Travel Technology - Best phone/internet/email/pda combo device?

I carry lots of devices because I've yet to be happy with any of the combo devices I've seen.

At the same time, I long for a device that amalgamates all the different uses that I have for technology and packages them conveniently in a single portable item.

I carry my phone, my blackberry, my palm, my laptop....

But I would love to be able to get my email, check the web (esp google, mapquest, flyertalk, maybe a travel booking engine, and some blogs), talk on the phone, organize my calendar, and take notes on all one device.

Has ANYBODY been happy with a true combo?

I'm not much of a techie. I'm just a standard 'ol user. And oh by the way I could care less about having a digital camera in my phone.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gleff:
I carry lots of devices because I've yet to be happy with any of the combo devices I've seen.

At the same time, I long for a device that amalgamates all the different uses that I have for technology and packages them conveniently in a single portable item.

I carry my phone, my blackberry, my palm, my laptop....

But I would love to be able to get my email, check the web (esp google, mapquest, flyertalk, maybe a travel booking engine, and some blogs), talk on the phone, organize my calendar, and take notes on all one device.

Has ANYBODY been happy with a true combo?

I'm not much of a techie. I'm just a standard 'ol user. And oh by the way I could care less about having a digital camera in my phone.</font>

I like my Blackberry the best. But I like my Kyocera smartphone for the Palm apps. If I were buying today, and if it was offered through Verizon, I'd probably buy the 7230 Blackberry only.

Then again, the new Treo 600 looks good.

The big thing, though, is that you can't just do with "one" device that is good for taking notes, because of the keyboard issue. I have a portable keyboard for my Smartphone but it is too much hassle to hook it up and I don't use it much. So when I need to, I take my little laptop with me to take notes, otherwise I use my BB and my Smartphone. I would drop the Smartphone and just go with the BB if I wanted only one device, but would still use the laptop.

[This message has been edited by richard (edited 09-21-2003).]

There still isn't the "perfect" device out there...

Danger Sidekick is great for email, just like the blackberry it uses "push" email so it's delivered without any hassle but sucks as a phone

SonyEricsson P800 is a great phone with some wonderful apps but it's email client sucks and it's still not 100% stable

Treo600 is cute but I find the screen a little small, phone functionality is not too bad but also rather limited...

Blackberry 7XXX series is a decent option but I'd rather see the next generations have some more multimedia options in them

So how long do I have to wait for the killer app?

I've been holding off and holding off... still working with a 4 year old phone (one of the 1st w/ internet, but it isn't really useable), a 2 year old blackberry, etc. I keep saying that I won't upgrade until there's a device that integrates the things I'm looking for.

Cost within a few standard deviations isn't an issue -- I just haven't wanted to make baby steps...

Thanks Richard and Scott!

You and me both, gleff!!

I've been waiting for ever since 1997 when the first Palm Pilot became popular.

Cellphones have come a long way, but PDA's still have not.

And I find digital cameras on cell phones extremely useless, worse than a cheap gimmick.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gleff:
So how long do I have to wait for the killer app?

I've been holding off and holding off... still working with a 4 year old phone (one of the 1st w/ internet, but it isn't really useable), a 2 year old blackberry, etc. I keep saying that I won't upgrade until there's a device that integrates the things I'm looking for.

Cost within a few standard deviations isn't an issue -- I just haven't wanted to make baby steps...

Thanks Richard and Scott!</font>

The real "killer app" still isn't there. All you can do is consider consolidating your devices. SO:

You have a phone, palm and blackberry

You can merge the phone and palm into the Treo600. There is no substitute for the blackberry really as the treo still won't have the realtime email functions.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by UALOneKPlus:
And I find digital cameras on cell phones extremely useless, worse than a cheap gimmick.</font>

Lots of people seem to really dig 'em. It's just not what I'm looking for in a productivity device.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ScottC:
There is no substitute for the blackberry really as the treo still won't have the realtime email functions. </font>

Here's where I show my hideous luddite nature. The above is a surprise to me. I thought it was meant to merge email/internet/pda/phone?

And what about PocketPC devices that incorporate phones?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gleff:
And what about PocketPC devices that incorporate phones?</font>

Same thing really, all other devices like the Treo, PocketPC phone edition, Microsoft Smartphone and SonyEricsson P800 rely on PULL email e.g. making a POP connection to your ISP. Only the Blackberry devices and the Danger Sidekick offer an "always on" email connection with PUSH email. The Nokia 6800 should be coming with a Blackberry client soon but that phone has been reviewed as being "crap".

The value of the Blackberry, to me, as the best combo device, is that it integrates the device itself, with the airtime and with the software services -- e.g. browsing, push mail.

The Treo and similar devices can run POP3 email and poll an email account but the whole thing is a kludge rather than a full system.

For instance, I found using my Smartphone for email was okay on short trips, but I ended up using the mail2web site for email, and although it worked it was less than satisfactory wrt attachments, speed, convenience, etc.

With the BB, the whole system works fairly well. Most important, it is a great phone and superior instant email, with AOL IM thrown in. It all works (most of the time now at least http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ScottC:
Same thing really, all other devices like the Treo, PocketPC phone edition, Microsoft Smartphone and SonyEricsson P800 rely on PULL email e.g. making a POP connection to your ISP. Only the Blackberry devices and the Danger Sidekick offer an "always on" email connection with PUSH email. The Nokia 6800 should be coming with a Blackberry client soon but that phone has been reviewed as being "crap".

</font>

But aren't most people "pulling" their email in the same way from their home or office PC? This is how most people use outlook, right, by polling POP3 servers?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by divaof travel:
But aren't most people "pulling" their email in the same way from their home or office PC? This is how most people use outlook, right, by polling POP3 servers?</font>

Yes. But on the road it's easier to have email pushed to you. I have my outlook at home setup to check every minute, doing a POP check every minute over a GPRS connection will generate huge amounts of traffic. The technologies behind the Blackberry and Sidekick are much more efficient.

I originally thought the Sidekick was going to be the ideal combo. After having one almost since it was released (nearly a year), I can tell you that it's pretty good for email and web; nothing like having a real keyboard including a row of number keys to type on. (The Palm/Handspring keyboards lack the dedicated number row instead settling for only 3 rows of keys.) Typing with the thumbs takes a little getting used to, but one can get pretty quick at it. The Sidekick is also pretty good for holding names and addresses. Its phone features are wanting, though. It's just not reasonable to hold the device up to your head. It works okay on headset, but it's also not the best signal grabber. And it lacks things like reminder beeps when you missed a call or got a new message. Beeps once and that's it. It's not a bad device, but it's biased towards data use not phone use.

I've recently picked up a Nokia 3650 (free after rebate on Amazon), and this makes for a better combo biased towards phone use. It can do all the same things and more, but you lose the alpha keyboard. I'm not sure it's a huge loss. I'm thinking of cancelling my Sidekick's service when its contract is up next month. The 3650 probably has even better contact features plus the added benefit of Bluetooth and IR connectivity to sync address books and such. (Sidekick can only sync with its web interface.) The 3650 is a tri-band world phone and pulls signals in well. I've never had a dropped call with it (this is on T-Mobile). It's not a small phone, but it's no bigger/heavier than the Sidekick, really. (In fact, I think it's lighter.) Battery lasts longer than the Sidekick. (Sidekick eats battery because of that always-on connection.) Still, even the 3650 is leaving some things to be desired. The reminders after a new message or missed call seem to be too quiet or missing at times, for one. I was hoping with a "phone" instead of the Sidekick this would be better. My old Qualcomm Thin Phone did a heckuva lot better job at notification if I was out of hearing range when the phone rang. Instead it seems I'm retraining myself to look at the phone more often.

One thing is clear, though: the Sidekick is the most cost-effective way to have that sort of data capability. On Amazon the price of the color unit is down to the price of the original greyscale unit: $200. And you can get unlimited data-only service for $30/month. That plus a phone might be the best way to go if you really need maximum use of both sides rather than biased towards internet or biased towards phone. There will be issues with that, though, like no easy way to get the same address book on both.

Looks like we'll be waiting still a bit longer for the ideal ideal solution. Getting closer, but not quite there.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ScottC:
Yes. But on the road it's easier to have email pushed to you. I have my outlook at home setup to check every minute, doing a POP check every minute over a GPRS connection will generate huge amounts of traffic. The technologies behind the Blackberry and Sidekick are much more efficient.</font>

I suppose I could see some people needing to check their email every minute, but I think the majority of us don't. I think IM would replace some of the need for minute by minute email. I also suppose that the thumbpad is useful if you want to send a lot of email.

Personally, I prefer grafitti to the thumbpad, but I don't enter a lot of data. I reserve this for my laptop with Wi-Fi

I have a Kyocera 7135, which I like because it works like a phone when you need it to (e.g you don't have to dial on the touch screen.) I can check my email pretty quickly, and send short replies. It is still not very functional for anything more than the most basic of web browsing.