On Sat, 06 Apr 2002 20:23:35 +0200 Sacha <sascha103_at_hetnet.nl> wrote:
> Anybody who has experience with the Nokia Phone Card? There are a few on=20
> eBay right now so any firsthand experience would be welcome as to make a=20
> buying decision.
>
just posted this at elektrosmog.nu, a swedish list for those interested in
wireless networks:
using a newton with a nokia HSCSD card
phone (NCP2) - a device that was not originally designed for telephone use
is sub-optimal. the WLAN card is mostly used as a cable replacement, even
though i have access to the same services as with the ethernet card.
from my experience with the newt i can share the following:
+ very energy efficient (lasts more than a day with phone, up to three weeks
without phone)
- the lucent card is not the best what concerns energy consumption
+ the unit can work off regular AA cells
+ head phone jack fits both NCP2 and nokia 7110 and can be attached/detachad
even during an ongoing call. NP to answer/hang up with the remote button.
- a bit bulky and heavy
+ two hot-swappable regular PCMCIA slots
- no smart HW interface like a phone
+ already built in "calls" app integrate well with the OS - phone logs and
follow-ups as well as scheduled phone calls and links from the dates
applications are great features that you will not see on a phone. handy to
take notes at the same time as you speak on the phone, then interlink the
note and the phone call in other applications.
+ very nice to write SMS with the NOS2.1 HWR
- twin SIM card cannot receive calls, so you cant use both your cell phone
and the device at the same time.
both GSM and WLAN software are in beta/alfa versions! limitations:
- the voice recognition controls are yet not implemented
- the internal speaker cannot be used for conference calls
- you cannot record calls as sound files
- you cannot send SMS to multiple recipients
- only channel 11 is implemented, no WEP (yet)
- impossible to wake up newt from hibernation on incoming calls - makes it
necessary to keep the device on all of the time - this drains batteries
faster than necessary and the device can also accidentally turn off in the
pocket if the power switch is pressed
- some annoying bugs like occasional heap problems makes the constellation a
bit more flaky than youre used to as a newton user
to conclude, being a wirelss junkie, i ended up using the newt with just a
memory card and an ethernet card anyway, mainly because the wireless cards
have bulky antennas.
the wireless cards are kept separately and compete with the built-in IrDA
for print and sync. mail and fax are always performed with NCP2. i also
found that the trusty phone is hard to replace - it is so simple in use
compared to the PDA! if the PDA was designed originally to be used in as a
phone (read voice recognition), it would be a different game, but this was
not the case, as in the ipaq jacket case. i cant really recommend anyone to
shoveling out $200 on a nokia card phone unless the software will be
radically improved.
with the palm treo things will change, but you will still have a unit with a
clumsy user interface and an "old", PDA-centric philosophy.
roman pixell
---------------------------
mailto: roman_at_karmatic.com
phone: +46 (0) 8 643 83 00
cell: +46 (0) 709 10 35 51
web: www.pixell.net/doppler
icq user number: 3698764
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