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Comments
our contract is up and my husband is looking at new phones with a new contract ... I'm thinking of combining the old Palm PDA with the cell phone and having one device instead of two ... I haven't done a lot of looking but I was very impressed with the Moto Q ... I use my cell phone as a phone for local calling away from the house and long distance all of the time and some text messaging... I would use the calendar functions for scheduling meetings, etc. I like the way the calendar is displayed on the Moto Q better than the Palm OS.
any comments from users who use those functions on a cell phone?
What I like about BlackBerry is that they are very easy to use. The e-mail is pushed to you. I'm able to train a non-tech-savvy executive on how to use it in mere minutes. That's the big plus - very small learning curve.
The unlimited data plan adds $20 per month, but it's unlimited so e-mail your heart away. We all know how quickly you can type, just get a full keyboard if you plan to do that a lot. The fee includes chat usage as well, so ICQ, AIM, Yahoo or MSN Messenger are also free.
Texting (MMS) is not free, however, at least on the T-Mobile plan we got.
Another cool thing is you can use your BlackBerry as a modem. We use it at the beach. We have no land line and no internet service there, so we use ours as both a phone and for dial-up style internet. The speeds are 115 kbps vs. about 48 kbps for dial-up, so nearly 3 times faster plus remember it's free.
It's not quite broadband, but it's tolerable if you just have to read a couple of e-mails or do a little browsing. It works well enough that we do not have to pay for phone or broadband internet at the beach. Right there it pays for itself.
The Curve also has wi-fi capability, so if you can find a router nearby you get quicker service. This helps our international travelers a lot because if you connect to wi-fi it costs the same as a local call, even in, say, Moscow. T-Mobile charges $5 per minute to roam in Moscow, so the savings for us are huge.
The Curve has a 2 megapixel camera, but the quality of the pics are so-so. Fine for recreational use.
The Curve also has Bluetooth stereo, the newer standard. So you can listen to MP3s wirelessly in both ears and still take a call. This may be a bit overkill.
Cons?
* you pay extra for a data plan ($20/month in our case)
* does not include MMS Texting
* internet browser is OK but not great
* not a touch screen like the Palm (but it's lighter and less fragile)
* Verizon has better coverage than T-mobile, but they offer BBerry too
The wife loves it. They call it a "CrackBerry" for a reason, you'll be hooked on it right away, and some people have trouble putting it down and disconnecting.
For her it gives her a lot of freedom, she's not tied down to the office all the time.
You're a Palm user so it will be an adjustment to make the swap.
I have Enterprise service so my calendar works great. I use the alarms and reminders all the time, every single day.
One thing to keep in mind is that I heard Apple may be releasing a software developers kit today or tomorrow and the hope is that 3rd parties will now be able to develop enterprise based solutions for business users. That would eliminate the biggest roadblock to widespread adoption by corporate users.
The only thing I've heard on the MotoQ is that it's overly complicated to use.
I'm not a big fan of those. No wi-fi, no camera, plus they are larger and heavier. It does have a bigger keyboard and you're right about the GPS.
I installed Google Maps on my Curve, but it can't pinpoint my exact location, it basically finds the location of the cell tower I'm using, which is usually close, but not accurate enough to navigate.
A couple of friends have iPhones and they're very neat for media, not so great as a phone. Plus AT&T service here in DC is the pits - they're the worst of the 4 big carriers.
AT&T is great around here - except at my house. It's a bit ironic since I live in one of the most high tech towns in the Boston burbs but cell service at home is horrible.
I've heard the same about the iPhone - great media, not so great of a phone.
Don't forget the upcoming Garmin Nuviphone. It's not coming out until fall but I eagerly await it.
At your house, just connect to your own wi-fi and you have coverage even at home.
I'm a big fan of Garmin's, in fact I'm on my 3rd. Sold the first one to a co-worker (she's happy, too). Still have a 200W and a c340 that the wife uses.
Garmin has a great interface and is easy to use. Hopefully that translates well in to phone and e-mail service.
Bob has blogged about a couple of docking devices that go in cars, it would be neat if Subaru could partner with Garmin to create a dock for its phone.
Around here many folks can't have cameras in their phones - lots of high tech, bio-tech, defense contractors, et al that get a little uptight about taking pictures at work.
Here, too, in a lot of federal buildings you cannot get in with a camera phone.
Same for courtrooms.
So if you practice law (or commit lots of crimes!
He had an audition for Berklee College of Music yesterday, and has one this afternoon for a guitar instructor job at the new branch of The School of Rock.
Matte's standard on the MacBook Pros, but glossy is a no-charge option.
http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/
http://www8.garmin.com/pressroom/mobile/021108a.html
As a phone it works fine- no better or worse than my blackberry. It has an awesome screen so if you use your phone to surf the web there is no better. It also is easily set up to do all your email stuff.
That being said, as an organizer it is not a great replacement for my palm, but neither was my blackberry. My iPhone does sync with Microsoft Outlook so it can be used as a planner, but has some flaws. It does not have a 'to do' list and there is no way to cut and paste, which I find amazing.
I probably wouldn't have bought one on my own but I got mine as a gift.
BTW, it is a great mp3 player too.
I personally would like someone to make a really small phone with bluetooth, no camera, no color screen, with a battery that last for a month! It seems that cell phones are everything but phones now!!
tom
And since the Mac has a much better OS he'll waste less time dealing with 'service packs' and more time playing music! :-)) (sorry, just had to throw that one in!)
tom
rather than deal with screen reflections I'm going to move my office furniture around. To do this properly ( i'll probably throw in a paint job as well) I'll need time. I'll wait and hopefully the Imac will be upgraded by then.
The laptop seemed the better way to start - and I won't have any down time.
I got a 15" 2.4 w/4 gigs of ram. I stayed with the 5400RPM drive for two reasons:
firstly changing the drive would make it a "custom" machine and that would limit the stores ability to repair or replace hardware. Warantee repairs for custom machines need to be done by Apple.
Secondly - I would trade some battery life for the faster drive.
Purchasing from an Apple business consultant was a pleasant experience. The best is that they offer 52 "one to one" weekly instruction lessons for only $99.
I'm ready to enter the mac world - thanks everyone for all your help.
Charlie
Currently, I have a PPC6700 from Sprint running a non-Sprint ROM of Windows Mobile 6, it runs much better than the OEM ROMs. I've been happy with it for email, calendar, some quick web surfing. Camera on it is not worth using, IMO.
-Brian
Those $99 lessons are a sweet deal & a great way for Apple to retain customers. Most people (myself included) don't utilize technology to its full capabilities. I think when someone does, they're much more likely to be satisfied by the product. Unfortunately, my nearest Apple store isn't close enough to make it convenient, and my work/family schedule doesn't really allow for much extra right now. Hope they keep offering it at that price for a few years.
Yes I went with the matte screen.
It's cheaper to add the ram at purchase. You are credited for the standard 2 gigs vs tossing them later on.
My first one on one will be when I pick up the computer. They are loading software and my files (no charge). I intend to take full advantage of these lessons.
My Apple store has also started monthly business networking sessions for people to share how they use their macs.
I think Apple will offer these opportunities for a while as they still have a lot of market share to gain.
In the last few years Apple has offered deals in summer and fall of student discounts and a free (actually a rebate) iPod nano (or equivalent credit towards a different iPod), along with a printer rebate.
1.5 years ago both my daughters got new MacBooks, iPods, and printers. We got them mid-summer so they could get comfortable with them before leaving for school. However, there is an advantage of ordering it from the school...you don't have to lug it cross country!
With either one he can't get XP off his Virtual PC disk that he got with MS Office for the Mac. Long involved instructions since the OS is embedded in Virtual PC. I told him just to go buy another copy of the OS and leave me out of it, lol, but he doesn't want to spring the ~$300 for another copy of XP.
They also announced that a VC firm has created a $100 million fund - dubbed iFund - for investing in companies that will develop products for the iPhone.
RIM should be looking over it's shoulder - amazingly, the iPhone has 28% of the smart phone market vs. RIM's 41% and that's with little coporate business. Now that Apple is targeting the corporate world, they could make some major in-roads. IMHO, look for a more affordable iPhone soon.
The 8700g was an improvement over the 7290, that's when they added the BlackBerry-as-a-modem feature and quad band.
The Curve is a big step up from the 8700g, also. It added the camera, wi-fi, bluetooth stereo, MP3, better screen, etc.
They've come a long way in the past couple of years.
Not using his head, he decided to do some sand driving with his Outback Sport and promptly got stuck. Having never driven in soft sand before, he gunned the engine, and sank the car up to the chassis. Fortunately a "local" was coming off the beach with a "legit" off-road vehicle, and was able to tow him out.
Hard lesson learned—but it was learned nevertheless.
Bob
Did he even air down the tires? Plus those have, what 6" of clearance, if that?
Bob
(haven't we all been "there" with our kids at least once ?!)
Bob
IRT "locals" and their "legit" off-road vehicles... near where I was stopped, one of them had somehow managed to get stuck right at the surf line... and the tide was coming in! There were several guys working to get it unstuck but it was pretty well dug in. I wanted to hang around to see the outcome but the wife was far more interested in making it back to a the pavement
-Frank
BTW, I never got my old "Exploder" stuck, and I've had it out on the beach a number of times. :P
Bob
Could have been much worse Bob.
I think once more people start writing programs for the iPhone it will really take off. They already have released some updates which have improved things and they hopefully will continue to do so.
Have a good weekend everyone!
tom
Hopefully this will address some of the limitations of the iPhone. It sounds like Apple is pretty serious about targeting business users too.
My last one was the 7xxx series which had the abbreviated keyboard. That one was good and was on the EVDO network.
Now I have the 8830 Worldphone and it's great. I have unlimited texting, bought Jivetalk which gives me AIM, YahooIM, and a bunch of other IMs and it runs as good as the computer versions. Googlemaps, like Juice said give you a good starting point for navigating. E-mail is flawless on the Blackberry as well. My favorite feature is the tethering where it acts as a broadband connection on my laptop. It's almost as fast as my home broadband connection. Runs me about $100/mo for the complete setup. It's my only phone
-mike
Motorsports and Modifications Host
Rack it up to a lack of experience, basically.
After that I went to the 8700g, and then to a Curve.
The Curve is a lot better, trust me.
FYI, for newbies, what mike calls "tethering" is what I referred to as "Blackberry-as-a-modem". This is the neat feature that gives my laptop internet access while I'm at the beach, and for free. No paying for broadband at your 2nd property, so long as you have a signal.
I bet paisan uses it at Caroga Lake! :shades:
AT&T has been ok, not as happy with it as with Verizon but coverage wise has been almost as good. And it's nice to be on GSM. Customer service has been better than expected.
The one place the iPhone definitely has the Blackberry beat is the 'cool' factor. It really is a slick piece of design. I am looking forward to more apps being written for it so I can retire my Palm.
tom
I've been looking at them but my son absolutely doesn't want one- he doesn't like hatchbacks. (I suppose this is an American thing?) He'd much rather have and Evo, or a GTR.
The only thing about STIs is I feel I'm too old for one! They're all driven by 20ish year old males! Oh well, I guess that's not too bad company to be in.
tom
Can't wait to see the same thing on a bigger scale (i.e. MS Surface).
Funny thing is I almost like it better as an iTouch - it's the perfect media player. That takes away the disadvantages of the phone (AT&T's poor service here in DC and the heavier size and weight).
Bob
Mark
I agree it does look classier without the huge wing!
tom
I would but there is no coverage up there at all! My cousin's have internet so I shoot a signal from their house over to mine for checking e-mail.
-mike
-mike
Motorsports and Modifications Host
Also found out today my dealer has started doing paintless dent repair... nice!
Tomorrow morning the Tribeca's going back. Hoping to get the wife & child to go out for breakfast, then go to the dealer (which my boy loves anyway!) to get our car & hopefully check out a Forester.
and maybe some of you find yourselves in the same predicament ... I've been teaching for 23 years - in 2 different states, and can't retire yet in either one ...
I'm at the top of the salary scale, and here it's not bad ... about $60,000
so what's the problem? I'm getting so burned out I can't see straight .. trying to figure out if there is something else I can move my considerable skills to ... and still provide for the family ... I'm the major wage-earner in our family ...
anyone have any ideas ?
Bob