I’ve recently found 3 new tools to improve my personal productivity.
Today I discuss a cell phone with high speed net access. Future posts will cover new back-up software and a VOIP phone. Large law firms have different options but some readers may find info here useful in their personal capacity.
In January I upgraded from a Treo 600p to Treo 700p on Sprint. Two 700p features boost productivity. A small but noticeable gain is much easier-to-use key-board.
The “killer app” is high-speed connectivity to the net (via “EV-DO”). With it, I retrieve e-mail faster. Moreover, the phone is a high speed modem for my notebook PC. So I can web surf and do e-mail via my notebook, at high speed, wherever Sprint has coverage. (So far, DC, Dulles, Denver, and NYC work well.)
Beyond avoiding the expense and frequent tech glitches of hotel and other wifi connections, I can now easily work while waiting for planes and on the train between NYC to DC (I stayed connected the whole way). You don’t need a cell phone for this benefit – the same high speed wireless connection works via a PC card.
Unfortunately, however, the old adage “no pain, no gain” was true here. I wasted many hours getting the phone to work as a modem. As best as I can tell, Sprint had a problem provisioning the phone on its end. Customer service was friendly but not always helpful.