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Smartphone Suggestions for Text SSH Use?
BinLadenMyHero asks: "The company I work for, administrating their Linux email server, wants to buy me a GSM device so I can access the server 24/7 in case of any trouble. I usually work with a text terminal session over SSH (mutt, vi, bash, screen, etc..). The Nokia 9500 looks the best for the job (640 pixels wide, and a qwerty keyboard), but is a bit large to carry everywhere. Sony Ericsson 910 is smaller, but that small screen size and keyboard can make it less useful. Treo and iPaq was also considered. Any advice on which device to buy?"
I have a ericsson P900 (basically same as P910 without thumb keyboard) and putty is a pita without the flipdown keyboard that is on the 910, although the text is legible (just). The main prob is that the on screen keyboard always overlaps the display.
All the flips on these P series phones are vulnerable (although now much better than P800 ones) The nokia looks to be the better bet as it is more robust and the display would be great, and you will be less likely to leave it somewhere accidentally (no one used to lose their motorola 8500 bricks did they?)
Humorous signatures are over-rated.
NO Question - Blackberry
I use a TMobile 7230 - they are pretty inexpensive now. Combine with Idokorro Mobile SSH is extremely handy. Much more so than any of the TREO, Ipq etc I have used for remote admin. What sets the BlackBerry apart is the keyboard and special character handling. I have found it simply much easier to enter text into the BB. It really seems as though the Blackberry devices were designed as remote admin tools.
Prior to the BB I used an Ipaq 4550 (the one with a keyboard) with bluetooth and a seperate phone. This worked ok, and was convenient, but it seems that WinCe was designed solely for GUI use. There is no concept of an "escape" key, which limits terminal applications.
To be fail the Treo I used was the old BW model when they first came out with the keyboard. It was actually not too bad, but sill nothing compared to the BB. Compared to the newer Treo's the 7230 lacks the multimedia features, and linux syncronization. I cannot believe there is not more Linux software for this neat little machine, but I fully expect it to come eventually).
The killer features for me are the keyboard, durability (I have dropped in 3-4 feet onto concrete without damage - I dare you to try that with a $500 Treo), battery life (I go 2+ days with out charging. In short i have found this device to be great, I definately see how they earned the nickname crackberry.
-MS2k
I can only recommend the Nokia 9300 - almost identical to the 9500 in spec, except without wi-fi and a camera. In exchange for these features it is far smaller and much more friendly to carry - it is not much bigger than the Nokia 6310, but a bit chunkier and heavier.
There is an excellent implementation of PuTTY for the phone, and I use it daily. As long as you feel that most connections will be over GRPS instead of needing wi-fi there is no reason to go for the excessive bulk of the Nokia 9500.
-- Pete.
Monochrome - Probably the UK's largest internet BBS
The Blackberry CAN have a phone conversation and remain connected via SSH. In fact it can have multiple network app open. in one case I had someone on IM with the terminal open while talking on the phone.
:). The Treo's truely are great devices. And if your are a careful person who takes good care of things, and like multi-media, it can do everything the blackberry can do and more.
The blackberry really is a great communication device. You can leave the terminal app open all day, so if you are just "monitoring" a server via top or something, you don't have to keep logging in.
With th treo,the network apyou turn the deviceoff. The blackberry really doe not turn "off" it is more like a regularI have left the terminal application connect for 8+ hours, and bttery life was barely dented. YOu cannot do that with the TREO.
My dad and brother have the Treo 650, my other brother has a 600 so I am pretty familiar with those devices also (and having this discussion
But they are simply NOT better than the blackberry for remote administration tasks (though they are absolutely are better if you judge by theoverall cabilities of the device)
If you tend to be a bit rougher on your devices, and need to have it with you everywhere, need to be able to reliably nd easily get online, and you need to get emails and IMs I think the BB will serve you better.
If you are like my brothers and dd and mainly want to listen to music, and watch movies and occassionally get some email(with fancy ring tones), the Treo has all the bells and whistles (literally) that you will need.