Ten days ago I bought a Treo 600 – a combined cell phone and Palm OS personal digital assistant. SprintPCS is my carrier. Though configuration and learning the device took some time, I am very happy so far.
Some seemingly random factoids: This year I am traveling more. My cell phone was close to 3 years old and beginning to feel clunky. Even when I carry my notebook, I find that I cannot always find or connect to a WiFi spot. Sometimes I am at client and can connect to their network but am limited to web surfing – the firewall sometimes even blocks Yahoo or other web mail to prevent viruses.
So I broke down and bought a Treo 600, which has been widely reviewed and praised as one of the better combination cell phone and PDA devices. Configuring and loading it took some time and I was not particularly satisfied with Sprint’s support (for example, when I arrived in NYC from DC this week, the wireless web access did not work and I spent about an hour on the phone with Sprint resolving it).
But now that it works, it’s great. First, I have one device instead of two. Second, I don’t have to dial numbers of anyone in my contact list. Third, I can get all my e-mail (I use SnapperMail). And fourth, the device even acts as a modem for my PC, so if I can connect my notebook to the web to download e-mail or web surf. Though Snappermail is great, it’s still much easier to deal with e-mail using a full screen and full keyboard.
Wireless e-mail is perhaps the best feature because I can quickly see if I have any urgent issues without booting up a PC or finding a web connection.
The device is not cheap but Sprint’s wireless web service costs only $15/month above the voice plan. For those who operate on their own, I highly recommend the Treo 600. Of course, lawyers in large firms need to go through central IS departments because of the need to connect to enterprise mail servers. I’ve had a Blackberry in the past and am now reminded of why they are wildly popular – now even more so that these types of devices are also cell phones.
Ernie the Attorney also has some interesting comments on the Treo and Sprint at Sprint is my wireless provider — for now…