Question for the tech-savvy: de-phoned smartphones?

[dvandom]

I don't like smartphones, on the grounds they're bulky for phones but a bit small as PDAs, plus a lot of them tend to be tied into a particular service provider. However, my Palm Tungsten won't live forever, and I'd really like something pocket-sized that does the same sorts of things. A friend has suggested the iPod Touch, and it seems reasonable, but I'd like other options.

The question is, how crippled would something like a Treo or an EnV be if I didn't sign up for phone service at all? Are there any smartphones that work just fine as keyboarded PDAs (I reallllly like keyboards, and have largely lost my ability to do stylus writing) and can by synched with a Mac desktop without needing to buy into the wireless plan?

Comments

[derumi.livejournal.com]

I suppose you could get a BlackBerry with just a data plan (all data free; all phone minutes cost). I can do a lot with my BB even when there's no service available, but I would miss the data-passing capability. However, someone using an iPhone or BB as a PDA can be dependent on commercial apps that a) cost money and b) require a constant connection.

[rickj.livejournal.com]

IIRC, the iPhone Touch is a phoneless iPhone.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, so said the friend mentioned above who was considering it to replace his own Tungsten.

[robotech-master.livejournal.com]

I'm quite happy with my Touch as a PDA replacement (though ironically, I'm considering going to an iPhone if I have the money when my current AT&T contract comes up for renewal in December). You don't need to worry about stylus writing—the Touch doesn't have one. The virtual keyboard takes a little getting used to, but once you are used to it you can tap along pretty old fast.

The one (major) thing that it can't do that Palms could is read DRM'd Mobipocket e-books—but we all know what to do about that. :P

Though at any rate I'd suggest waiting until June—that's when all signs point to Apple coming out with new iterations of its iPhone and iPod Touch products. If nothing else, it will make refurbed existing ones cheaper.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, thinking long term here. Just spurred to action by the fact that the wireless on my Tungsten is being balky/nonexistent. The only Mobipocket books I read are Baen anyway, and they don't DRM. :)

[buckeyebrain.livejournal.com]

I've used the T-mobile Sidekick for years as part of a Data Only plan, which costs only $30 for unlimited email, text messages and net access (though their browser is awfully clunky).

However, I'm probably on my last Sidekick, I think I'm going to move up to Blackberry when this one inevitably bites the dust.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Have had an iPod Touch for the last few months and am finding it works well with the campus wireless coverage as well as a few Aggieville locations'. The only thing that disappointed me is that the sideways keyboard option isn't as ubiquitous as I'd have liked it to be, but apparently the new firmware upgrade will address that. The application diversity is perfectly adequate and the 2G battery life is a distinct improvement, so I'd not recommend a 1G refurb. It even works as a pretty decent PDF reader for me.

Can't speak to the utility of the BB/Palm options, but I've found the iPod option perfectly viable.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

The main thing I dread about changing over synch software, and which apparently I'll have to do no matter what since Palm Desktop is no longer supported, is copy over all my Notes. I've got inventories of all the boxes of stuff I have in storage, plus stuff like the toys I'm seeking on behalf of others, lists of Prismacolors I already own (so I don't accidentally buy a second one of a given color), etc. At worst, I'll need to do a cut and paste from Palm Desktop into something I could put onto the new device. At least with an iPod Touch I can be pretty sure it has a Mac synch that's easy to use. :)

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

And now that the Google Calendar two-way sync is running flawlessly, I take back the last complaint I had about it.

And you can always save them as Google Docs and read them that way -- it's saved my bacon a few times.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if I have to do a manual shift, whatever format I put them in would easily enough be uploaded to GD or some other server.

[robotech-master.livejournal.com]

You might want to consider migrating your notes to Evernote (http://www.evernote.com). It's got an iPhone/iPod Touch client, as well as Windows and Mac desktop and ubiquitous web access. Plus, you can even send photos to it and have the text in them OCR'd and searchable.