So, the little women comes home with a fancy Trio Palm phone. Cool. I’ve got the freebie that came with the service. Wife says I can get a new phone. Not sure I like the Palm. Nice to be able to access internet, better sound quality. Heard ’bout Blackberrys… Like to stay a few years behind the first adopters. Anybody know anything about these things?
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I have a palm 700p, wish it was a 600 model. The 700 doesn't have the hand writing software that my old Kyocera had that made it so useful on the job site for taking notes.
But one big advantage of smart phones is that you can always find old info on a customer that calls out of the blue for repeat biz using the "search" function. Another is the calendar holds more info (characters) per appointment than a standard cell phone.
A word of caution, surfing the net with thease things can get expensive in a hurry. So you should really think of them as a business tool not for fun and games.
Best to you and yours, Chris.
Building as thou art paranoid never harmed anyone.
I have a UT Starcom 6700 that is windows based. It interfaces with all my pc software when I sync it with my computer.I have a huge excel phone database and allways keep budgets and other spreadsheets synced as well. It also syncs with my outlook which is great for email addys and such. Another thing i really like about it is the very useable keyboard.
Major bonus is a 1.5 mp camera that allows me to shoot a picture and email it to the office.
I had the palm based Kyocera before and hated the Palm software. Also the Palm software does not interface with Windows without buying new software.
http://www.utstar.com/pcd/view_phone_details.aspx?mcode=PPC6700&sAct=0
Forgot to add that one big advantage of the smartphone is all your programed phone numbers end up being backed up on your computer so when you get your phone fixed you don't end up having to reset them every time.
On a hill by the harbour
Edited 6/19/2007 9:43 am by Novy
I've had a Treo 600 (screen broke early on) 650, (died after 2 years and had a known speakerphone problem) and now a 700p (speakerphone is fine)
Can't live without it - especially the calendar.
As a "typing device" it sucks - but when I need to input info, I put just enough to serve as a reminder and uplink to my laptop, edit as needed, and resync the info back to the phone.
There are a fair number of inexpensive 3rd party apps, (although it would be really nice to be able to export calendar details in some format other than their proprietary dba backup format, eg. so I could email out details.)
I don't do any internet work with it.
BTW, as a phone, its reception is only so-so (although the 700 is better than the 650)
Be sure to get the stylus that comes back when you whistle <G>
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise Him in the midst of the throng. For He stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who would condemn them to death.
- Psalms 109:30-31
I've gone back and forth on if I should get one myself.
The main factor holding me back is the fact that I am hard on phones, usually going through a phone a year and the last six months I bought a new one, ran it over, then dropped the second into a bucket of laq. thinner. So I bought a separate palm pilot which has wireless capabilities if I am in area that offers wireless internet service.
Anyway, what do you do?
I can see the benefit for either a one man remodeling show in order to stay organized and on the job. You could keep your calendar, contacts, schedule, and receive e-mails. If you are in a management position with a larger company it is also very handy. On the other hand for a full time production personnel I could see it taking away from productivity.
On any given day I'm meeting with a prospects/ making a sales call , overseeing our day to day operations, meeting trade contractors on-site if there is not a lead, working, ordering materials, billing for the jobs, making site visits with our plumbing company, electrical company, etc. to get their proposals for a given job, etc.
It is invaluable for me to have the palm pilot with me. It allows me to have all my contacts information my phone will not store, and my schedule with me. I also keep the word files for our current projects on it so I can access information from job specifications if necessary.
I'd be toast without my treo 600. Contacts, phone, calander with an alarm, time spent on every job, even drill and tap sizes on a mobile database. I got an extended warranty on this one , and am on my third phone. They probably stopped offering it when contracters like me started taking them up on it. I might replace it with a blackberry whenthis one dies next, though I'd really like an i-phone.
I've got the Cingular 8525 a/k/a Hermes a/k/a TyTYN. It's got all the features one could want and runs WM5, which is not as bad as they
say. I've got mine synching up to OSX.
After six months I am still a newbie on the phone, but I guess one should look at learning to use a smartphone as the same as learning
a new computer platform.
Indeed, this phone is really as powerful as a computer, and it can do a lot more out of the box.