Slashdot Mirror
T-Mobile Launches GSM/802.11 Phone In Germany
prostoalex writes "German subscibers of T-Mobile can now get a hybrid PDA phone that supports both GSM and WiFi wireless networks. The new Mobile Digital Assistant (pretty pictures) will connect to cellular and wireless hotspots built by T-Mobile as well as any 802.11a/g Wireless LANs."
more pictures and facts.
Whether you're moving to 3G or Wi-Fi/WiMax, you're ready to roll. I have to hand it to these guys, at least they're thinking ahead. Now it doesn't matter which technology wins out as The Ultimate Wireless Solution. If only other mobile phone companies thought this way...
On the other hand, at this point, I don't think 3G OR 802.11 have managed to break out on a global scale a la GSM yet... so your pretty toy will remain just that for another 3/4 years....
My Favourite Meme
WiFi on your phone/PDA is the obvious next step, but I never thought it would happen because WiFi threatens all the major revenue earning modes of the mobile phone companies.
The threats are VOIP and IM. It doesn't look like this phone supports VOIP natively, but there is plenty of code which does on that platform. IM threatens the insanely lucrative SMS revenue and the major users of SMS (ie teenagers) are already using IM.
I guess since T-Mobile have a big stake in WiFi access points they can afford to produce a product like this, unlike their competitors which don't and can't. We'll see!
Every man for himself, all in favour say "I"
Nope, Germany still uses QERTZ with seperate Umlauts. I actually type on a brand new. And a keyboard without easy Umlauts would be a major pain in the ass for all type of writers, e.g. newspapers, press agencies, etc..
Remapping the keys of a newly bought game surely is less a pain. And why would anyone need to change a photo or image just because a letter mapped different on a keyboard???
0 001 11 1
I always get so puzzled when people create a phone with a touchscreen (read: FRAGILE) and not make it clamshell design.
like the Motorola MPX
I walk around with a phone, not in an armoured purse, not with 4 bodyguards around me but no.. *drumroll* just in my jeans pocket.
If I, for some alcoholic reason, bump phone-first into something less soft than say a baby's bottom, Id like the screen to survive, please.
And don't come to me about protective cases, this design is flawed from the beginning, and I don't want to have to peel of 4 layers if 'skin' before I can answer the phone or use more than 2% of the device's functions. Thanks.
Especially since the normal objection to a clamshell (moving parts, bending cables that break and hinges that wear out) don't apply, since it's already got all that complexity in the sliding keyboard.
I don't understand why PDA makers seem to be averse to not only clamshells but even hard protective covers. I avoided replacing my Visor Prism for a long time because all the new handhelds... PalmOS and Pocket PC alike... seemed to be designed witt the idea that broken screens ensure a steady revenue stream.
Yes, I'm half kidding. But only half.
I've always wanted a PDA with a detachable earpiece that acts as the phone function. I can imagine the speaker & a small mike boom detaching from the side or back of my PDA. I just insert the little guy in my ear & I'm off & talking. There would need to be some sort of wireless tech between the earpiece & the PDA, obviously.
Similarly, as small as cellphone are getting, I could see a little (1" x 0.5"??) flipphone detaching from my PDA as well. Just leave all the functionality possible in the PDA & make it a bare-bones phone. My biggest problem with the PDA phone is that it's so darn big to hold up to your head. Maybe this could solve the problem.
I obviously need to do a little more thinking on this.
Am I the only one that finds mobile phones on an 802.11 network to be a BAD thing? We have enough war driving and such on unsecured 802.11 networks as it is, and now we have cell phones compatible with them. I'm just waiting for the first virus to be written to swipe all the phone numbers in your address book to be sent to telemarketers or simply hose your $300 phone in general.