Thinking about Treo 650?
this is a great review
Tagged: gadgets
yet another new toy
I decided I no longer wanted to compromise when it comes to interacting with audio, I wanted a very easy way to switch seamlessly between the following activities:
- Record audio notes in OneNote
- Listen to music
- Take phone calls
- Listen to podcasts – mainly from IT Conversations
And I wanted to be able to do all of the above:
- From desk
- Walking
- Swimming – I already have a solution for this
- Chilling out at a Cafe or health club
- Shopping
- etc
I knew the solution needed to involve Bluetooth, and a headset that could switch from audio player to phone headset to microphone as required. I think I have found the solution – Sonorix Bluetooth Audio Player – its £50 off right now because it’s an old model. I friend of mine had one about a year ago and loved it. I have ordered one, should arrive in a couple of days.
Treo 650, so far, pretty good
I picked up my Treo 650 last week, it’s a company supplied device and so it’s camera is locked down and they discourage excessive loading of applications, it also has anti-virus and data encryption which slow it down a little, but these are relatively minor issues. First lets look at why I wanted a 650:
- I work from home, but that doesn’t mean I sit at my PC in my study all day long, in fact I spend a lot of time away from my desk:
- beach walking
- eating out, often working at a local Cafe
- watching the kids doing sports for or waiting for the kids
- beach games with the kids
- travelling to and from yoga and swimming
- shopping
- on the train
- gardening
- etc
- In fact I only spend about 4 hours at my PC so I really wanted to be able to stay as productive as possible and easy to contact during these other periods of the day. I also wanted to be able to spend extended periods away from my desk, for example on a long hike.
- I have a TC1100 Tablet and although its with me most of the time, always on email and web help …
Looks like I got the wrong headset
I pick up my Treo 650 next week and I ordered a Jabra BT200 headset, according to this post, I picked the wrong one 🙁 I’ll let you know next week.
Presenting from my Treo
I will be getting a Treo 650 in 2 weeks time, I already have a personal 600, but this one will be provided by my company and will have wireless email, calendar and address book. I am really looking forward to it. I will also get to play with a Margi presenter-to-go kit, which should be fun, I have never been convinced of the benefits of presenting from a PDA, but it will be interesting to experiment.
One of the reasons I have always liked wireless email is that I always forget to sync my PDA’s, the only one that was ever up to date was my Backberry and it was never in its cradle and the only time it synced to the PC was during a SW upgrade.
Bill Gates on Microsoft’s strategy around the phone
This is a good interview, where Bill Gates describes Microsoft’s approach to the phone. A few things struck me from the interview and other stuff I have read:
- Microsoft don’t make any money on Windows Mobile, but they seem committed to the market for the long term
- Microsoft know that it won’t be long before the phone is powerful enough to take advantage of its operating system. At that point they believe they will then have a real advantage over the people who squeezed their operating systems into current generation phones. Of course as soon as the phone is this powerful it will make a great platform for Linux as well.
- Microsoft are waiting for the phone to be powerful enough to disrupt the portable game console market, at this point I suspect they will be ready to compete
- Microsoft will leverage their integrated innovation strategy
- The connected car is a huge market, this post talks about the potential
- The carriers, rather than the phone makers are a key route to market for Microsoft, I guess that Microsoft with its robust strategy around content and rights management is well placed to woo the carriers
- Microsoft is to be commended …
Device form factors
Here is a great discussion about device form factors by Graham. I particularly liked the summary:
- Some people will use a big desktop with a big screen, because some people drive a Range Rover.
- Some people will use a titanium plated ultra-light, because some people drive a BMW Z3.
- Some people will utilise a standard laptop, because some people drive a Ford Mondeo.
- Some people will use a large form factor laptop, because some people drive a Renault Grand Scenic
- Some people will still use the device they have had for the last 10 years, because some people drive a vintage Mercedes sports car.
I am not sure what sort of car driver I am, using Graham’s Model, as I have a variety of different devices to suit the need, perhaps I am just one of those people who has a big garage, or in the UK a long drive (we fill our garages with junk)! In fact I have a Peugeot 307SW 7 seater (4 kids) and a Ford Fiesta.
Windows Mobile 2005
Here is a great review of a leaked version of Windows Mobile 2005, code named magneto, from Mobile Review. Features are expected to include:
- Improved support for one handed operation, (via two soft keys and improved joystick support), no stylus required for many tasks
- Seamless roaming from one network to another
- Push email, similar to that provided the Blackberry
- Pocket Office, re-branded as Office Mobile
- Improved Pocket Word and Excel, with text formatting support and charts
- PowerPoint Viewer added
- Support for pictures in Contacts, synchronised from Outlook
- Additional field in Contacts (bringing the total to 37!); IM, Company Tel, IM2, IM3, Manager, Govt. ID, Account, Customer ID
- Windows Media Player 10
- USB Storage Device support (ie no drivers required to use it as a mass storage device)
- A single OS merges the current different versions used for Smart Phones and PDAs
I think I will stick with my Treo for now!
I don’t have time for video!
As usual Jon Udell has a very insightful article about the need to media-shift, in his case from video to audio. I have the same problem. When I am at a computer I only really have time to work, watching videos is too distracting so they tend to get neglected. This is particularly the case when I have a DVD full to watch from a conference, for example I have still not got through all of the videos from the last PDC. Anyway I came across a useful utility today, Sermonex, that monitors my “To Watch” folder and automatically strips the audio from a WMV file, providing me with a WMA file, perfect for downloading and listening to on my Treo. I did this once before using SoundRecorder but it was a bit of a pain, this way it just happens automatically in the background.
The business case for wireless PDAs and Smart Phones
Yesterday I was working on the business case for wireless PDAs and Smart Phones for my companies senior exec’s, probably VPs and above. I found it pretty enlightening. I am not going to share the business case, but I did have a few interesting observations to share:
- The incredible ROI you get if you can allow and executive to release time during the core working day, by using otherwise unproductive time to process emails. (the business case identified may more benefits)
- The risks that a always on device brings in terms of Work Life Balance
- The risks that information overload and constant interrupts can have on mental health.
Whilst I think there is a good business case I included this caution after presenting the ROI:
However, there are some cautions that also apply to the analysis:
- It will take several weeks for executives to attain the levels of improvement described and for an effective usage culture to develop
- The case partially depends on the availability of otherwise “unproductive time”
- Whilst such time exists, there are alternative uses for this time for example networking before meetings, making phone calls, thinking etc. These activities may have as much or greater value. The spreadsheet …