Listen ... the phone has some new tricks

The wonder phone is here, complete with new wireless networks to support it. But how badly do you want it? PETER GRIFFIN reports.

They're called "all-in-ones", "smartphones" and "mobile communicators" - the new generation mobile device for those who need voice, e-mail and the internet on the go.

Orderly and efficient in theory, the marriage of handheld computer and mobile phone can be a shaky relationship in practice.

We tried a couple of these fancy phones and found their usefulness depends on how connected you want to be - and your patience.

The phone gets smarter

The Kyocera Smartphone QCP-6035 is one of the first of the true combo phones to arrive in New Zealand - featuring a shrunken version of the Palm VIIx handheld computer and a function-loaded mobile phone.

We used it on Telecom's new CDMA (code-division multiple access) network, which, as well as providing faster data access speeds, is also "always on". That means you don't have to dial up an internet provider as with your home computer, or if you are using Telecom's or Vodafone's conventional mobile networks.

On the "027" CDMA network, you just key in the web address or tap on an e-mail icon.

The Smartphone is chunky and heavy to hold to the ear for long periods of time, but the payoff comes with its convergence features. The phone has everything - contact book, e-mail, web browser, memo pad and the odd game or two. Getting all of these to work is the agonising part.

Palm aficionados will warm to the Smartphone and its familiar quirks. Voice dialling, backlighting and a neat call history feature are also thrown in.

Text can be entered using the soft keyboard on the screen or a stylus and form of shorthand known as Graffiti, which works smoothly once you have the hang of the letters. I found call quality on the CDMA network to be pretty good, better on average than Vodafone's GSM (global system for mobile) network.

Mobile and online

Sending e-mail from the Smartphone should not pose a problem in theory, but try integrating another mail account into the phone's e-mail program and things start to fall apart. I wanted to access my ihug e-mail account via the phone - no luck there. Smartphone is just a baby on the New Zealand scene, so access to most of the internet service providers has yet to be set up. Xtra customers, though, are already well served.

I managed to get the Smartphone talking to a Hewlett-Packard handheld computer, exchanging files in the process, but was unable to use the phone as a modem so I could surf the web on my handheld's bigger, colour screen.

All-important internet access is here, but it's slow and clunky and boring on the Smartphone's monotone colour scheme. Use Eudora Web to surf text versions of sites, or AvantGo, which displays full graphics on selected internet "channels".

The Smartphone I was using did not come with a full WAP (wireless application protocol) browser, so half the webpages I visited did not work properly.

With the Smartphone you pay only for the data you download, not the time you spend downloading. But the kilobytes tick by quickly all the same. A 25-megabyte monthly account sounds a lot. But I found that the average web page took about 40 kilobytes to load; the Smartphone's on-screen counter reminding me exactly how much data I was chewing through.

And beware of its flip-top lid. Simply closing the cover doesn't end your internet session.

Sizing up the competition

Vodafone's answer to the Smartphone is the Ericsson R380s, a flashy WAP phone that has been on the market a long time and operates on the slower GSM network with data speeds of up to 9.6Kbps.

Vodafone's faster, always-on GPRS (general packet radio services) network is operational, but few are using it and finding a compatible handset is near impossible.

What I liked about the R380s is its horizontal screen, which allows you to view full lines of text but forces you to hold the phone horizontally.

Its functionality is good - all the features of a PDA (personal digital assistant) combined with short text messaging (SMS), e-mail and wireless web surfing.

Using the Symbian EPOC operating system, the Ericsson phone lands between the Palm and Pocket PC platforms, but is still pretty easy to use.

As with the Smartphone, installing the right software on your PC should allow you to synchronise the phone with Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes to update your contact list and e-mail. The big disadvantage of the R380s is its small memory - just 1.2Mb, and the fact that you cannot add new applications as you can with the Smartphone or a handheld linked to a mobile.

Mobile frustrations

Vodafone's Vizzavi mobile service is improving, but there was little available that kept me reaching for my Ericsson. A service called Loc@te helps you find a hotel for the night. Other applications let you search for ATMs and all-night pharmacies, browse news services and a business directory or check the weather forecast and traffic reports.

Set yourself up with an e-mail account at Vodafone and you can start e-mailing people from the phone with ease.

At times it took over a minute to connect to Vizzavi; other times I was booted off after a couple of minutes of fruitless browsing with the disheartening reply: "Internet server not responding. Please try again later." And time doesn't stand still on the Vodafone network. A 30-minute browsing session didn't get me far but even on the best per-minute call plan would have cost a hefty sum.

Applications for the CDMA network are coming online slowly - it's mainly the AvantGo channels and web clipped pages that are of most interest.

My Smartphone crashed twice for me while trying to browse the web, forcing me to reset the phone and lose all information I stored on it. Not a problem if you have synched the phone recently, but a real pain if you want phone numbers or addresses that you've picked up the same day.

Mobility at a price

Whichever way you go, the combo phones bump the price of a new mobile towards the $1000 mark. The Ericsson R380s will cost you $1099, including GST, with access charges depending on your call plan - and how many free minutes you can muster. The Smartphone you can pick up for $999, including GST, on a 24-month Anytime 750 account with Telecom. Entry-level monthly data charges start at $5, including 1MB of free data transmission. Once you have reached the 1MB threshold, Telecom will start charging for data at 3.5c per 5KbKB.

Links

Vodafone

Kyocera

Ericsson

Vizzavi

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