vB Easy Archive - Best set up for poor person's pda-like phone?

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Best set up for poor person's pda-like phone?
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Posted by: newfie77

Hi All,

I used to have a pda because I wanted to synch my Outlook calendar (based on my company's exchange server) so I could have it with me on the road. I want that pda calendar-task synching ability in my next cell phone, so here I am in the forums. I'm currently going month to month on Bell until I find a solution.

After a little research, a pda cell phone with a qwerty keyboard is the answer (I found it trying to respond to emails using the pda writing input method)! ... and some of these phones can access the internet so I could read and respond to web-based email too! Sweet, no brainer.

I could also enjoy browsing the web using Bell's Unlimited Mobile Browser (via a WAP browser built into the phone) fuel feature.

... Yet, I don't want to pay the high fees associated with the data plan that I have to take in order to get one of these pda phones at a discounted price. And since I'm on Bell's system, their pda phones will only browse the web using the data plan. People are getting dinged big bills by using their Bell utstarcom 6700 to browse the web. Bell's pda phones do not have the WAP browser and there doesn't appear to be a way to install one on them, and if you did, Bell would still recognize your phone as one of their pda phones and you're getting charged data rates.

I was off looking at Fido's hiptop, but it appears to be in limbo right now, and it's a waiting game to see if it'll come back with its $20.00 month unlimited data plan - a pretty good deal.

Back to Bell for a bit. I'm not that familiar with the non-pda phones and learned that you can get outlook-synching software for Motorola and Samsung phones. This would be a good way to take my calendar on the road, and these phones would be able to use UMB on evdo; a lot faster than the UMB on my current LG250.

A question I have is regarding UMB on one of the new Bell phones:
- Can you access email-based web-mail (hotmail, gmail)?
- With the colour screens and better processors, is the WAP experience better than the text-based one on my old LG250, or is it still text-based, but now it's just in colour?

Does the following type of phone exist: qwerty that'll handle umb for Bell?
Do other providers have what I may be looking for?

Thanks for any feedback,
Craig

Posted by: CQD-dude

The current WAP2 is a serious improvement compared to the old 'black-and-white' WAP 1 but its still a long way from a real computer.

Of course, considering the size of the screens its just ok.

Yes, you can access free email websites (GMail, Yahoo, Hotmail) on the WAP browser. You can even connect on MSN messanger.

There is no phone with a QWERTY keyboard at Bell right now that will allow you to use the 5$ unlimited web browser feature.

Like you said there is some ways to install a WAP browser on the PPC or the Treos. In that case you do still need a data plan BUT WAP browsing use a lot less bandwith than the 'real' web so you would save money this way.

Posted by: newfie77

thanks CQD-dude!

the little tidbit about the WAP browser using less data than a standard browser is good to know.

Take care,
Craig

Posted by: CQD-dude

Quote:

Originally Posted by newfie77

thanks CQD-dude!

the little tidbit about the WAP browser using less data than a standard browser is good to know.

Take care,
Craig

The WAP browsing is however 'uglier' than the 'real' web. This is way it uses less data.

Posted by: TelecomZombie

Get Opera mini for free!
Not guaranteed to work on all phones

http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/operamini/phones/

Unlimited Wap will soon be $7.oo & System access is going up $2.oo Monthly.
Unlimited Wap for $7.oo monthly is Bell's Best feature & is available both Post & Prepaid.