Best cellular phone for use with Mac OS X
 

Thus far I have avoided cellular phone dependency and possible brain tumor growth...

...but the time has come where I need to select a phone and service plan.

I LOATHE the nefarious plans and policies designed to extract more money from my pocket on yet another ongoing, regular monthly basis.

But, nevermind that, what phone (and/or service) might make me happy?

Requirements:

* sync names with Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X via USB and/or Bluetooth

* loud volume to hear in loud bars (why o why do so many phones just suck at this task???)

* speakerphone

* can use with headset

* small would be nice

* calendar might be nice, must sync with computer (and not be too craptacular in design, ease of use, etc.!)

* analog for use in remote areas (call for help when stuck in mountain avalanche whle snowboarding!)

* cool looking design

* readily available documentation and SDK for writing custom software (preferably, good existing software already available, PLUS option to write better software, without techincal or licensing barriers!)

Should be easy to find, eh?

Could not find ANY Apple, Macintosh or Mac OS X mention on NOKIA, MOTOROLA, or SONY ERICSSON sites!!!

(My preference would be a Nokia or Motorola phone, for aesthetic reasons mostly)

That is why... I am...

PEAVED!

hmmm, no replies... :(

1. At a minimum, I am simply looking for cellular phones which are compatible with Mac OS X, for exchanging name and calendar data.

2. Is Nokia PC Suite software compatible with Mac OS X and Virtual PC?

3. What phone companies provide SDK's or info for developing Mac software to communicate with phone?


thanks...

If the Nokia PC Suite works on Windows, it will work in VirtualPC. VPC simply emulates the PC's hardware and runs the same operating system that you'd find on a regular PC.

If the software requires your phone to be connected via a serial port, you'll be out of luck since Macs don't have them. If it uses ISB, it should work through VPC since it has good USB device support.

Go to Apple's site to see what phones are compatible with things like iSync and Bluetooth etc.

Can someone who has actually used Nokia PC Suite under Virtual PC confirm whether it works or not?

thanks

The Nokia PC Suite is a Windows application. If it runs on a normal PC, it will run on Virtual PC.

Your only query now is knowing how a Nokia phone connects to the computer... A quick check on the Nokia site shows they use either Infra-red (not likely to find that on your Mac as standard) or a serial cable. The Mac doesn't use serial ports, so you wouldn't be able to connect the phone to the computer in the first place (though I only performed a quick scan, so there might be some phones using a USB cable).

The other connection method is via Bluetooth. You need a Bluetooth adapter card installed in your Mac for that to work (I believe Apple are selling one for around $50 on the Apple Store).

You should really look for a phone that has a native Mac OS X synchronisation application. I find VPC is very slow, even on my Dual 867 G4!!! (Apparently, Connectix are working with Apple to fix this.)

Like I said, check out the phones that Apple's Bluetooth software already works with. Here: http://www.apple.com/bluetooth/

HTH.

darkpaw,

It's really not necessary to repeat yourself.

There are quite a few things wrong about your suggestions.

Thanks for trying to help, though.

Someone else, please?

Well, I apologise for trying to help you :rolleyes:

I went to the Nokia site to find the info for you. I found out which connections were possible under Virtual PC. I found out what connections the phones use. I gave you information on the only other connection method possible (Bluetooth) and a link to Apple's site with the information you need.

What is wrong with the info I gave you?

darkpaw,

yes, thanks for the effort!

I certainly don't want to sound unappreciative!!!

...but, i'm looking for more specific, accurate information.

here are problems I have with your suggestions... other opinions may differ, but so it goes.

1. You say if software runs on PC, it will run on Virtual PC. FALSE. Virtual PC is not always a perfect substitute. (It is a very good substitute, though.)

2. You say Mac does not use serial ports. FALSE. Older Macs do, and modern Macs have serial port options thay may or may not work, depending on specific use.

3. You say you need a Bluetooth adapter for Mac. FALSE. Some Macs include Bluetooth.

4. You imply that Nokia is infrared or cable only. FALSE. Nokia makes some phones with Bluetooth.

5. You suggest check Apple website for phones with Bluetooth. BAD SUGGESTION. Bluetooth compatibility does not guarantee iSync compatibility.

6. "You should really look for a phone that has a native Mac OS X synchronisation application." uh, yeah, that was the point of my post. But, I have learned, right now it is all very WISHFUL only. Phone manufacturers do not offer such a thing. Apple offers iSync (http://www.apple.com/isync/ lists compatible phones, but there ar every few phones, and I don't like them. Sony Ericsson have very bad reviews regarding signal reception.) Third party Mac OS X phone sync support is very sketchy right now. There are a few apps (see www.versiontracker.com), but they seem to be in early infancy stage, which I find to be to too unreliable for serious professional dependence.


So, there you have it.

But, like I said, I appreciate your efforts and thank you for your time!

Hope this helps...



NOT peaved at darkpaw!

STILL PEAVED otherwise!

You sound unappreciative in every post! Try not to end them with "STILL PEAVED". It makes you sound angry :( We're here to help you :)

I think you should tell us your system configuration (what machine are you using, do you own VPC? etc.), find all the phones you like, list them here and let people tell you if they work or not. Or better still, contact the phone manufacturers directly and ask them whether their phones work on Mac OS X.

Here is a bit of info on compatible Bluetooth phones and how they connect, if you're interested: http://www.macuser.co.uk/labs/labs_s...s&site=macuser

This info was sent to me today, so it's pretty new and up-to-date.

i AM angry... at a lousy technology industry that still can't produce the products and services that are effective, useful and affordable for my needs!!!

It's 2002, fer crissakes... how long have cellular phones, PDA's, networking and computers been on the market?

And yet, no easy, simple, effective, widespread, well-supported, well-designed, high-qulaity, good performance, reliable, inexpensive solution for managing contact and calendar data in a cellphone with my Mac.

i spent more than TEN DAMN HOURS to research this topic, and luckily have the resources and knowledge to sift through the fluff to find REAL answers... NO major phone manufacturer has ANY MENTION WHATSOEVER about Apple Macintosh software for their cellphone products.

But, the sad thing is, the answer is that there is no GOOD QUALITY PHONE that supports SyncML necessary for Apple iSync.




That's why,

I AM PEAVED!

at phone manufacturers
at Apple shortcomings
at complacent consumers

but still NOT peaved at darkpaw!

DAMMIT

from http://www.macuser.co.uk/labs/labs_...es&site=macuser

"once iSync improves the number of phones it can link with"

Macuser UK screwed up. Apple iSync relies on THE PHONE MANUFACTURER TO IMPLEMENT SyncML technology.

What a load of crap article!!!

From the Mac user's perspective, all Bluetooth does is eliminate the use of a cable if you use your phone as a modem for your Mac.

THERE IS NO OTHER INTERCONNECTIVITY!!!

(except perhaps you can SMS ONE DAMN ADDRESS AT A TIME BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN PHONE AND MAC... does that sound like fun or useful to you????)



DOES MACUSER HIGHLIGHT THE FACT THAT ONLY A FEW SONY ERICSSON PHONES, OUT ALL THE HUNDREDS OF MILLION CELL PHONES SOLD ANNUALLY SUPPORT SyncML and Apple iSYNC???

NO. THE SHODDY, DECREPIT JOURNALISM IN THAT TIRED RAG HIDES THE FACT, BY HIGHLIGHTING THE T68i capabilities, INSTEAD.

WHAT HYPE! WHAT FLUFF! DOES THE INDUSTRY PAY MACUSER UK TO PUBLSIH THEIR PR, OR IS MACUSER SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE JOURNALISM AND REPORTING THAT HELPS MAC USERS?????

YOU DECIDE.

OR NOT, AND TOLERATE SUCH RUBBISH.


DAMMIT

I AM MORE PEAVED NOW THAT LEADING MAC PUBLICATIONS FAIL TO ADDRESS PRODUCT AND INDSUTRY SHORTCOMINGS AND TRULY ADDRESS REAL USERS' NEEDS!!!

perhaps you need a sedative? and perhaps you need to lower your expectations?

ranting here is most likely non-productive. poor darkpaw's admirable efforts have been run through the wood chipper.

the truth is the Mac market is rather small potatoes and perhaps the mfgrs did the math and it just wasn't economical to develop in the Mac direction yet.

i wish you would get a grip; you seem to be coming unhinged.

get a ticonderoga No. 2 and a big chief legal pad and read John Kennedy Toole's "Confederacy of Dunces"

I think they concentrated on the T68i because it IS compatible with iSync. It wouldn't be very good of them to have said, "Yes, this phone is compatible" and then skipped over what you can expect from it.

Have you contacted the phone companies to see whether they are planning to support iSync and SyncML? I contacted a company a while ago to see if they were going to support my friend's webcam since there was no info on their site. They sent me the link to the latest driver they were working on, which hadn't been released yet. Try it, though YMMV...

see also:

http://forums.macosxhints.com/showth...?threadid=7838

mervTormel,

I absolutely, expressed NO CRITICISM of darkpaw, and stated so quite a FEW times!!!

Lower expectations? right. excuse me while I go outside to light some wood for the signal fire, and gather some papyrus to write on.

Go watch Amadeus or something, and root for mediocrity instead of Mozart's work, if it makes you feel good.

yeesh. I don't think ANYONE is here BECAUSE they want LESS from their Macintosh, OR BECAUSE they CHOSE Macintosh BECAUSE it is more mediocre than other platforms.

WHY SHOULD ANYONE SETTLE FOR SUBPAR, LATE-TO-MARKET, LAME PRODUCTS???

Bad advice.

But, maybe the proper medication would do me good. NUMB MYSELF instead of RAISE EXPECTATIONS and MEET CHALLENGES.

mmmyyeah. I'll get right on that.


(Apologizing for "wasting bandwidth", but not apologizing for expressing opinion and promoting RAISING product quality.)


just tired of it all.

...SIX AND A HALF MONTHS LATER...


A few more phones supported by isync:

http://www.apple.com/isync/



Any comments about using compatible phones and isync?

None that I can think of.

can i suggest the use of _underscores_ instead of capitals. your yelling is scaring me.

And me. Makes me wanna report every post he makes to the mods...

The Nokia 7650 works fine with iSync 1.1 (released today) over Bluetooth.

darkpaw, thanks.

Unfortunately, Nokia 7650 is unavailable in USA.

Nokia 3650
 

As soon as Apple released iSync 1.1 and the bluetooth update, I went out and purchased a Nokia 3650 with a T-Mobile plan. The phone works perfectly with with iSync in getting my contacts over to to the phone. One caveat was to open ports 3000-3004 on my firewall for the connection to work.

For further functionality, I installed FExplorer which can be found at http://my-symbian.com. This is a file browser, but it also gives you the ability to send files via bluetooth and IR back to your computer.

So far I've been thrilled with this phone.

Thread resurrection...

Does anyone have info on why the Nokia 6310i is not yet supported by iSync? I'm really eager to get synced here =)

I am trying a Nokia 3650.

It works OK, but syncing is not perfect.

Some fields in the phone's Contacts are not transferred to Address Book.

Vice versa, some fields in Address Book are not transferred to the phone's Contacts.

Bluetooth File Exchange is unable to browse any directories on the phone. Files are exchanged only as messages, in either direction.

Ringing and ringtones are very inconsistent- most are too quiet, there are a few loud ones.

Handset and loudspeaker volumes are also inconsistent- lots of times they seem too quiet.

The volume issues are a major annoyance, I desire a phone that is very clearly audible at loud volumes when necessary.


Nokia PC Suite runs under Virtual PC Windows 2000 under OS 9 but not OS X with USB Bluetooth. Even under OS 9, operation is a little flaky. Backup does not run at all, transferring a large file from the phone was consistently unsuccessful, and the connection randomly gets lost after several minutes.




So far, I like the phone, but there is still much room for improvement.




Yet again, that is why I am STILL


a little peaved!

I should also add: WINDOWS SUCKS!

On Mac OS X, I had the phone and Mac communicating over bluetooth less than fifteen minutes after plugging the bluetooth adapter in the USB port.

Another half hour, and I had a good understanding of how Address Book, iSync and the Nokia 3650 interacted. Within two hours, there was a very thorough workout answering my own questions about the intricacies involved in the data syncing.


On Windows, the same tasks took ten to fifteen hours, and the results were not as conclusive. Using VPC under Mac OS accounts for less than two hours of this. And, that is mostly due to upgrading a number of different versions.

The rest of this enormous suckage of time wasted is dealing with a very, very shoddy operating system called Windows.


The best thing anyone can say about Windows:

The Belkin website provides a support document for using the bluetooth adapter on Windows with the Nokia 3650. Thank goodness, because it describes obscure items such as setting some bluetooth serial connections to "COM" port number 9 or greater. No good reason for that, other than crap Windows programming. I pity the "average user" who has to figure this crap out.

But wait, there's more! Belkin documents another issue with Windows and Nokia. It's frigging unbelievable! Windows reports the connection is made on COM0 (it's not) and also reports that the connection failed! In reality, the connection is good! This garbage is documented as the standard behavior of Windows, and it is typical, that's how crappy Windows is.




If I cared, I would still be:

a little peaved!

Dude, quit it with the "I AM STILL PEAVED" rubbish :rolleyes:

Which fields from the phone are not transferred to Address Book?

Which fields from Address Book are not transferred to the phone?

Are these fields supported by Address Book/your phone?

If you're miffed that your phone chooses to ignore certain fields in a vCard, then contact the manufacturer. If it's definitely iSync that's screwing it up, please raise feedback to Apple and let them fix it.

darkpaw-


Time and again I have indicated that I report feedback to manufacturers, so your suggestions are a little tiresome.

Manufacturers should release better quality, better-designed products without requiring customers to endlessly alpha-test their products at great expense in time.

If you're so keen on manufacturers, perhaps you could ask them your questions.

It would be interesting to hear about what you find from their documentation and support.

Good luck, but I suspect you will start to become "a little peaved" also.

And what do you expect us to tell you to do then? Should we tell you exactly why some fields aren't being transferred, even though we don't know? My suggestion to contact the manufacturers is a damned good one, and if you spent a little more time getting used to your computer and how things work, you might not have to spend so much time typing angry posts in here.

(BTW, your POSTS are a little tiresome.)

And then the consumer will constantly moan that the products aren't being released when they want them.

I don't have the questions, YOU do!!! I'm trying to help you, and quite frankly, you're being an a******e!

I would never turn out to be so cynical as you are.

Another reason why I am...

A LOT CHILLED.

I did not ask you to tell me anything.

I answered some of my own questions, with information that may be useful to other participants on these forums.



WRONG.

Here are darkpaw's questions, quoted from earlier post in this thread:


I appreciate your interest and efforts to help.

However, I also fully understand the technical limitations and product design decisions why these problems exist.


Unfortunately, these problems are not something that you or I can solve here. They are problems that are difficult even for the industry to solve or address properly.

If you are aggravated reading about these problems, then be thankful you are not being aggravated by experiencing these problems personally first-hand yourself.

The best way you, and others, can truly help, is to simply stop accepting mediocre products, flawed software, technology that does not match expectations set by deceitful marketing, and lack of detailed, thorough documentation accurately describing product functionality.

Sailing Clicker
 

Sailing Clicker is another reason to stick to Sony Ericsson phones, this software won the Eighth Annual Apple Design Awards best of show.

Here's the data that does not sync

Phone data, not supported in Address Book:
default phone
voice tag
detail image
custom ring
etc.

Address Book data, not supported in phone:
custom labels on phone numbers

Data supported by both phone and address book, but not exchanged or synced:
Groups!!!
etc.


See also Apple Knowledgebase article re: Nokia 3650 and 7650 phones. The article is not completely accurate, some data is exchanged where it states it is not.



Except for these problems, the syncing works great.

Otherwise, I would be:

VERY PEAVED!



There are other severe problems described above in this thread.

I paid for these products and software, no one paid me to test these items or document my results.



That's why I am:

A Little Peaved!

Re: Sailing Clicker
 

Sailing Clicker on P800 has reduced functionality than supported phones.

I don't have much need for this software. Cool for those who do, though.

What are some things you like/dislike about your Sony Ericsson phone?

Me?

I don't use a cell or beeper. My time away from a wall socket is my unwired time. Living in NYC, there's just too much going on already - it's nice to be able to walk without a phone ringing or some pager knocking around.. :)

I just posted the info for those interested.

---

Who knows? Maybe one day I'll cut back to a mead pad with a fine knife-sharpened #2 pencil! :p

You know, "peaved" (it's peeved, BTW), I started this thread actually quite curious about the replies you might get.

As I continued to read, I realized that you are just quite a jerk.

You honestly need to learn some emotional control. If you blast into every situation where you need help as you did here, you're going to get your hindquarters served to you, every time.

Guys, I think it's best just to ignore some threads as not worth the effort. Some people are appreciative of the efforts of others, and some aren't.

We'll leave it as an exercise for each reader to determine which is which.

But, name calling is still out of bounds here. So don't indulge in it.

Thanks.

aw, man! if "grade-A toolbox" could only work its way in here somehow.

hey "A Little Peaved"
 

If you got the answer to your question earlier than you can deep six this post. I'm just too damn lazy (thus the affinity for technology) to read every friggin rant posted for signs of intelligent life.

I've got both the T68i and 3650 syncing eveything including calendar just fine. I ditched the T68 though as at least in L.A. it's reception sucks, and well, it is supposed to be able to make calls.

Using the 3650 now, bigger, but better OS and the camera/video cam is kinda fun @ "unique" times.

You can shoot me a message if you want any more info. Oh, and the PC Suite for Nokia is just as ****ty as the OS it's designed to run on.

Doof! Those questions were posed to YOU to get the information that we could try and help YOU with. YOU want to know why the phone doesn't support some fields being synced to your computer and vice versa. I tried to help. You just acted idiotic and flayed me for it.

Rest assured that any other "questions" you pose, will not be answered by me, and I suspect, not a lot of other people will help you out either. These are help forums, designed for you to come in, ask a question and wait for an answer or help IF we can give it. We have tried valiantly to accomodate you, but you are unappreciative in everything we do. You simply come in and rant that the world isn't wired the way you want.

Get a life. Get a different phone. Get yourself on an anger-management course too. It might help you. (Oh, and a spelling course, peaved is actually peeved.)

I haven't had any problems with any products I've bought. If I have, I've always either worked around the problem and sorted it another way, or I have chosen a different product. Do your research first. Contact manufacturers and Apple to see if their software works as you require. Apple has a thousand help and support forums where you can get answers from Apple staff. Use them.

Umm.. the new Treo soon coming looks great!

have a great weekend everyone

Jacques

Repeat. INCORRECT. As I stated to you previously, I have no questions about that topic, nor did I ask any.

I cannot be responsible for your misinterpretation or failure to comprehend.


Repeat. As I stated to you previously, I appreciate your efforts. What part of that statement do you fail to understand?

Again, I cannot be responsible for your misinterpretation or failure to comprehend.

There is a great difference between ranting and clearly describing problematic shortcomings that require improvement or better solution.

Again, I cannot be responsible for your failure to discern the difference.




ACTIONS speak louder than words. I have posted assistance to other users on these forums as a direct demonstration of appreciation. A number of times I posted where no other helpful responses were given by anyone else, or where others posted inaccurate information.




Repeat. There currently is NO phone available that is ideal for satisfying all the desired goals, although the technology and market to produce such a product has existed for several years.

You seem to miss the point that my expectations and goals may be quite different from yours.

I am not responsible if you believe that justifies your remarks.



I am truly happy for your satisfaction.




Now, let's hear from others and return to the topic of this thread, and discuss pro's and con's of various phones for use with Mac OS X in search of the best cellular phone for use with Mac OS X.

Umm... yes!

Q: Is this correct: iSync support is necessary to use Address Book/iCal instead of the Palm Desktop for syncing contacts/calendar between Mac and phone?

Q: In general, how long does it take before iSync support is available for new Palm-based phones?

Yikes, they announce pricing will be "premium" over existing Treo... the Treo 300 is currently $500 with activation required.

Not available until fall, according to website.

Nokia 3650 does not have Palm computer, but 3650 was available for free with activation after rebates, if you shop carefully.

You want to know which phone to use because your current one isn't syncing correctly? Well, I asked you which fields weren't syncing across in the hope that I might be able to help you out with getting your existing phone to work. I realise now that you simply aren't interested in people's help.

Don't patronise me.

Don't patronise me.

Don't patronise me.

You wanted help, I tried to give it. You failed to appreciate that things just don't always go according to your wishes. Yes, there is crap technology out there, and I'm sorry you bought something that you didn't research properly, or have found to have problems after purchase.

DON'T PATRONISE ME!

As have I, though my posts are more chilled out and not-so-ranty :)

Then kill off this topic and move on. Why continue to rant that the industry *could* bring out the mother of all phones, when you know they won't/can't.

You seem to miss the point that we are here to help, not be the followers of your "cult of rant".

There are four other people in this thread (page 3) that have mentioned how you have acted here. A moderator and a site admin among them. We are not responsible if you cannot understand that you ARE ranting, and that you ARE unappreciative of our efforts.

As I've said before, I will no longer respond to any of your cries for help, as all too often, my suggestions get put through the wood chipper and tossed in the garbage.

Bye bye Mr. "a little peEved!"

Merv, close this thread, please?

Additional data which does not sync:

Supported by phone, not supported by iCal:
Location

Supported by iCal, not supported by phone:
Notes
Calendar
To-Do (priority = none)

Sony Clie PEG-NZ90
 

Sweet... (but expensive!)

Sony Clie PEG-NZ90

http://sonyelectronics.sonystyle.com/micros/clie/


If only it used SD memory instead of those damned memory sticks...

Get a Nokia 6310i...
 

... and make sure its got the latest software version on (5.50). This will allow you to use the excellent PhoneManagerX 1.1.1 (http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/7364)

It allows you to Update (synchronise) Phone book (SIM and Memory), manage your SMS, edit tones and pictures and works over bluetooth.

I've been using this phone for over 6 months, after using all sorts of others, and its the best for my needs (make/receive calls, simple fast navigation, huge battery life, sms). I am not into games and colour screens and all that, and this phone has the added benefit of being very easy to operate. Its also tri-band and has enough storage for 500 contacts (6 fields per entry). Well, I don't wanna sound like a Nokia Sales rep, but I'd give it a try. In the UK you can get these off-line for GBP 200.00. Try it, if you not happy, give it back before 14 days...

It won't work yet with iSynch or other iApps, but perhaps that will be added in the future.

6310i and Phonemanager
 

Now we're talking!

I am trying to get Phonemanager up and running with "Blootueth", but I am requested to select the Nokia PC Suite in the bluetooth serial port utility. how do I do this without having PC suite on the MAc or am I misunderstanding the process?

when I access the device as part of the process I don't get the option for the PC Suite int eh list on the phone.

Is this because I am ignoring the fact that I only have 4.8 firmware in the phone?

Help please (but not from Peaved!!! if I read one more of his things I won't be peaved I'll be seriously pissed off!

Salih

maybe YOU'RE here to help Peaved...

it's a new generation of iSync.
 

anyone have any good experiences with the newer iSync Phones?

- Nokia 3650
- Nokia 7650

- Siemens S55
- Siemens S56

- Sony Ericsson T610
- Sony Ericsson T616
- Sony Ericsson P800

Reviews and experiences would be greatly appreciated concerning phone ergonomincs and usuability, and especially with notes about iSync compatiblitiy in the little details.

And I'd request this material be submitted in a non-peaved format. my browser simply can't handle those <Peaved> tags.

There are many Phones and PDAs
 

There are many Phones and PDAs

**Phones that are Palms and Pocket PCs:
There are Phones that are Full Palm or Pocket PCs and thus have feature set of the non Phone versions and DeskTop software e.g. Palm, Isync apps etc.

These Like the Treo 600 and Kryocea etc. are Great. They are the least compromised from a functionalty stand point. And have gotten pretty slick. In the past besides a subsidized Phone carrier cost of $500-600, there was an issue of gettign stuck with a expensive and propritery phone that only worked with one carrier. This is no longer the case. At least T-Mobile, Cingular, and AT&T use GSM so you can at least switch among these 3 carriers (Sprint and Nextel are still propritery networks). These all in one units are quite good e.g. the Treo 600.

**Phones with Moderate amount of memory and Blue Tooth
These Phones can be used as wireless analog or Digtial modems and can Blue Tooth Sync with a computer or PDA. In the Former you Dial an anoalog ISP and can connect and like 14Kbps and browse at the cost of minutes. In the latter use sign of for data service and you supposedly get in the 33 to 110k range.

The Phone itself often has browser and email too and the displays were 160x80 but have been climing up to double and tripple that (though the screens tend to me smaller then Full Plams or Palm phones).
e.g. SE T68i SE T610 series etc.

**Phone that use Symbyan or Some other OS e.g.
SE 800 series etc. hey do everything and require special conduits to work with are Favorite computers or Dekstop Apps.

**Phones that are always on Data Access all you can eat email.
Rim Pager is mose famous, HipDanger, Treo and Palm make too etc..
These Phones often have a Keyboard too to make email typing easier.
These Phone are often also bundled with Data and or Voice Service and Subsidized.

Personally I prefer using my Palm (now a Tungsten E) and my Phone T68i separetely.

If I traveld a lot I probably would get an all in one like a Treo 600. Try before you buy. Find what appeals to you.