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A Handheld for a Primary Computer?
fromtheblueline asks: "As the last of her children leaves the house for college, my mother is planning on ditching her desktop, cable internet and landline in attempts to simplify and reduce bills. She doesn't use her PC for anything more than occasional emails and online purchases and her cell phone has pretty much made her landline obsolete. She emails me asking if there is a handheld that could replace these devices. I don't own one, don't need one (my SE616 and Powerbook is plenty), and really never bothered to research one. A quick search for anything decent reveals prices close to, or over, a low end notebook. As for access, unless she searches for open wifi points, I can't imagine mobile service being anymore competitive than a cable/DSL line coming into a house. Any recommendations, Slashdot?"
For her uses, a second hand or refurbished laptop is the best value. Way better than any palmtop, unless she really needs to carry it around all the time. See if you can find a nice used Pismo or Wallstreet Powerbook, they do everything she needs and are better constructed than the newer iBooks.
Fujitsu has a series called the Lifebook ($1.5K)and a bunch of others all the way down to the ST1000 ($0.32k)
"Can there be a Klein bottle that is an efficient and effective beer pitcher?"
I've consider the color sidekick for a while. But, I decided to tail it for now.
h on eid=195184&class=pda.
http://www.t-mobile.com/products/overview.asp?p
It's your simple phone/browser (no javascript)/email pop3/aim/games with full querty keyboard.
I've considered it, b/c it does html, not wap. It's being truly mobile with internet. NY prices has it 50/month:
$19.99 60 Minutes N/A 500 Minutes
Sidekick Unlimited
With Sidekick Unlimited service, you'll enjoy unlimited e-mail, AOL(R) Instant Messenger? Service (AIM(R)), Web browsing, and text messaging.
$20
and
$10 for tax and other bs the final bill tacks on.
Amazon.com has it for 20 bucks after rebate.
More info on the device at hiptop.com
Pros: software updates over the air, no payment necessary (yet). Great if you're never at home and in an urban environment.
Cons: it's still a small screen (compared to a laptop screen), and it doesn't support javascript and it's a 2nd generation model, still room for improvement.
The other alternative is the laptop and wifi cards and I'm not talking 802.11. They're about the same price range 40-60 bucks a month, but they're not unlimited. Plus, I don't know where you can get a deal for their 250-400 dollar cards.
Pros: it's a laptop!
Cons: it's expensive.
Sorry, I didn't do as much research for the pcmcia wifi cards b/c of the cost issue.
Note: if you go true wifi, it's will not be anywhere near landline speeds. It'll feel like modem speeds.
The AlphaSmart Dana is exactly what your mother is looking for. It's basically a simplified laptop running the full PalmOS. Instant on. Full keyboard. Has two USB ports and can print directly to USB printers. Can browse the web, and several good email clients are available for it. One model has built-in WiFi. These are neat little machines.