Cingular 8100 - initial impressions
I returned from a trip to Silicon Valley last week to find my new Cingular 8125 PDA Phone was finally ready. So far, I’ve been fairly impressed and think that it will serve quite well for both work-related and non-work tasks. Blackberry mania has made its way into my company and I had been trying to avoid getting one with the hope that a true PocketPC device would be approved for use. Finally, corporate IT approved the Cingular 8100.
As for it being a functional device for work:
- Email integration is very good.
- Phone reports have been “ok”
- Ability to “tether” to a laptop in a pinch is a big plus (use the phone as a datamodem for the PC)
- Guys struggling with fat-fingers on Blackberry PDAs are jealous when they see the sliding keyboard
- Battery life is less than I’d hoped
- Ability to connect various ways is great. For example, on the road… use the EDGE network (GSM - GPRS). At a hotel or airport or in an office with free WIFI, use the built-in WIFI! Have a PC connected to broadband? Use ActiveSync to network.
- Ability to use attachments is much better than Blackberry. (for example, Excel spreadsheets)
- There are some great apps that should make business trips a bit easier. For example, lost? Use a mapping service website (mapquest.com) or check out the Virtual Earth Mobile project (cool and free!).
Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to use the 8100 for ham activities in the coming weeks. I can certainly see that it will be beneficial in terms of being able to check packet spots and weather radar (storm chasing?) via the internet connection. I’m also anxious to know whether PocketDigi, PPCMorse and Mobilelog work on Windows Mobile.