Blueteething
After too long an absence, I'm online again with my mobile device. I've had a few mobile Internet devices before, convergent devices like the Pocket PC Phone Edition and Microsoft Smartphone, and I've spent enough time troubleshooting Treo issues that I feel like I've owned one. This time, I'm doing something different. I'm going with a "two body" solution, tied with Bluetooth.
I've been a proponent of Bluetooth PANs (Personal Area Networks) for a while, even though I haven't really been able to do much with them myself. My first Bluetooth device was the Zodiac, which I only got this summer. (Actually, I had a Tungsten T3 for two weeks before that, but I really only had it long enough to know that I did not like the battery life, or lack thereof.) But shortly before getting a Bluetooth PDA, I switched to Sprint from T-Mobile, and Sprint doesn't officially offer any Bluetooth phones. Sprint, like Verizon, uses the CDMA cellular protocol, which while offering better signal quality than the more widespread GSM, also draws more power. Puttng Bluetooth in a CDMA cell phone is supposed to offer substandard battery life, which is why no one offered Bluetooth phones from Sprint or Verizon. That's changed a little recently with the Motorola V710 from Verizon and an LG phone coming out in the indeterminate future from Sprint, but phone afficianados know that there actually was a Sprint Bluetooth phone earlier in the year, if you knew who to ask.
This is the Sony Ericsson T608, a CDMA cousin to the popular GSM T68i and T610. It was only available to business customers and by request, never really advertized. But I recently managed to acquire one of these beauties (thanks, Bob!) and while my PAN is not yet complete (I'd like to add a Bluetooth headset and GPS), it's a lot more functional than it was.
In case you've been hiding under a rock for the last few years, Bluetooth is a short range radio technology that takes the place of cables. Think of it as either wireless USB or a radio-based infrared that doesn't need line of sight. Bluetooth-enabled devices can share resources without being physically connected. I can sync my Zodiac via Bluetooth without getting up off my couch, and now I can not only dial the phone from the Zodiac, I can get on the internet from the Zodiac without even taking the phone out of my pocket. As long as I have my cell phone on me (and what 21st century American doesn't?) I have internet connectivity anytime, anywhere. WiFi? I don't need no stinkin' WiFi!
Case in point. Last night, I went to go see "The Incredibles," Pixar's new movie (very good, btw). I recognized most of the voice actors, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, but I couldn't place the voice of Bob, the main character. I pulled out my Zodiac, and with my phone still in my pocket, connected to the internet and brought up the Incredibles page on the Internet Movie Database. Once I knew Bob was voiced by Craig T. Nelson, I could go back to watching the movie without distraction. I should point out that there was no WiFi in the theater, so it wouldn't have done me any good to have a WiFi-enabled device.
Pairing with a Bluetooth phone has completely changed the way I use my Zodiac. I've said it before: a connected PDA is a different experience than an unconnected PDA.
How did I get this set up? I'll give you some tips and tricks in my next article.
I've been a proponent of Bluetooth PANs (Personal Area Networks) for a while, even though I haven't really been able to do much with them myself. My first Bluetooth device was the Zodiac, which I only got this summer. (Actually, I had a Tungsten T3 for two weeks before that, but I really only had it long enough to know that I did not like the battery life, or lack thereof.) But shortly before getting a Bluetooth PDA, I switched to Sprint from T-Mobile, and Sprint doesn't officially offer any Bluetooth phones. Sprint, like Verizon, uses the CDMA cellular protocol, which while offering better signal quality than the more widespread GSM, also draws more power. Puttng Bluetooth in a CDMA cell phone is supposed to offer substandard battery life, which is why no one offered Bluetooth phones from Sprint or Verizon. That's changed a little recently with the Motorola V710 from Verizon and an LG phone coming out in the indeterminate future from Sprint, but phone afficianados know that there actually was a Sprint Bluetooth phone earlier in the year, if you knew who to ask.
This is the Sony Ericsson T608, a CDMA cousin to the popular GSM T68i and T610. It was only available to business customers and by request, never really advertized. But I recently managed to acquire one of these beauties (thanks, Bob!) and while my PAN is not yet complete (I'd like to add a Bluetooth headset and GPS), it's a lot more functional than it was.
In case you've been hiding under a rock for the last few years, Bluetooth is a short range radio technology that takes the place of cables. Think of it as either wireless USB or a radio-based infrared that doesn't need line of sight. Bluetooth-enabled devices can share resources without being physically connected. I can sync my Zodiac via Bluetooth without getting up off my couch, and now I can not only dial the phone from the Zodiac, I can get on the internet from the Zodiac without even taking the phone out of my pocket. As long as I have my cell phone on me (and what 21st century American doesn't?) I have internet connectivity anytime, anywhere. WiFi? I don't need no stinkin' WiFi!
Case in point. Last night, I went to go see "The Incredibles," Pixar's new movie (very good, btw). I recognized most of the voice actors, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, but I couldn't place the voice of Bob, the main character. I pulled out my Zodiac, and with my phone still in my pocket, connected to the internet and brought up the Incredibles page on the Internet Movie Database. Once I knew Bob was voiced by Craig T. Nelson, I could go back to watching the movie without distraction. I should point out that there was no WiFi in the theater, so it wouldn't have done me any good to have a WiFi-enabled device.
Pairing with a Bluetooth phone has completely changed the way I use my Zodiac. I've said it before: a connected PDA is a different experience than an unconnected PDA.
How did I get this set up? I'll give you some tips and tricks in my next article.
1 Comments:
At 3:59 PM, Anonymous said…
I'll tell you, I like the idea of Bluetooth, but it is also a little scary.
Say, for example, I am on a top-secret mission for the U.S. government with some secret files in my Palm Zire 72. I've got a Bluetooth enabled phone so it is easy for me to stay in touch with my superiors back in Langley and also to send email to my aunt in Ohio--all as I wander the streets of Cuba.
Now what if I meet an attractive soviet operative and she wants me to embrace her. In doing so, I acidentally hit a button that sends top secret information into the soviet operative's phone, and I don't even know it--when she gets home, she finds all the files she was looking to steal, beamed magically into her phone as our Personal Area Networks collided. At the same time, I accidentally hit the picture button on the Palm Zire 72 and send a photograph of me and the soviet operative kissing to my aunt in Ohio. My aunt, of course, is scandalized.
(Of course, this situation is ridiculous, as I would never use a Palm Zire 72, only a Palm Zire 21).
Case in point, personal are networks are dangerous. Get a Palm Zire 21.
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