1. What PDA and/or mobile phone do I use today?
Samsung A310 (verizon) & Dell Axim, I carry the phone everywhere; the Axim rarely (too bulky).


2. Are you locked into a mobile carrier (i.e. Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, etc.), or do you prefer a particular carrier? Do you know if one carrier has better coverage in places that you need to be?
Need to use a carrier that has a great "family plan" as I have 3 daughters - which means our family has 5 phones! After doing an intensive comparison, it looks like it will be a choice between Sprint and Verizon.


3. Where are you based? Do you stay in one place or travel a lot? Do you travel internationally... how much and where? Do you intend to use your pdaPhone there?
99% of travel is in state of Texas, BUT is frequently in the "boonies" (I do alot of hunting and/or gundog training). Plans which rely on me being near a major highway are a "bad thing". Verizon has done a decent job of this in the past.


4. Do have a preference of Palm, Pocket PC, Symbian, Smartphone OS, Blackberry, etc.?
Prefer PPC, but this is not a major concern

5. Are you likely to run it the way it came out of the box, or do you intend to load a whole lot of extra applications and stuff on it? Do you know of anything now that you will need to run?
pretty much straight out of box


6. How important is wireless data access, and what would you use it for (i.e. web browsing, email, remote terminal access, AOL Instant Messenger, etc.)?
IM is relatively important. Email access is next (but it MUST do Imaps as the firewall prevents anything not using ssl). Webbrowsing sounds good, but will probably never get used.


7. Will you need to view Microsoft Office documents on the pdaPhone? Will you need to edit them?
Outlook - yes. This includes the Calendar & ToDo list. In fact, this is the real "Make or Break" issue for me.
Word, Excel, etc - rarely and never edit.


8. Will you need to access a corporate email system? Will you do this while in a cradle (or via a sync cable), or do you need to do this while you are out of your office?
Yes. Always out of office. As I said, Imaps connection (not Exchange).

9. Do you do SMS messaging a lot (telephone to telephone messaging)?
Not yet, but it is likely to become more important as I use IM alot on computer.


10. Do you need a GPS for mapping and navigation?
Yes. In some respects, this is more important than email access (but less than IM, but is not a "make or break" issue.


11. What is your size preference.. very close to the smallest cellphone, or you don’t care.. function over size?
This is probably the most important concern I have. SMALL. As I told someone else, if it's not small, I might as well try to carry an IBM 3090 (mainframe). To give an idea, note that what I carry on my body is VERY limited - I don't even wear a watch or rings. I do carry a Leatherman however.

12. How will you carry it... pocket, belt, purse, etc.?
Belt *only*.


13. Do you prefer a particular form factor… flip-phone, candy bar, etc?
Strongly perfer flip-phone


14. Do you prefer a QWERTY keyboard, numeric dial-pad, or stylus?
in order, QWERTY, Stylus, number pad. But this is not a major concern

15. Do you want to play a lot of video games on the pdaPhone? What kinds - puzzles, strategy, action adventure, etc.?
No


16. Do you want to listen to music on the pdaPhone? What kind... mp3, streamed, etc.?
yes. Mp3. This is not a make or break issue


17. Do you have any other hardware you intend to use with the pdaPhone? Do you intend to use any Bluetooth devices? What types of devices?
MUST sync w/ Outlook on PC. Sync via a cradle is ok; bluetooth would be a "nice to have" feature. This *is* a make/break issue. See #7 above.


18. What are your budget limits (pdaPhones range in price from below $100 for older used models to nearly $1000 for high end models without a carrier subisidy)?
At this point, I would be happy to see a product *at any price* that can do this. I have search ALOT and have yet to find one.. That said, cheaper is always better.

Oh shoot, I forgot to add.
A Camera is relatively high on the list of priorities. As is being able to xfer the pictures from camera to computer (and vice versa).

Well I'm on Sprint and have four kids... only 3 phones on the plan now, but I can add a 4th pretty soon for almost nothing additional. They are much cheaper than Verizon for me, especially when you add unlimited data.

The good news is they both have the same choices, so it comes down to which carrier you want. I'd take a hard look at the PPC6601 / Audiovox XV6600 (Sprint / Verizon). Both of these presently are without cameras, but they are coming any day now. Other than size, they are where you want to be across the board. Your need for GPS and a small flipphone are conflicting requirements... can't really do both. I find the PPC screen to be ideal for GPS.

Looking at some other options... its all about compromises... the Samsung i500 is also a great device. Its a little older and lacks an SD slot and camera, but it is tiny. It runs Palm OS. You wouldn't be able to do GPS on it. It will do all the other things you needed to do.

Finally, the Treo 600 is another Palm option. While it is a little smaller than the 6600, I find them equally pocketable and neither is the tiny size of a flip-phone. You could do GPS on it, but it would be a stretch. It does have a camera.

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Mike - Been Converged?