As I was saying, I'm with you in wanting no part of a mobile data plan. So what I did was buy a rooted HTC Dream (DBA T-Mobile G1). I got a good deal because it had a broken screen which i was able to replace, but $70-$100 is reasonable for this phone. Here's a G1 on craigslist for $100: http://eugene.craigslist.org/mob/1993167760.html
As I was saying, a stock G1 won't let you use it without a working data plan, so look for a rooted phone. Barring that, have the data plan activated, and follow these instructions to root your phone: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=442480. After that, I highly recommend installing Cyanogenmod 6, a fast and stable, up-to-date custom Android ROM. The easiest way to do it is by downloading ROM Manager from the android market, going into the app and selecting "download ROM", then "cyanogenmod", pick 6.0.0 stable, let it do its thing, and you're done. If you really want to get fancy you can even run Debian on it. I'm happy to help, it can be confusing and a bit intimidating at first, but it's really foolproof and simple when you get down to it. Another thing I did before I got my G1 was buy a windows mobile phone with wi-fi. The one I got, the HTC Titan (AKA Verizon XV6800, Sprint PPC6800, etc etc) didn't ever need a data connection to get working. I don't know what calendar service you use, but google has a guide for using exchange with its services, so I had gmail, calendar, contacts, all synced to this phone I found on ebay for $30. Throw in the Opera Mini browser and it's a somewhat decent MID, throw in a microSD card and you can listen to MP3s. Any windows mobile 5 or higher phone will work. I know, cringe, it's windows, but it's used and you can use the money you saved to donate to the linux foundation or something. This is kind of my thing, in case you didn't notice. I'd be happy to work with you on finding a good solution. Nicholas Chase On Thu, Oct 7, 2010 at 13:32, Nicholas Chase <[email protected]>wrote: > I got a G1 off craigslist for exactly this reason. It takes a bit of doing > to set up to use without a contract. I'll have more details after I catch > my bus. > On Oct 7, 2010 1:23 PM, "Allen Brown" <[email protected]> wrote: > > Years ago I bought a Palm Z22 for $99. It recently died. I need > > to replace it. Naturally I would prefer something that runs > > Linux. > > > > Cost matters, of course. But the Palm Z22 price has gone up. > > Weird! It is now $150. It is also an HP product. Once upon > > a time that would have given it favor in my mind. But HP has > > gone evil, so now they get no favor. > > > > I thought an Archos 32 would do the trick. The size is good. > > The price is $150. I actually bought one before I found out > > it totally does not meet my needs. I returned it. > > The other Archos pads may have calendar capability. I didn't > > check. They are too big. > > > > The most important function of the PDA for me is the calendar. > > It has to beep at me to warm me of appointments. Without that, > > it is worthless to me. > > > > Being able to connect to the web (in a pinch) would be > > nice, but is not required. The Z22 can't do that. All the > > other products I'm aware of, can. > > > > The Archos 32 is worthless to me. It has no calendar function > > with alarms. And no internal speaker. Even if it had a calendar > > function I would have to walk around with ear buds to hear the > > alarms. Boo. > > > > Two Linux products which appear to have the functionality I > > require are the Droid and the Nokia N900. Both are approx > > $400. Both are also mobile phones. I don't need (or want) > > a mobile. I definitely don't want to be tied to a phone > > company to get the functionality of the device. And that price > > is too much for a very fancy alarm watch. But if I do buy > > a mobile it has to be capable of international use (GSM) > > and it has to be unlocked. > > > > The only other product I've found which comes close is the > > Apple iPod Touch for $230. That's still pretty expensive. > > But I am considering it. But I really would prefer to avoid > > Apple's "walled garden". The company is too hostile to Linux > > for my taste. > > > > Here is a summary: > > Palm Z22 $150 > > + Good calendar > > - More expensive than it's worth > > Archos 32 $150 > > - No alarm capabilities. Worthless > > Nokia N900 GSM $400 > > + Adequate calendar > > - Much too expensive > > Droid GSM $420 > > + Adequate calendar > > - Much much too expensive > > Apple iPod Touch $230 > > + Adequate calendar > > - Somewhat expensive > > - Apple company is hostile to Linux > > > > Are there other products out there that I should consider? > > -- > > Allen Brown abrown at peak.org > > http://brown.armoredpenguin.com/~abrown/<http://brown.armoredpenguin.com/%7Eabrown/> > > Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is > > too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly > > and ignorant superstition. --- Carl Sagan > > > > _______________________________________________ > > EUGLUG mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://www.euglug.org/mailman/listinfo/euglug >
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