Raincity Goes Smartphone Crazy

2005

created on 周二, 2005-06-21 23:38

Robert, Will and I are constantly on the lookout for ways to enhance our productivity and we like to play with cool toys, so what better way to combine both than buy up three of the smartest phones on the market? Whether we were smart in our purchases, only time will tell.

Selection Predication

Here in Canada, our selection of cell carriers is neither plentiful nor fully featured compared to our friends in Asia, Europe and the USA. This left me with two choices: buy a supported phone or an unlocked world phone with mostly unsupported features.

Telus and Fido say: "We can't possibly compete on features. Aren't we cute though?"

My Choice

I went with the PalmOne Treo 650, purchased for $550 CAD from Rogers Wireless with a hardware upgrade deal.

The 650 met all my basic criteria for an ideal phone (listed here in no particular order):

True PDA Capabilities including date keeping, notes, robust contacts
Camera for Moblogging
Relatively phone-like form factor
QWERTY Keyboard
Bluetooth (for the Powerbook of course)
An OS with more than 12 apps written for it
Relatively modest price

Generally glowing reviews from Mobile PC magazine, CNET.com and a few other sources cinched the deal.

My Bias

I like the Palm OS. It's easy to use, customizable, logical to navigate and best of all unobtrusive (restraint in software engineering doesn't get the attention it deserves). I despise Symbian, so the Sony/Ericsson smartphones were out of the question. I'm pretty neutral about PocketPCs not having experienced any since their underpowered, chrome-plated brick days.

Some of my tech savvy friends tried to dissuade me on the 650, citing it's limited camera resolution (0.3 megapixels) and lack of wi-fi, but everyone has a bias in terms of their own needs and usage.

Here's the thing to keep in mind: The Treo 650 can do most of the things you need it to do, none exceptionally well. It's ideal for those like me who wish to supplement rather than replace their digicam, iPod and laptop.

Random Reflection (not to be confused with a review)

Having lived with the 650 for about a week, I have these general feelings to share: