Re: [SAGE] Handheld devices (phone, PDA, remote access)

[Brad Knowles <brad@shub-internet.org>]

At 8:37 AM -0400 3/27/07, Bennett wrote:

>  I would like to combine the PDA portion of the iPaq with the phone.  I
>  would also like to have the ability to remote into the systems either
>  via SSH or SSL.  I know the Blackberry and Trio do the PDA portion, but
>  I'm not sure about the remote access part.  I've also seen ramblings
>  about the Sidekick.

There are plenty of Microsoft-based PDA/phones out there.  The 
problem is that they're running a Microsoft OS.

Generally speaking, the Palm Treos are considered to be the best 
converged device around.  The PalmOS Treos are better than the 
Windows Treos, but the Windows Treos are generally considered to be 
the best Windows devices out there.

No, the Treos are not as slender and sleek as the Motorola Q. 
They're also not as under-powered as the Q.  They are a little short 
on battery life, but there are third parties that can help with that 
problem, while many Windows devices actually have even worse battery 
life problems.

The keyboard and other buttons are generally considered the standard 
by which all other devices are measured.  The Samsung BlackJack has a 
really good QWERTY keyboard (maybe even slightly better than the Treo 
6xx/7xx series), but the other buttons are useless -- the D-pad in 
particular is very slick and gives you no feedback at all, and the 
other buttons are clearly designed for show and not for real-world 
use.


If you have to use Verizon or Sprint, then you probably want the Treo 
700p -- it's better than the Treo 650 and has some advantages over 
the Treo 680, but also some significant drawbacks compared to the 
Treo 680.

On Cingular/at&t, the Treo 680 is the obvious choice.  On t-mobile, 
you should be able to buy a Treo 680 without activation at a Cingular 
store, and swap the SIM.


Frankly, in my experience the Treos really aren't that good.  There's 
lots of things wrong with them.

Problem is, they're still better than anything else I've tried.

-- 
Brad Knowles <brad@shub-internet.org>, Consultant & Author
LinkedIn Profile: <http://tinyurl.com/y8kpxu>
Slides from Invited Talks: <http://tinyurl.com/tj6q4>