mobile phones / teckie required

[justwatersports]

hI

Any one know anything on mobiles ?
due for an upgrade on my phone shortly. Heres what I what in an ideal world.
Looking at the N95 or the new F700 samsung.
Questions ?
Wi fi - does this mean in a hotspot you could connect via skype and have free internet calls ?
need to receive send e mails on this new device I have a e61 not for me too big.
any suggestions etc on new phones ??? Want ideally to dump the E61 & the phone i am using at the moment to combine the 2 .
Thanks every one !!!
L
x

[Tower_boy]

Personally I'd go to a blackberry. I use the 8800 and it's a brill business tool.

It uses pop email so when you close the email on your desktop the phone pics up all the mails. it can also open any attachment for viewing (ideal for adobe pdf's etc when a supplier sends an electronic invoice or pics when customers send them in).

Battery life is as good as the best phones out there.. I get close to 4-5 days out of mine if just using it for calls and a little email.. if its getting heavy use then about 3-4 days.

Emails the real killer of the phone but it does so much more useful things... GPS mapping and route finding, separates business from work with several useful features, gives me access to the web at 2.5g, has facebook on it and alot more that i rarely use. It cna also be plugged into your laptop and used as a modem which is great when on the road.

The newer blackberrys like the curve are very similar but have a camera built in also...

Generally its about £5 per month extra to go to a blackberry but worth every penny in my opinion.

[stack]

there is only an official skype client for pocket pc and not for symbian. So if you wanna connect to a hotspot and get your free calls make sure the phone you buying is running pocket pc.

[justwatersports]

Ta
hi just tried to download skype for the E61 nokia don't seem to like it at all . any one got one of these ?
Lesley
x

[j3r3m7]

Leslie,

I would say from a teckie's perspective that unless you are 100% dependent on skype a Blackberry would be your best bet for keeping on top of business whilst on the move. I have the enterprise blackberry hookup which syncs email, calendar, contacts, notes wirelessly - works out about 25 quid/month including the email hosting. If you just want email then Towerboy's pop method works just as well for email and < half the cost - depends whether you need calendar sharing on the move.

If you need to do skype calls whilst on the road then I think you may have a bit of hassle getting the software to work reliably.. in theory it should be simple but experience says it'll be a pain. I also think that hotspots tend to be so expensive that you are better off just calling direct from your mobile - I get calls to the US included in my minutes, you may too. If you just need chat then I use email like a chat client nowadays as the blackberry gets messages instantly and is compatible with any client with email (e.g. everyone), they don't need msn messenger, skype, aol chat whatever.

I've just finished working at Nokia so got to play with some of their newest handsets including the n81, n95, n95 8gb. These are truly little pcs with wifi, good web browsers etc. They are generally more technically able than blackberries, e.g. more colours, flashier web browser, wifi, gps, good music players, podcasting ... however the blackberry wins on battery life, instant email, over the air syncing, better keyboards... if you want a cool handset with bells and whistles the nokias are good... if you want a low-frills rock solid long lasting business tool the blackberry is good. I had an old one on my travels round the world and it worked everywhere from the middle of the outback to a dodgy runway in Chile. I had a spreadsheet open on it for over a month.. try that on a windows mobile or normal handset.

[j3r3m7]

Ooo, forgot to mention... if you want the coolest handset around that is enjoyable to use and is an awesome ipod, video ipod and the best web browsing on the move then an iPhone is tops. It won't replace the business functions of a blackberry yet but I have one as my phone, with the blackberry in my back/jacket for earning money ;-)