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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?"
Not a phone per se.
Just slip the card into a laptop and you have a full connection. Yes, a laptop is required, but in an emergency, have the full capabilities of a laptop is better than a phone in my opinion.
I've been carrying the laptop in my trunk or backpack for the past year and it's worked great.
My employer is footing the bill, so it's nice to have free internet access wherever I go.
Yep, I never spell check.
More incorrect spellings can be found he
While we're on the topic of portable SSH devices, what sort of experiences have people had with the different wireless providers out there? T-mobile, for instance, has an exclusive on the Sidekick II, but their coverage in the northeast is complete crap now. Any one have an opinion about data coverage from Verizon? Sprint? Cingular?
I'd go with a PocketPC Mobile phone and PUTTY, a PD SSH implmenenation.
We're in the same boat. My boss decided to get me and the other folks at my department Nokia 9500s so that we could come to rescue when it's needed, anytime, anywhere (almost). Well I agree that Nokia 9500 is a huge brick. But the boss already ordered the phones. Luckily the nice manager of sales department was in need of a new 9500 too, so I gave mine to him and he ordered a Nokia 9300 for me. What a sweet deal it was! It's basically the same thing as 9500. It runs the same OS minus the WiFi (have no need) and camera (have even less need! Besides the 9500 camera is utter crap anyway) bits. All software is compatible. But it's so much smaller and slimmer! About the size of a regular GSM phone from 4-5 years ago. You can happily carry that in shirt pocket (not a chance with 9500). Due to its compact size, the keyboard is slightly smaller than the one in 9500, but that's not a problem for me at least. The display is also a bit smaller, but the resolution is the same as in 9500. No problems reading mail with mutt etc. in Putty session. Highly recommended device. Especially if you find Nokia 9500 suitable if it only was smaller. Namely this thing is exactly that! Maybe missing WiFi is a show stopper for some people, but if you can handle that, then there's no excuse not to get a Nokia 9300 to handle this kind of job.
IMHO a smartphone is a bad choice. At my work IT complains about the smartphones they have tried. I've had a smart phone, got rid of it, and went with this combo.
Try this instead,
- Sony Ericsson T637 - (bluetooth enabled cell)
- Palm (some sort with bluetooth) - Example - Tungsten Tseries
- PSSH - http://www.sealiesoftware.com/pssh/ (free open source ssh client)
Reason behind this:
1) You get the clarity of a real cell phone. Some smart phones have really bad static on the 'cell phone' side of them.
2) Easy to access when your on the phone with tech support for your servers (IBM, Sun, etc). You don't need to 'hold on.. i'll try that and call you back'.
3) Palm has software for your addresses / phone / internet / email.
Anyways... that's just a thought.
I use a T-Mobile sidekick, and it's saved my bacon.
My cable modem connection at home went down while I was working on the last few stages of what I needed to do remotely. I used the Sidekick's SSH (it's an option but only $10) to SSH to my server and I was able to do everything I needed, even use emacs. My boss was very impressed that I was able to finalize the project using my phone!
Having the flip display/keyboard is really the best design because it enables you to use a large keyboard and have a display big enough to use. I was quite comfortable using emacs on it. Compared to a Blackberry, the keyboard is bigger and the display is bigger, which enormously improves usability.
Web browser support is excellent except that JavaScript is not supported. On the Blackberry, it is, so you might be able to view more sites on the Blackberry. However, JavaScript support on the Blackberry is outstandingly slow so unless you need it bad, I think the Sidekick wins as a web browsing device with the larger screen and keyboard.
Web form support is excellent, especially compared to the somewhat messy implementation on a Palm.
All Smartphone cameras I've seen are miserable, which is a real pity because I would love to be able to use them for casual photography. Not even worth it for that; keep your regular digital camera or buy something like a Canon Digital Elph that easily fits in your pocket.
T-Mobile service is highly variable. Check out a T-Mobile phone in all areas where you are often and make sure it works OK.
Overall, I think the Sidekick wins with the Blackberry an honorable second place. I'd use the Blackberry if you had reception problems with the Sidekick.
For any serious applications, I think having the laptop card as well as a smartphone is an excellent idea. However, laptop batteries run down pretty fast and often it's too awkward to get the laptop out of its case and work on it. I've found that for taking random notes the smartphone is extremely useful for this reason.
Unfortunately, I've never seen the 9500/9300, so I can't compare them.
Hope this helps.
D
(I know .. answering my own post etc)
.. work without compensation is a Bad Thing (tm) unless you are being a volunteer, when it becomes a Good Thing (tm)
.. every hour you work for free is an hour of your $$$ compensation straight into the pocket of your companies owner. You wouldn't whip out your wallet and give the owner cash, so why do it through agreements to effectively work 24/7
But WTF???? Who moderated me funny? I was being serious
Think of it this way
Years ago a colleague told me that he valued the equivelant $$$ worth of his free time as way more than the $$$ compensation he was receiving from work. This is formula that I tend to agree with.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
I wanted to be able to go online anytime 24/7 from anywhere using a small device. In the US, the CDMA providers (Verizon, Sprint) won't sell you a device that can do 802.11[b|g] like the Nokia 9500. I go places where there's no GSM, and I wanted to use wifi where it is available, so no cell provider had a solution for me.
I already have a Verizon CDMA phone that does 1x data (LG 4500) over USB to my Linux laptop - I just wanted something smaller. So I got a Sharp Zaurus 3000. This is a Linux PDA sold only in Japan. It is a flip-open device with a 4G HDD. After much jacking around, this device does what I want. It supports CF expansion cards so I can do wifi and wired ethernet. It has a USB port so I can connect to the Verizon 1x data network. I just took a 4 day vacation and carried only this device, a wifi card, and my cell phone. I ran SSH, used a web browser, read email, etc.
Obviously, buying a $625 device from Japan isn't for everyone, but it worked for me, for now.
I've been using this phone since February and it's the best gadget I've bought in a long time. Not to mention absolutely essential for me, a sysadmin team (of one person) providing 24x7 support for our Linux servers.
Previously I had a Palm T3 and a bluetooth phone: too bulky to carry everywhere, no keyboard, too small screen and no multitasking. This last point's the killer when you're logged into an SSH session and have just SSH'ed to somewhere else and need to refer to a web page or whatever for a moment but switching away from ssh would close the connections.
What's so good about the 9300?
Basically it's the dog's danglies for mobile system administration. And quite a bit smaller than the Nokia 9500 - who needs Wi-Fi and a camera anyway.
It has a few small problems: no vibrate, a bit slow, can't copy and paste in PuTTY, not so many third-party apps as Palm or Series 60 ..... but that's about it.
I use it so much with a BT enabled phone (GPRS/3G). Remote Desktop is standard installed; connect to your desktop and have _all_ software at hand, always. SSH client also available for direct access without remote desktopping.