Phone/PDA Gadgets. Harrumf.
Apr. 23rd, 2003 07:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tugrikThe Nokia 9290, a good MP3 player with 340MB storage, a few 6-channel aircraft R/C radios, a few R/C cars, a 5" newtonian "go-to" telescope, a Pelican case full of high-end optics for said telescope, the XM Satellite Radio out of my GL1800, the 30W Class-A Marantz Monoblock amps...
These are things that I could sell to go buy a Sony/Ericcson P800 phone. A phone I reaaaaly want now that I've gotten a chance to hold one and try out the software. Alas, at the $700 price it won't be mine anytime soon. Even if I did find a way to super-easily sell that junk, the money the sales would raise is already earmarked for many other more important (and previously committed to) things.
Dern gadgetlust gene.
I'm not a PDA person... but I really should be. No, not for the gadget reason. It's because I'm a serious underperformer in the area of scheduling. Be it meetings at work, doctor appointments, deadlines or simple social gatherings I have a proven-terrible track record of keeping the times straight. My brain's mode of operation involves getting into grooves on things (work or play) and then losing all track of time as I ride that groove out. It takes an alarm or other sensory jolt to remind me that the rest of the world is still subject to the flow of time. So I really don't need a PDA... I need a fancy-schmantzy calendar. The 9290 does that, sure... but it doesn't sync worth a hoot with anything. Even when it does it requires an ungainly serial cable that I never remember to tote with me (and in fact currently have lost track of).
I also need a contact database that goes everywhere with me. A good, extensible one that handles multiple phone numbers, addresses, email and other attachables for each contact entry. The 9290 does this expertly... but again, it's an island. It doesn't sync worth a hoot.
I also only want to carry one device. Until the devices are things like jewelry, watches and clothing, they have to hang off a belt or a pocket or a clip. I only want one... one that I'll always remember and always check for when I move from one place to the other. Multiple devices suck for being on-the-run portable.
In thinking about ways to solve this I keep coming back to sync being the core of my issue. I need to find a way to keep a master DB on my home system and let it 'port' to my pocket and to work. I need to be able to sync to more than one location so I can mix work appointments with home ones. I also need to be able to do it wirelessly or with a device where the transport mechanism is built into the phone (think 'cable on a reel' or a USB pop-out or something)... not a custom cable that's not tote-worthy and easy to lose. What does this leave me with, for now? Bluetooth. I like bluetooth. Well, maybe not the protocol, but the concept. As Frang's commonly ranted at me, it's not terribly secure nor is it fast or robust, but what I need is the concept of a device presenting a standard wireless interface to other devices. For now, bluetooth is it, so I'll accomodate.
So, this leaves me with the following requirements for a Better Mobile Device:
To meet those would make me happy. There's a ton of other features I'd like, sure: GPRS data, MMS, an expandable software platform (symbian/palm/etc), long battery life, tiny size, multimedia handling (mp3/video/etc)... the list goes on. Then there's playtoys like cameras, voice recorders, games -- things I don't really care about much, but are nifty.
I've been watching the celphone/PDA market for years... and I've been doing good with my 'almost-solution' 9000 then 9290 phones. Both had features nobody else had -- and it took a long time for everybody to catch up to them. Now they've been passed by and left in the dust. I've been holding on to them for a good while until I found devices that met these requirements to replace it. As shown in this and and other reviews, the P800 finally will do what I want, with minimal trade-offs. Thanks to the nerdy-fun nature of bluetooth, other integration ideas abound: wireless car-kits, motorcyle-helmet headsets, etc. Mmmm, infrastructure...
So, yeah, I lust after it. Not only is it a geektoy -- I might actually have a hand-held sync'd calendar I can trust again and stop pissing off bossmen/friends with missed scheduling.
Speaking about which, I'm running late to go swimming with the older-sis. Damn. *runs off*
These are things that I could sell to go buy a Sony/Ericcson P800 phone. A phone I reaaaaly want now that I've gotten a chance to hold one and try out the software. Alas, at the $700 price it won't be mine anytime soon. Even if I did find a way to super-easily sell that junk, the money the sales would raise is already earmarked for many other more important (and previously committed to) things.
Dern gadgetlust gene.
I'm not a PDA person... but I really should be. No, not for the gadget reason. It's because I'm a serious underperformer in the area of scheduling. Be it meetings at work, doctor appointments, deadlines or simple social gatherings I have a proven-terrible track record of keeping the times straight. My brain's mode of operation involves getting into grooves on things (work or play) and then losing all track of time as I ride that groove out. It takes an alarm or other sensory jolt to remind me that the rest of the world is still subject to the flow of time. So I really don't need a PDA... I need a fancy-schmantzy calendar. The 9290 does that, sure... but it doesn't sync worth a hoot with anything. Even when it does it requires an ungainly serial cable that I never remember to tote with me (and in fact currently have lost track of).
I also need a contact database that goes everywhere with me. A good, extensible one that handles multiple phone numbers, addresses, email and other attachables for each contact entry. The 9290 does this expertly... but again, it's an island. It doesn't sync worth a hoot.
I also only want to carry one device. Until the devices are things like jewelry, watches and clothing, they have to hang off a belt or a pocket or a clip. I only want one... one that I'll always remember and always check for when I move from one place to the other. Multiple devices suck for being on-the-run portable.
In thinking about ways to solve this I keep coming back to sync being the core of my issue. I need to find a way to keep a master DB on my home system and let it 'port' to my pocket and to work. I need to be able to sync to more than one location so I can mix work appointments with home ones. I also need to be able to do it wirelessly or with a device where the transport mechanism is built into the phone (think 'cable on a reel' or a USB pop-out or something)... not a custom cable that's not tote-worthy and easy to lose. What does this leave me with, for now? Bluetooth. I like bluetooth. Well, maybe not the protocol, but the concept. As Frang's commonly ranted at me, it's not terribly secure nor is it fast or robust, but what I need is the concept of a device presenting a standard wireless interface to other devices. For now, bluetooth is it, so I'll accomodate.
So, this leaves me with the following requirements for a Better Mobile Device:
- Bluetooth capable
- Sync's properly with what I use
- Good, extensible, multi-field contact management
- Comms (voice/data) built in so it's a singular device
To meet those would make me happy. There's a ton of other features I'd like, sure: GPRS data, MMS, an expandable software platform (symbian/palm/etc), long battery life, tiny size, multimedia handling (mp3/video/etc)... the list goes on. Then there's playtoys like cameras, voice recorders, games -- things I don't really care about much, but are nifty.
I've been watching the celphone/PDA market for years... and I've been doing good with my 'almost-solution' 9000 then 9290 phones. Both had features nobody else had -- and it took a long time for everybody to catch up to them. Now they've been passed by and left in the dust. I've been holding on to them for a good while until I found devices that met these requirements to replace it. As shown in this and and other reviews, the P800 finally will do what I want, with minimal trade-offs. Thanks to the nerdy-fun nature of bluetooth, other integration ideas abound: wireless car-kits, motorcyle-helmet headsets, etc. Mmmm, infrastructure...
So, yeah, I lust after it. Not only is it a geektoy -- I might actually have a hand-held sync'd calendar I can trust again and stop pissing off bossmen/friends with missed scheduling.
Speaking about which, I'm running late to go swimming with the older-sis. Damn. *runs off*
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Forgot to add...
Date: 2003-04-23 07:15 pm (UTC)I betcha dollars to donuts that it'll be announced within a week of me finally affording a P800. The industry mocks me, you see. :)
no subject
Date: 2003-04-23 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-04-23 08:26 pm (UTC)