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Catching Up to the Future
March 6, 2003
The handheld industry certainly has come a long way, hasn’t it? The first devices didn’t even have backlit screens, and they certainly weren’t color. Now we have an amazing array of choices: color or mono screen, 2MB to 16MB of memory, Bluetooth, integrated cameras and keyboards, you name it. I can imagine that for the first time buyer, choosing the right handheld can be a very difficult task. And things just got a little bit harder— handheld, handheld connected to a phone by cable/Bluetooth, or integrated Palm OS Device/phone, all in one unit. Which to choose?
I recently got a Kyocera 7135 Palm-Powered Smartphone, and everything I thought I knew about Palm OS devices went out the window. I have never had wireless access with a Palm OS device, integrated or not. I just struggled along with my handheld (most recently a Tungsten T) and my trusty little Nokia 3360, and life was fine—or so I thought. But the “Kyo” as I call it, opened up entirely new horizons for me as soon as it was activated. Suddenly I could travel that much lighter— one small device, instead of at least two at all times. It became possible to leave the house with nothing more than my keys, my Kyo, and a credit card. I could still check my schedule, play games, read a bood, and make phone calls. What freedom!
But there’s a whole lot more to it than that. Since the Kyocera 7135 is also a “SmartPhone” it can handle data as well. People have been reading their email on their handhelds by connecting them to wireless phones for quite a while, but a new dimension was recently added with the first public release of SnapperMail. After having been through their press demo, all I can say is WOW! Finally we have an all in one solution; almost everything the road warrior needs is out there. That isn’t to say that there isn’t any room for improvement, because of course there always will be. But things are certainly looking good.
Why do I say that? Because SnapperMail, in combination with Quickoffice Premier, supports native file formats: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint attachments in email. No desktop conversion or conduit required! You can even beam the attachments you receive straight to a laptop via infrared. Traveling for business, and forget an important proposal? No problem, as long as you can get someone to email it to you. Or are you traveling for pleasure, and you want to send some photos to your family and friends back home? You can do that too, assuming you happen to have a digital camera that uses the same memory card format as your handheld. Thankfully SnapperMail comes with HandZipper Lite, which allows you to receive zipped attachments. JPegWatch Lite is included as well, so you can view JPG files. If you need a bit more power, you can also use AcidImage as your photo viewer— it also supports the gif and bmp formats. Or if you need a little less, you can use Diddlebug 2.6, which is also included with SnapperMail. You can send handwritten notes, drawings, and maps to anyone by email, in the PNG format.
I’ve been experimenting with all of this for a couple of weeks now, and I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to go back to a non-wireless Palm OS device. It’s simply too convenient (and addicting) to be able to check my mail at any time, surf a few web sites, check movie listings at the last minute, or even do some comparison shopping while I’m at the electronics store. My cellular calls are even clearer too, since I switched providers— Can you hear me now? The only problem I have is whether or not I can actually trust a single integrated device. After all, if the battery charge failed in either my Tungsten or my Nokia, it wasn’t the end of the world. I still had either my handheld or my cell phone. But if I run out of juice with my Kyo, it’s all gone at once. There are a few tradeoffs as well, since the screen on the Kyo is a bit smaller than some other handhelds, and it isn’t hi res. But there’s a lot to be said for having everything you need in one compact little package— I’m finally catching up to the future, and it’s better than I ever imagined.
