Cellular and blue in the tooth?
I am the last kid on the block to consider getting a cell phone, I'm sure. I've just never wanted one or had much of a need for such a device. I don't particularly enjoy talking on the phone as a means of communication in most cases (not all); I'd rather post in my LJ and read those entries written by others. :)
First off, I make a solemn vow that, should I go mobile, I will not behave as the silver-haired jerk in front of me in the white Avalon did this morning. I will not clamp my cell phone to my ear while driving, because, unlike this man, I have enough self-awareness and lack of hubris to realize that I am not a good multitasker, and that it is rude and dangerous to jeopardize my own life and the lives of others by paying too much attention to a conversation and not enough to keeping my eyes on the damned road. I nearly honked at him. The only thing saving him was my respect for the elderly, but what really hacks me off is that he was obviously old enough to remember a time without such devices, and that we got along just fine without them. Stupidhead.
That being said, I'm in a gadget crunch. My husband really wants me to have a cell phone. It's not like I'm going to yak on it a lot, but he wants it there for emergencies and convenience.
My venerable Palm III is showing its age. Unlike his, mine still functions just fine, but there are apps that won't work on it because the OS is too old.
Features I would like:
downloadable rings, and preferably the ability to create and use my own sounds
downloadable and user-created wallpaper ('cause I would want to put aye-ayes and wee beebee slothies on my screen :) )
a decent camera, at least 1 megapixel; I feel this would have use in emergency situations, as well as being convenient "wow, I wish I had a camera right now" fun
MP3 player
Full Palm compatibility (I have applications I use that I'm not inclined to give up)
Downloadable games
If it's a phone, it must have vibrate. Must.
Internet access
I don't have to have video capability, but it's fine if it's there.
The real question is where to put them, and how to combine them?
Now before you say "Oh, just get a Treo," which combines it all, I should disclose that I really dislike the Treo. I find it very uncomfortable to use those dreadful little buttons. Heck, that's why I went with a Palm in the first place: I prefer Graffiti to a stupid microkeyboard.
The Zire 72 looks promising, but it doesn't appear to come in any color other than blue, which I really don't care for. I could go with the T5, but the Zire 72 is better suited to my needs in terms of features.
This Zodiac device looks mighty sweet, but no camera.
There's Motorola's V710, which is loaded: megapixel camera, MP3 player, and other gee-whiz-bang features. They have some other nice models as well. However, I'd really prefer to do most of those features on a handheld PDA. It just feels more natural to me, and has a larger screen with greater functionality.
In early research (very early, so feel free to shoot holes in it), it seems like the best solution for me would be to maybe get a Zire 72 (and put up with the stupid color ;p) and a lower end phone without too many frills, save Bluetooth. Supposedly, with Bluetooth, you could dial a number with your cell phone and access the 'net, then browse and surf through your Bluetooth-enabled PDA. Wireless web would actually be pretty nifty.
However, theory isn't practice. Have any of you done Bluetooth connection setup? Does it work? Is it difficult? How expensive is it? Is Bluetooth reasonably secure?
ALSO . . .
What plan/provider do you have? How pleased or displeased have you been with your company? I've been to the Verizon store (very nice staff at the location I visited, without being pushy), and plan to check out the Cingular store tonight. Also will check out T Mobile. I've heard from two different people that they have good customer service, though I really didn't like the sales staff in their mall location -- kind of overbearing, there.
Interestingly, it seems that Sony has stopped making any variation of the Clie. I couldn't find diddlysquat on their web site related to it, save for a single case for an old model.
Any information you can supply is welcome. I'm finding it hard to put the options together in the way that I want them.
11/16/2004 - 10:34 pm addendum: It appears that the Zire is going to be coming out in silver for the holidays! Now the hard part: go with that one, or wait until spring when they're supposed to release the updated version?
First off, I make a solemn vow that, should I go mobile, I will not behave as the silver-haired jerk in front of me in the white Avalon did this morning. I will not clamp my cell phone to my ear while driving, because, unlike this man, I have enough self-awareness and lack of hubris to realize that I am not a good multitasker, and that it is rude and dangerous to jeopardize my own life and the lives of others by paying too much attention to a conversation and not enough to keeping my eyes on the damned road. I nearly honked at him. The only thing saving him was my respect for the elderly, but what really hacks me off is that he was obviously old enough to remember a time without such devices, and that we got along just fine without them. Stupidhead.
That being said, I'm in a gadget crunch. My husband really wants me to have a cell phone. It's not like I'm going to yak on it a lot, but he wants it there for emergencies and convenience.
My venerable Palm III is showing its age. Unlike his, mine still functions just fine, but there are apps that won't work on it because the OS is too old.
Features I would like:
I don't have to have video capability, but it's fine if it's there.
The real question is where to put them, and how to combine them?
Now before you say "Oh, just get a Treo," which combines it all, I should disclose that I really dislike the Treo. I find it very uncomfortable to use those dreadful little buttons. Heck, that's why I went with a Palm in the first place: I prefer Graffiti to a stupid microkeyboard.
The Zire 72 looks promising, but it doesn't appear to come in any color other than blue, which I really don't care for. I could go with the T5, but the Zire 72 is better suited to my needs in terms of features.
This Zodiac device looks mighty sweet, but no camera.
There's Motorola's V710, which is loaded: megapixel camera, MP3 player, and other gee-whiz-bang features. They have some other nice models as well. However, I'd really prefer to do most of those features on a handheld PDA. It just feels more natural to me, and has a larger screen with greater functionality.
In early research (very early, so feel free to shoot holes in it), it seems like the best solution for me would be to maybe get a Zire 72 (and put up with the stupid color ;p) and a lower end phone without too many frills, save Bluetooth. Supposedly, with Bluetooth, you could dial a number with your cell phone and access the 'net, then browse and surf through your Bluetooth-enabled PDA. Wireless web would actually be pretty nifty.
However, theory isn't practice. Have any of you done Bluetooth connection setup? Does it work? Is it difficult? How expensive is it? Is Bluetooth reasonably secure?
ALSO . . .
What plan/provider do you have? How pleased or displeased have you been with your company? I've been to the Verizon store (very nice staff at the location I visited, without being pushy), and plan to check out the Cingular store tonight. Also will check out T Mobile. I've heard from two different people that they have good customer service, though I really didn't like the sales staff in their mall location -- kind of overbearing, there.
Interestingly, it seems that Sony has stopped making any variation of the Clie. I couldn't find diddlysquat on their web site related to it, save for a single case for an old model.
Any information you can supply is welcome. I'm finding it hard to put the options together in the way that I want them.
11/16/2004 - 10:34 pm addendum: It appears that the Zire is going to be coming out in silver for the holidays! Now the hard part: go with that one, or wait until spring when they're supposed to release the updated version?