• Bio |
• Writing |
• Speaking |
• Diary |
• Archive |
• Contact

Follow @lynneluvah

« Previous Entry | Main Diary | Next Entry »

01.06.05 01:20 AM

the gadgets you'd love to have, or not

Sidekick II
This is a gadget that makes so much sense, yet it's still a little on the large side with dimensions of 5.1 x 2.6 x 0.9 inches. It's currently a TMobile only device, and with the $100 off, for a total of $199 for the device, you're getting it a lot cheaper than I did. It features an integrated camera with flash, speakerphone, 6MB email acct included plus ability to add up to 3 pop or IMAP accounts, even with SSL. It also has both AOL and Yahoo IM, a real web browser and serves as an International phone with Tri-band (1900, 1800, 900 MHz). The unlimited data plan is just $29.99 and if you want to add 600 minutes of talk time, your gonna' pay $59.99. I use this baby religiously. Now it's not all good either. At first, the swivel opening top got the best of me, and those folks who I see using it as a phone with the top open because they don't realize they can talk with it closed irritate me. Yet, since you can't dial #s with it closed maybe for them it makes sense. But if you activate your voice dail, all you gotta' do is use the speakerphone. There's no infrared beaming capability to send contacts to another device, like that old trusty 2Way I used to own, but that was a dinosaur anyway. I'm also really not fond of the fact that it's not bluetooth enabled so that I can use a wireless headset (yes, they have adapters to remedy that nowadays) or to sync any information with my 'puter.

Motorola A630
I'm hoping to take this baby for a spin in the next couple of weeks. When it comes to size, this gadget has others in its class beat for all the features it's loaded with. The dimensions are 3.74 x 1.93 x 0.92 inches, and though I used a friend's recently and liked the way it fit into the palm of my hand, I'm totally unsure about typing on that mini QWERTY keyboard. As a plus, when the top is flipped down for phone usage, the numeric keypad is easily accessible on the front of the phone. It's bluetooth enabled so you can basically keep it hidden while talking. Bluetooth capabilities also include connecting to any PC or MAC and transferring images and other multimedia files, or synchronizing your phonebook, calendar and other vital information via Mobile Phone Tools 2 accessory software - which BTW most folks on message boards say doesn't operate all that well. Some folks have even reported experiencing problems with accessing email. Also a camera phone, the a630 is a lot like the Sidekick. You can send e-mail, picture, and text messages while talking on the speakerphone and chat with your friends using AIM. It also has tri-band phone capabilities for global jet setters. To the best of my knowledge, it's a T Mobile only device and costs around $149.

Ogo
Now this is one of those gadgets that make absolutely no got damned sense to me. It reminds me of those Internet-enabled machines that connect you to the Internet, but don't do much else, or better yet, how about those keyboards you hook up to your TV to send email with. Wack! Ogo comes from AT&T Wireless, also nowadays knows as Cingular, since the merger that is. The device currently costs $79.99 and features unlimited dedicated IM, e-mail, and text messaging for $17.99/monthly. I guess it's cool as a handheld wireless device enabling you to do all those things that you don't want to carry your laptop around all the time for - besides laptops only perform these functions at hotspots anyway. But in these days of the all-in-one devices, this device simply doesn't make complete sense. It looks a little weird, and won't exactly fit into the palm of your hand with dimensions of 4.5 x 2.95 x 0.98 inches. The main problem with Ogo is that you can't use it as a phone and it doesn't have a calendar function. But don't take my word for it though, because my opinion is all based on technical documenation. It's not something I've taken for a test drive yet, and I'm not really interested in doing so anyway.

posted by lynne | link to this |

Sidekick II This is a gadget that makes so much sense, yet it's still a little on the large side with dimensions of 5.1 x 2.6 x 0.9 inches. It's currently a TMobile only device, and with the $100 off, for a total of $199 for the device, you're getting it a lot cheaper than I did. It features an integrated camera with flash, speakerphone, 6MB email acct included plus ability to add up to 3 pop or IMAP accounts, even with SSL. It also has both AOL and Yahoo IM, a real web browser and serves as an International phone with Tri-band (1900, 1800, 900 MHz). The unlimited data plan is just $29.99 and if you want to add 600 minutes of talk time, your gonna' pay $59.99. I use this baby religiously. Now it's not all good either. At first, the swivel opening top got the best of me, and those folks who I see using it as a phone with the top open because they don't realize they can talk with it closed irritate me. Yet, since you can't dial #s with it closed maybe for them it makes sense. But if you activate your voice dail, all you gotta' do is use the speakerphone. There's no infrared beaming capability to send contacts to another device, like that old trusty 2Way I used to own, but that was a dinosaur anyway. I'm also really not fond of the fact that it's not bluetooth enabled so that I can use a wireless headset (yes, they have adapters to remedy that nowadays) or to sync any information with my 'puter. Motorola A630 I'm hoping to take this baby for a spin in the next couple of weeks. When it comes to size, this gadget has others in its class beat for all the features it's loaded with. The dimensions are 3.74 x 1.93 x 0.92 inches, and though I used a friend's recently and liked the way it fit into the palm of my hand, I'm totally unsure about typing on that mini QWERTY keyboard. As a plus, when the top is flipped down for phone usage, the numeric keypad is easily accessible on the front of the phone. It's bluetooth enabled so you can basically keep it hidden while talking. Bluetooth capabilities also include connecting to any PC or MAC and transferring images and other multimedia files, or synchronizing your phonebook, calendar and other vital information via Mobile Phone Tools 2 accessory software - which BTW most folks on message boards say doesn't operate all that well. Some folks have even reported experiencing problems with accessing email. Also a camera phone, the a630 is a lot like the Sidekick. You can send e-mail, picture, and text messages while talking on the speakerphone and chat with your friends using AIM. It also has tri-band phone capabilities for global jet setters. To the best of my knowledge, it's a T Mobile only device and costs around $149. Ogo Now this is one of those gadgets that make absolutely no got damned sense to me. It reminds me of those Internet-enabled machines that connect you to the Internet, but don't do much else, or better yet, how about those keyboards you hook up to your TV to send email with. Wack! Ogo comes from AT&T Wireless, also nowadays knows as Cingular, since the merger that is. The device currently costs $79.99 and features unlimited dedicated IM, e-mail, and text messaging for $17.99/monthly. I guess it's cool as a handheld wireless device enabling you to do all those things that you don't want to carry your laptop around all the time for - besides laptops only perform these functions at hotspots anyway. But in these days of the all-in-one devices, this device simply doesn't make complete sense. It looks a little weird, and won't exactly fit into the palm of your hand with dimensions of 4.5 x 2.95 x 0.98 inches. The main problem with Ogo is that you can't use it as a phone and it doesn't have a calendar function. But don't take my word for it though, because my opinion is all based on technical documenation. It's not something I've taken for a test drive yet, and I'm not really interested in doing so anyway.