I’m formerly an AT&T Wireless subscriber with five phone lines. Since starting with them, the were acquired by Cingular, but never really integrated. This became painfully obvious when a couple of the phones (dropped by my college-age kids one-too-many times) stopped working and needed to be replaced. After visit to what used to be the AT&T Wireless store I learned that in order to replace those phones, I’d need to switch over to Cingular (uh, aren’t you the same company?). This in turn, means new phones for all five lines.
I was pretty content with my old phone, a Nokia with a butterfly keyboard, but I took the opportunity to upgrade to a so-called Smartphone. Part PDA, part phone, the HP iPAQ hw6515 runs Windows Mobile 2003 and works with Cingular’s EDGE data network, promising to give you full-time Internet access at broadband speeds.
I’ve had it for a few days, and I’m mostly impressed. It has a smaller, square screen (240×240) than most PDAs, but this allowed them to add a QWERTY keyboard for easier text entry. I can’t comment on the performance of the EDGE network yet, mainly because I live just beyond the “edge” of the San Diego area coverage. Ironic, isn’t it? No worries, though. I visit the area often enough, and will report the results soon.
With EDGE, I’ll be able run the PPC version of Slingplayer and watch streaming video from my Dish Network satelite service directly on my phone. Why? Because I can. I just hope Slingmedia’s Jeremy Toeman sees fit to add me to the beta test list soon…
One nice surprise. The iPAQ hw6515 has a built-in GPS receiver, allowing me to use it with street navigation software. It includes a license for Microsoft Pocket Streets, but unfortunately (once again) they don’t have maps covering my area. I’m looking for suggestions on the best mapping product, and I’m also curious to learn if I’ll be able to use the GPS capabilities when I go hiking or biking. I’ve found this discussion on Mobility Today, but if you’ve got any experience with GPS apps on a Pocket PC, I’d like to hear from you.
The mobile functionality integrates well with Pocket Outlook (all my contacts are maintained in Outlook already), but I’m still getting used to the interface. You really need to setup speed dial numbers or you’ll spend a lot of time scrolling through your contacts.
The bluetooth functionality worked great. I tested it with my Jabra headset and it worked perfectly. I haven’t setup the hands-free operation yet. This is also a must, as the keypad interface is too complex to use for making calls while driving.
Got a Smartphone? What should I add to get the most from my new phone?
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