3g Pda?

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wamatt

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I'm looking for a 3G PDA/Phone, either Symbian or PocketPC preferably. Anyone know of such a beast? I like the P910 but it does not come with UMTS :(.

I thought about a 3G card for my notebook, but that kinda defeats the usefullness of 3G as I generally always have connectivity in some form work/home.

The killer app for me is the web browser, anytime anywhere. I'm thinking along the lines of... I'm in a meeting without my notebook and need some info quick, or buying a TV in an electronics store and have to lookup the specs quick on the net, Or trying to settle an argument over some useless fact with a mate when I'm on holiday.
 
That would be great. Looks like the A1000 is really the only viable option at the moment until Sony Ericsson update their "P" series.

However, I just came across this now.. Vodafone announced the VPA IV (Pocket PC) on Friday.

http://www.msmobiles.com/news.php/3615.html

From the article looks to be a rebranded T-Mobile MDA IV.

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000090030074/
http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/Feb2005/9058.htm

Whats with the retro keys (I'm sure thats the same font as the old Sinclair keyboard ;) and it looks a bit beefy, you know, like an overweight PDA or skinny subNotebook

The third option would be to seperate phone and PDA/Browser, since these all-in-one gadgets always have problems. I have been burned with buggy Sony Ericsson's before. Also reading about dropped connections and reboots on the A1000 and no hardware reset.
 
VPA IV (iMate)

One of the links above indicate that Vodafone is releasing the VPA IV under its own brand. Does this mean that we can expect it in SA soon? And how "soon" is "soon". Can Vodacom3g perhaps tell us when they expect this PDA to be available locally?

I got the Motorola E1000 for e-mail and web browsing, only to find out that it cannot browse normal html web pages. (The info available on the E1000 on various web sites, is very confusing (even on Motorola's own site) as one is let to believe that the phone can browse normal html pages as well, which is not true). As a workaround, I tried to use the E1000 as a 3G modem with my (windows PPC based) PDA, but despite spending many hours, I have been unable to establish a GPRS/3G connection from the PDA with the E1000 as modem. The E1000 is therefor useless to me.
 
I'm very impressed with the A1000 - seems like it has all the features I've been looking for in a phone/pda. Vodacom3g, I look forward to feedback regarding if/when it will be released in SA.
 
Think I will call Motorola tommorow if I have time, today was just insanely busy. V3g you know if I'll be able to get it on a vodacom contract?
 
It was called the i-mate IV lower down in this thread....you probably read it there.

I've already passed the VPA IV to the people who decide on the terminals, with a big please from the forum.

Vodacom staff, including top management, are all techno junkies, so I'm pretty sure we'll see it (or something equivalent) at some point.

I still believe a 3G i-mate will be out shortly as well, using the i-mate PDA 2K form factor. Pure speculation, but makes sense.
 
Hintry said:
I personally am not interested in a 3G phone unless it's got full PDA functionality
Click to expand...

Indeed, debating whether 3G is worth it beacause of the limited PDA options. Then there is the EDGE question, and MTN lowering costs on GPRS to 35/c p/mb.

Will vodacom support EDGE?

How much faster is UMTS than EDGE?

Thinking Nokia 9500 might be the way to go, probably more stable than the A1000. How stable is 3G? (ie dropped connections)

Hmm options options options.
 
The other factor is my contract is up for renewal in a few days and doubt I'll be able to get an A1000 by then.

I think the motorola and nokia come with WiFi which is real cool, though not sure if it supports synching over WiFi (that would be awesome though).
 
The issue of EDGE support is, as so often, actually one of handset support. With the exception of Nokia, there is little support for EDGE out there as most manufacturers are going after the UMTS market.

EDGE tops out at about the 3G speeds you're seeing now, while UMTS can reach many Mb/s.

wamatt, not to sure about your sync question?
 
vodacom3g said:
The issue of EDGE support is, as so often, actually one of handset support. With the exception of Nokia, there is little support for EDGE out there as most manufacturers are going after the UMTS market.

EDGE tops out at about the 3G speeds you're seeing now, while UMTS can reach many Mb/s.

wamatt, not to sure about your sync question?
Click to expand...

Interesting, so 3G looks more futureproof. What I was saying is whether the device supports synching with your notebook, emails contacts etc usual PDA stuff over WiFi.
 
wamatt said:
Interesting, so 3G looks more futureproof. What I was saying is whether the device supports synching with your notebook, emails contacts etc usual PDA stuff over WiFi.
Click to expand...

WiFi is just another network topology, providing a link layer for IP, so I can't see any reason why you can't sync over WiFi. You obviously need WiFi capabilities on your desktop or have an AP.

Anyone tested or done this with the new WiFi phones?
 
vodacom3g said:
If Motorola decides to bring it in and it passes the testing process, I'm sure it'll become available.

Once you've spoken to Motorola, won't you give feedback here?
Click to expand...

Just spoke to a product manager at Motorola, the A1000 was delayed until April (partly they wanted to launch with MTN 3G). That said, Vodacom and MTN have units they are testing.

Hopefully I can get my hands on a demo unit...Also as you probably guessed its not going to be cheap, at least R10k I imagine. Though guess it will probably be free on the Talk 1000 or 500 if you can wait that long...
 
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