Should I get a smart phone?
What are they? Smart phones essentially eliminate the need for two separate devices by combining cell phone and PDA functions in one unit. While prices have gone down slightly in recent months, they are are generally more expensive than standard handsets and you can expect to pay anywhere between
Why do I want one? They're most appropriate if you spend most of your time away from the office meeting and need to sync or have access to your e-mails, contacts and appointments. They also come packed with tons of useful features, including a speakerphone, a keyboard, Bluetooth, an infrared port and a camera. With increasingly more onboard multimedia features and cheaper flash memory cards, smart phones have become great companions for mobile entertainment, from picture and music playback to games and video.
The average user can live with the more rudimentary contact features within their cell phones or continue to use a separate PDA if they've already purchased one. If you are looking at phones with more than just the standard PIM features, a smart phone's probably the way to go. What else should I know? Keep in mind that in addition to the expense and size off the device, if you go the smart phone route, you'll need a plan that can accommodate the extra data usage involved in sending e-mail and surfing the Web. All the major carriers should provide various data plans for mobile users. Also, if your smart phone supports Wi-Fi access, check to see if your carrier offers monthly Wi-Fi plans. Otherwise, you can take advantage of free Wi-Fi hot spots. Operating systems Windows Mobile 6 Pros: Mobile versions of Microsoft Office applications; seamless integration with Outlook; wide range of brands to choose from. Cons: Steeper learning curve than Palm OS. Major handset brands: HTC, O2, HP. Palm OS Pros: Easy to use; large pool of third-party applications. Cons: No support for 3G; limited choice of devices. Major handset brand: Palm. Symbian Pros: Lots of available devices; works well with Bluetooth and IrDA; tight mobile Java integration. Cons: No uniform interface across different devices. Major handset brands: Nokia, Sony Ericcson. Linux Pros: Easy to customize and relatively inexpensive. Cons: Not as popular. Major handset brand: Motorola. | ||||||||||||
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