e-St. Louis: My first smart phone: Will it be love at first vibe?
by Deborah Giljum and Lisa Holmes
02-08-2008

Beware: Smartphones are addicting for true workaholics. That’s why Blackberries are called “crackberries.” Really, it used to be so hard to work on the go. You had to lug around a phone, a battery-swilling PDA, and perhaps a laptop with all the cables, wires, modem cards, cases etc. Why carry around all those contraptions when you can slip one small device into your purse or pocket, and be ready to go? With one smartphone, you can be productive while you’re exercising, skydiving--or even stuck in the White Castle drive-thru! For those of us who can’t seem to stop working -- or who just like to stay on top of everything in our lives, getting a Smartphone makes a lot of sense. To get the right Smartphone for you, ask yourself these questions:

Do you just want a device with phone, e-mail, calendar, and contacts, or do you want a device that features everything but the kitchen sink tech to turn the Joneses green with digital envy? How big a device are you willing to carry around? Traditionally, the more a device can do, the bulkier it will be. That’s not to say that the high-power devices are going to drown you if you fall in the Mississippi; at less than half a pound, they’re easy ballast, but still, you might find a fifth of a pound even better.

How much do you want to pay? Take into consideration that not only do you pay for the device, but you’ll pay for some of the services on a monthly basis. E-mail, GPS, Internet access -- they all incur extra charges. Good advice: Get an unlimited data plan. You may think you won’t use more than a set number of megabytes when browsing or downloading, but it’s a very difficult thing to predict. It is much better to have an unlimited plan than to end up with a $700 bill for seven days’ use (true story). Also, check with your work. They may have an Exchange server that you can use for e-mail, and in the case of Microsoft’s Direct Push Technology, it is possible to get Outlook synched wirelessly and instantly. The type of server technology your company employs may influence your purchase. While “push” e-mail (e-mails come to the device as opposed to the device going out to “pull” the e-mails from the server) can be acquired on most new devices, a Blackberry Exchange server normally will not service a Windows Mobile device, and vice versa. The difference between push and pull e-mail is virtually nil for most users. It just depends on whether you want your e-mails the instant they hit your server, or every few minutes.

Once you’ve decided whether you want a basic device or one with all the trimmings, you’re ready to move on to models. This can be quite confusing, but for the first time Smartphone owner, we recommend one of the following:

The Pearl

This is the smallest Blackberry out there. If you want something that is basic and very user-friendly, then you may prefer the Pearl. It’s sleek, small and looks like a regular cell phone because it does not have a full-sized keyboard. Older Blackberry models with full size keyboards tended to look like bricks, and were far more awkward to use as a phone.

The Blackberries out on the market now can do almost anything a device running Windows Mobile 6 (WM6) can do. The software is a little basic, but if you decide that you want be able to edit and save documents, you can always download third-party applications (handango.com) to make your Blackberry perform more like other WM 6 smartphones. However, if you need to routinely open and edit Microsoft documents, the Pearl’s smaller screen makes that a rather cramped affair, and the lack of a full-sized keyboard may hinder fast texting and editing.

The Treo

The Treo has the basic “Palm Pilot” build, rectangular with (or without) an antenna and stylus. Different Treos can be purchased with most standard smartphone features, but the Treo line has not been on front of the technology curve for quite a while. It runs on one of two operating systems, depending on the model you buy. Some Treos do run on WM6, but we’ll discuss those that run on the Palm operating system (Palm OS) here.

The Palm OS is to WM6 what the Macintosh is to the PC. The Palm OS will not run Microsoft programs without 3rd party software, and it doesn’t synch very reliably with an exchange server, if that’s what your work uses. Palm users feel that the Palm OS devices are simpler to use and maintain, but it really depends on how computer-savvy you are. If you are comfortable on a PC, it may be harder to adjust to the Palm OS. However, if you’re comfortable on a Macintosh, or not very computer-savvy on PCs, you may prefer the user-friendly nature of the Palm devices. Consider, too, that the Palm devices tend to be less expensive than Windows Mobile devices.

The Tilt

At&T’s Tilt (and other top-flight WM6 phones like Sprint’s Mogul) simply have everything a businessman or businesswoman could possibly want. It comes with GPS, WiFi, stereo Bluetooth, GPS and so on. Since it does run on WM6, you will have the ability to edit and save Microsoft documents. As with all Windows Mobile devices, the screen will be similar to your desktop personal computer, and you may like that familiarity. Also, while the screens are typically larger and considerably easier to read on Windows Mobile tilt devices, the Tilt usually has the biggest screen of all. Other factors to consider include the build: The Tilt has two connecting pieces-- the keyboard, and the screen. You can set it down like a tiny laptop, with the keyboard lying flat and the screen tilted up. If you love working on the computer, carrying a tiny version around with you when you go out might ease your PC withdrawal symptoms, but there is a very steep learning curve with WM6 machines, and yes, they do crash and occasionally suffer performance issues when switching between applications, just like windows.

Whatever model you choose, however, remember that technology is constantly changing and --usually-- improving. Some of the features you would like to have now may be standard in the near future or easier to obtain in the not-so-distant future. Shop around; don’t settle on the first device you see. Do some research; if possible, talk to people who own the devices you’re considering, and don’t forget to bug salespeople, read online reviews and scour technology forums.

Lisa’s recommendation: The Pearl for its simplicity, ease of use, and streamlined stylishness,

Debbie’s recommendation: WM6 tilt machines because of its WM6 operating system, larger screens, and laptop-like build.

You can e-mail tech-related questions to Lisa and Debbie at crtl_alt_divas@hotmail.com.

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