Registered: Nov 1999
Location: New York, New York
Posts: 560

Re: Re: belt clip and visorphone

quote:

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Originally posted by Gameboy70
[QUOTE] But for now, I wish someone would come up with a better solution to carrying these things than belt clips.

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__________________
Felipe Garcia
Happy Treo 600 user, so far. Thanx Cingular for having an unlocked phone.

My Treo 600 is my phone, my PDA, my watch, and my MP3 player. Oh yeah, I take a picture once in a while with it. Convergence is such a great thing.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Posts: 9

Too much too late

I'm not sold on this new hybird. The benefits I see from
a cell phone would be light internet related activities.
Normal cell phone use, such as meeting up with a friend,
conducting business, or other such calls does not warrent
a PDA.

How hard would it be to make a simple cable connecting the
major phones to the springboard port? You get the all the
functionality of your normal phone, plus the access, when
needed, for tasks like flight checks or the like.

Any opinions?

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

pmax:

Simple question, but the answers are too involved to reiterate here. There's a very detailed discussion about connecting a cell phone on the RS232 to cellphone connection thread. In addition to the two serial cables that should be available for connecting a cell phone, the SixPak will enable this on selected phones as well.

The VisorPhone comes with a modem, so you won't need to buy a landline modem or a SixPax to connect to the internet. Another key advantage of the VisorPhone is being able to use Graffiti for SMS messaging, as opposed to composing text messages on a numeric keypad (which is awful, even with predictive text entry). I never use SMS on my current phone for this reason, but if I could write messages, I'd use it all the time. The ability to send asynchronous messages is often far more economical, efficient and convenient than voice calling. And with the modem, you have a choice of browsers for connecting to the net; you're not stuck with some horrible WAP microbrowser.

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 308

As I understand this the Visor Phone (if you have an ISP) is just as good as a wireless module, it works a a 14.4 modem where as I belive that the Minstral S is a 19.2 modem, i think that that little itsy bitty bit of speed can be sacrificed because you get a nice cell phoneout of the deal, not to mention that the module is cheeper, smaller and better on battires.


sam

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Sam Kleinman

PocketPCThoughts.com
CollectiveArts
Free-ePress
Musings of a Teal Artist
CollectiveArts TechMusings

"Everybody don't like something and we all don't like you." -- Richard Thompson, Hard Luck Stories

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

quote:

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Originally posted by Celchu19
As I understand this the Visor Phone (if you have an ISP) is just as good as a wireless module, it works a a 14.4 modem where as I belive that the Minstral S is a 19.2 modem, i think that that little itsy bitty bit of speed can be sacrificed because you get a nice cell phoneout of the deal, not to mention that the module is cheeper, smaller and better on battires.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 308

glad someone aggrees with me, now all I need to know is how much the service costs.

__________________
Sam Kleinman

PocketPCThoughts.com
CollectiveArts
Free-ePress
Musings of a Teal Artist
CollectiveArts TechMusings

"Everybody don't like something and we all don't like you." -- Richard Thompson, Hard Luck Stories

Registered: Sep 2000
Location:
Posts: 117

state of technology not ready for me

I will not be looking to converge my PDA with my cell phone unless I am able to do so without sacrificing the ability to expand memory or access other network services WHILE talking on the phone.

Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 22

The Flash demo states...

You can dial into your ISP and browse and check email at 14Kbps. Not screaming fast, but neat nonetheless.

I haven't bought a PDA since my PalmPilot Professional (which I bought after my Palm III was lost), but I think convergence is good. Once the Prism arrives, I'm taking the big dive.

Also, the $299 includes a service plan, so the only addition should be a $15-40 monthly service charge. The more options you add (call waiting, caller ID, three way calling, etc.) the more you'll pay. Basic calling features are in the $15 range in my area, where BellSouth is a major carrier.

Registered: Sep 2000
Location:
Posts: 117

the FAQ states....

That you cannot access programs that require network services. I want to be able to use PQAs while talking on the phone. This is still a ways off. Therefore, I will keep my separate cellphone and will consider getting a wireless IP modem.

Registered: May 2000
Location: Laurel, MD USA
Posts: 26

VisorPhone vs. Minstrel S

I think everyone's missing some big points when considering using the VisorPhone to do dial-up internet access.

1) If you use the VisorPhone to dial-up, then your visor is basically acting as an alternate to a traditional desktop computer - with one big exception - you're using cellular airtime to do this! I have a WAP enabled phone - and when I first come WAP services for my phone I went a bit nuts using it, until I got my cell phone bill and realized all that lovely silly information searching was eating up my airtime.

2) When you use a cellular modem like the Minstrel S, combined with a service like OmniSky, it's not just that you're getting internet access. What you're getting is:
- CONSTANT available connectivity. For example, when
you've got an e-mail, a little notice light on
the modem will blink.

- Web surfing without clipping. You can use the OmniSky
browser to check ANY site, and have it instantly
optimized on the fly to display in the PDA browser.

- Add to that the fact that OmniSky is $40 a month for
unlimited usage, and things start to make more sense.
Also, OmniSky has traditionally given big discounts to
other customers who sign a year contract. (For example,
you can get a $300 Minstrel V modem for $150 with the
rebate.)

The reason I know so much about OmniSky is that as a contractor, I'm just finishing up some work at Aether Systems, one of the companies which owns OmniSky, and whose backbone is used to serve the OmniSky service. (And before anyone asks, NO I can't get you free OmniSky service, I can't even get it for myself! My last day at Aether is tomorrow anyhow!)


3) Now don't get me wrong - the VisorPhone is BEYOND cool. And if I were to have ONLY one springboard, AND didn't have a phone - this would definitely be the one I'd get. But the fact is I DO have a very nice cell phone, which I NEED to be constantly available. What happens when I want to use my HandyGPS, OmniRemote, or SoundsGood? Sure the price of the VisorPhone is high, but for me the real negative is the opportunity cost of not being able to use my other modules. I think a cell phone module, to be effective, would have to be your only one.

__________________
--Steven Lacher

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Baltimore MD, USA
Posts: 717

quote:

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Originally posted by Gameboy70
But for now, I wish someone would come up with a better solution to carrying these things than belt clips.

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__________________
<pre> ^<br> /_\ WINCHELL CHUNG Nyrath the nearly wise at the Praeternatural Tower<br> <(*)> [email protected] http://www.ProjectRho.com/home.html<br>/_/|\_\ ABSIT INVIDIA VERBO IDEM SONANS<br> //|\\ -------------------------------------------------------------------<br>SURREAL SAGE SEZ: I'm nobody. Nobody at all. But the secrets of the<br>universe don't mind. They reveal themselves to nobodies who care.<br></pre>

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Baltimore MD, USA
Posts: 717

quote:

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Originally posted by GORDYmac
Also, the $299 includes a service plan, so the only addition should be a $15-40 monthly service charge.

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__________________
<pre> ^<br> /_\ WINCHELL CHUNG Nyrath the nearly wise at the Praeternatural Tower<br> <(*)> [email protected] http://www.ProjectRho.com/home.html<br>/_/|\_\ ABSIT INVIDIA VERBO IDEM SONANS<br> //|\\ -------------------------------------------------------------------<br>SURREAL SAGE SEZ: I'm nobody. Nobody at all. But the secrets of the<br>universe don't mind. They reveal themselves to nobodies who care.<br></pre>

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Redwood City CA
Posts: 472

Re: VisorPhone vs. Minstrel S

quote:

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Originally posted by lacherclp
I think everyone's missing some big points when considering using the VisorPhone to do dial-up internet access.

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

Re: Re: VisorPhone vs. Minstrel S

quote:

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Sounds like overlapping functionality to me -- if you want a continuous internet link on your PDA, get a Minstrel; if you don't see a need to spend a great deal of time on the Internet and you want the cell phone, get the VisorPhone.

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Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Redwood City CA
Posts: 472

Re: Re: Re: VisorPhone vs. Minstrel S

quote:

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Originally posted by Gameboy70
As someone who had every intention of getting the Minstrel, I don't see the advantage over the VisorPhone. I don't see what the amount of time you spend on the internet has to do with it.

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 16

battery life

What about battery life for the Visor?

I wonder how fast will the Visor phone eat up your battery. Or will it contain a battery pack for it self. If the battery consumption is large then it would seem pointless to use it as a regular cell phone since Visor is not rechargable yet.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

Re: battery life

quote:

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Originally posted by hcj13
What about battery life for the Visor?

I wonder how fast will the Visor phone eat up your battery. Or will it contain a battery pack for it self. If the battery consumption is large then it would seem pointless to use it as a regular cell phone since Visor is not rechargable yet.

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Do files get embarrassed when they get unzipped?

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 1

anybody know when a version of a visorphone for asia, will be available.... i read somewhere that it will be available by 2001...i cant wait anymore....

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: at work...
Posts: 736

Re: Re: VisorPhone vs. Minstrel S

quote:

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Originally posted by John Nowak
Personally, I don't see the problem with being able to use one Springboard at a time -- I really doubt that I'm going to be talking on the phone while simultaniously listening to MP3s, but I could see that someone who does need a cell phone which offers 24/7 availability would be better off with a separate unit.

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Registered: Jun 2000
Location:
Posts: 24

I think the Visor Phone is a great idea. I don't think that I going to run out out and get one just yet. I remember when I saw my first Palm, then the Palm Pilot 1000. I thought it was a really neat gadget that would satisfy my needs for a good organizer. At the time though I thought they were a bit pricey. I waited and bought one when the price came down. Now I'm a big fan. I look at the Visor phone in the same fashion, I think it has a usefule purpose, but the price just isn't right, at least for me, yet. I can see in a year or two this will mature into a much better product, but the point is that it has to start somewhere. Part of introducing new products is to release them to the mass market and adjust the design as the market dictates, you can only get some much done with beta testing.

The one thing that would make sense to me though would be to have a solution (wired or wireless) that allowed you to interface with your current cell phone and send a phone number from your Visor address book to the phone to dial. As I see it cell phones have a great form factor for a phone, the Visor has great form factor for a PDA. Why not marry the two without sacrificing form? Just a though, but I believe it to a be a good one.


-Kevin