the Treo outdoors.

How is the phone service?

I use Sprint, seems to have great coverage in all the area I have been in (mostly in the Southwest, where the rural coverage is actually pretty good).

What do you wish your PDA/Phone could do that it can't?

I wish my phone was upgradable, CF, PCMCIA, SD card, anything, it is totally non-upgradeable/expandable.

Is it worth buying a combo unit or should I consider elements that interact properly?

Sprints 3G is great for a little browsing and some POP3 via Eudora, I got it because I wanted to have Internet access anywhere, and it works great for that. So in that situtation, yes it is worth it, you do comprimise on some things (ie battery life) but other then that I enjoy the phone.

Treo 300 / Sprint -- Recommended with reservations

[Brian Hatch]

I have a new Treo 300 with Sprint as the wireless telco. I got it for a few reasons:

• Unlimited PCS (internet / sms / etc)
• Free roaming within the Sprint areas
• Free long dist
• Treo has keyboard, no wasted grafiti space.
• You get a real IP address when you connect, meaning any TCP/IP app should work.

After having this thing for a month, the things that are not as happy are:

• Plan to be near a charger. This thing sucks batteries like mad when used as a phone (but not so much when using TCP/IP, oddly.) It comes with a car charger for a reason. Plan to plug it in every night.
• The network (TCP/IP) seems to go down when you're not using it, so if you haven't done anything with it in a while you're going to need to manually tell it to disconnect before doing any browsing/etc. Learn the shortcuts to do this that are present in some apps
• SMS is one way. You can receive two kinds of messsages. An actual SMS message results in you getting redirected to the web browser to check it, which doesn't seem to work for me ever. The other kind seems to work just fine. See my previous comments on their SMS support.
• Handspring wants you to buy a separate SMS product to make it fully functional.
• No email support by default. (Again, they have a separate product, Treo mail.)
• Blazer browser is very slow when you go forward/back, as if it's rendering it each time even when cached. I'm looking into new options.
• Every time you open the unit, it goes to the phone application.

The last one was a particular problem for me. One of the most pressing reasons to get this was to have ssh (using TopGun SSH) access from my phone in case of emergency, or just feeling the need to check my email with Mutt. If you closed the phone to pick up your daughter, your connection was dropped because you launched the phone when you opened it. I used Buttons-T to get around this by telling it to do nothing when the phone is opened, and no problems since then.

The unit is probably heavy if you're used to a sleek model (I wasn't) but I have no problems keeping it in my pocket around the house at night.

One aside: I've tried getting the TopGun SSH source, and can't seem to get the Login portions that it requires. Anyone know where I can get the complete source? Emailing the author(s) hasn't worked. I'd like to do a code audit to make sure it is correctly verifing host keys, which I suspect is is not.