Home Office: Supercharged Wireless Phones

I spend so much time in e-mail, I sometimes wonder if I still need a phone. Then my e-mail-less aunt calls, or a muckety-muck from PC World gets on the phone with some juicy gossip--the stuff you just don't dare put in an e-mail. Besides, lately we've given lots of ink to phones and it's high time I started paying attention to them.

Old Phone, Happy Owner

First, an admission, one that's kind of embarrassing: I don't use my cell phone very often. It gets worse: My phone's old for a tech guy, a Nokia 5160. It's not sleek, thin, or laden with features--though it has one you'll like. (More in a sec.) I bought two of them, one for me and another for my wife, Judy. I also bought a Mitsubishi for my mother--which stopped working a few days after the warranty expired. We all use AT&T's Shared Plan, so for $20 per month per phone, we can make unlimited calls to any of the digital phones or any home phone number.

When my mom's phone died, I made the mistake of handing her my old 5160 and picking up a newer, slicker, and harder-to-use Nokia 3360. It took less than a week to make a trade--I took back my 5160 and gave her the 3360. (I told her the 3360's color suited her better. So I'm a rotten son.)

If I were to do it again, I'd first read PCWorld.com's "How to Buy a Wireless Phone." On page three is a valuable chart that compares five of the most important wireless features according to price range, and another chart that compares service plans.

Anyway, the Nokia 3360 that I ditched has a smaller, more complicated keypad than the 5160, which is just awful for my big hands and limited cerebral skills. The biggest problem, however, is that it doesn't work with FoneSync.

PC to Phone Connections

I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you about FoneSync, the very best phone gizmo I've ever used. It's a clever gadget that works with a serial cable to link my Nokia 5160 digital phone to my PC. If you use Microsoft Outlook, GoldMine, or Lotus Notes, data can be transferred to your phone in seconds. I don't use any of those contact managers; I just use FoneSync's dull, boring, but functional database. I've created multiple phone books--one for me, another for Judy--and downloaded the information in them to our phones. I can also send changes I've entered on the phone to the PC.

Here's the bad news: The company that produced the FoneSync Pro Connectivity Kit is out of business. But the FoneSync's still for sale and works just fine on my Win 98 PC (I haven't tested it on XP). I've seen FoneSync selling pretty briskly for roughly $30 to $40 on EBay; it's generally available for the Nokia 5100 and 6100, the Samsung 6100 and 8500, and lots of Ericsson models.

Dig This: I went memory surfing and found dozens of programs I used to love, including Central Point Software's PC Tools (absconded by Symantec), FoxBASE+ 2.10 (hey, wait, I'm still using it), and Fifth Generation's Direct Access. Go to Dan's 20th Century Abandonware site and see if you can find your old favorites.

The Latest and Greatest

Writing about digital phones isn't easy because they're blending with PDAs. But that hasn't stopped PCWorld.com's phone gurus from sorting things out.

Michael Lasky, our foremost gadget authority, gets first dibs on the hottest of the hybrids. He looked at the Samsung SPH-i330 and the Palm Tungsten W, both sweet smartphones--PDA and cell phone combos. If you're considering buying one, read "PDA Phones for the Smart and Rich," in which Michael gives you lots of details.

Some PCWorld.com staffers get lucky; Yardena "Call Me Denny, Willya?" Arar got to attend the Wireless 2003 show in New Orleans. Denny highlights the latest Blackberry, a prototype from Texas Instruments that handles Bluetooth, GSM/GPRS cellular, and 802.11b (Wi-Fi). She also has details on Kyocera's smartphone that lets you make PowerPoint demos using a projector. There's lots more in "Color Phones, PDAs Highlight Wireless Show."

Some of you actually play games on your mobile phones and PDAs. That being the case, you'll have to read Grace Aquino's "Cell Phones Offer Serious Fun," a entertaining story that details Nokia's N-Gage (get it? I certainly don't), Kurv's WildSeed (don't ask), and Motorola's multimedia-driven E390 GSM phone, complete with vibrating effects and disco lights. (Feeling old and curmudgeonly? Join the crowd.)

Crowding in on PDAs

Buying a PDA is a daunting task. No, I still don't own one, but my wife's been asking for a Palm or Treo. So I've started poking around, looking for advice. One spot I found is "How to Buy a PDA," a decent buying guide that provides an overview and a good chart explaining the specs. If you're looking to buy now, check out our Top 10 PDAs chart.

Useless Info: Feeling a little pedantic? Well, did you know the / on your keyboard isn't a slash? It's not even a right slash. It turns out it's a virgule. Oh, I can tell, you're intrigued.

Dig This: Have you seen the terrific Honda commercial that takes Rube Goldberg devices to extremes? If that link didn't work, try the Honda site (the site's very popular, so expect to wait for a connection). And thanks to David Berkowitz, who passed along the great article that explains how it was done.

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