Technically speaking, any cell phone you have has a certain amount of
"smarts" built in.
Even the
Nokia 5160i that's been attached to my hip since the turn of the
century lets you send and receive text messages and play crude games on
its now-quaint monochromatic screen.
Today we take a look at two devices that are helping redefine the term
"smartphone": the
Audiovox SMT5600 and the
PalmOne Treo 650.
The 650, offered by Sprint, is
an updated version of the popular
Treo 600 They sport a similar design and are about the same size and both
couple the functionality of a Palm-based organizer with a wireless
telephone.
Unlike a more traditional Palm that relies on input using a stylus on a
touch-sensitive screen, the 6.3 ounce 650 features a tiny keyboard under
the large 320 x 320 pixel color display that is designed to be tapped
with your thumbs.
This arrangement (while it does take some getting used to) makes the
Treo 650 a good choice for people who have to reply to a lot of e-mail
on the go.
Like virtually all smartphones, the 650 gives you access to the
Internet—at least as much Internet as can fit on the display. I found
that a growing number of traditional Web sites (like
Yahoo and Google
) are
adding small-screen friendly versions that format the information in a
more digestible fashion.
The Audiovox SMT5600, at 3.6 ounces, is about half the size and bulk of
the Treo, but it manages to pack a lot of the same functionality into
its candy bar form factor.
The SMT 5600 has a traditional telephone keypad instead of an
alphanumeric keyboard. That makes it harder to originate or reply to
messages.
If you sense a certain familiarity about what appears on the Audiovox's
gorgeous 176 x 220 pixel screen, that's because the SMT5600 uses the
Windows Mobile operating system designed by Microsoft. It mimics the same
conventions that Windows computer users have grown accustomed to.
Software supplied with the SMT5600 can synchronize e-mail and calendar
information in your Windows PC to the phone (and vice-versa). There is
no native support, however, for Macintosh users; the Treo is a better
bet in that case.
"This is my favorite device," said Microsoft spokesman John
Starkweather, who showed me the SMT5600. "It really does allow me to
stay in touch and be productive with work but also to do the playing
that I want—keeping in touch with my family, pictures, videos."
I used Microsoft's free
Windows Media Encoder on a Windows XP desktop PC software to create a
video clip of last week's Computer Corner segment. It was a simple
matter to drag and drop the clip to the phone using a USB cable and
Microsoft ActiveSync software (both furnished in the box with the phone).
The SMT5600's built-in Windows Media Player let me watch the results.
Third party vendors (like
Makayama Software) offer programs to transfer your favorite DVDs to an
optional
miniSD memory card (a fingernail-sized cousin of the popular
SD memory card) tucked away under the SMT5600's battery pack.
I was thrilled to discover that I could also use the Media Player to
listen to live streaming audio of my favorite radio station; that means
wherever I have access to the Cingular-AT&T Wireless network, I should
be able to tune in!
Both the Audiovox and PalmOne smartphones share several popular
features, including cameras capable of taking snapshot-quality (640 x
480 pixel) digital photos and
Bluetooth connectivity.
Bluetooth is a versatile short-range wireless technology that lets you
link your smartphone to a cord-free headset, a keyboard or even to your
PC.
It's fair to say I enjoyed using both the Treo and the Audiovox units.
Neither one is perfect; it would be nice to have built-in access to the
growing number of high-speed
Wi-Fi Internet hotspots, and—as mentioned earlier—nobody's ever going to
type 60 words-per-minute on a smartphone.
I liked the Audiovox SMT5600 so much that I purchased one to replace my
aging Nokia. The smartphone is available from
Amazon.com for the crazy price of free plus a bonus of $25.01 (after
mail-in rebates from Amazon and
AT&T Wireless). Service activation is necessary for the rebates.
I don't see the Audiovox model on the AT&T Wireless Web site currently,
nor does it appear to be available from
Cingular, which recently purchased AT&T Wireless.
The Treo 650 is offered by
Sprint for $420 with a two-year service plan.
Watch Computer Corner Wednesdays at noon on WFAA-TV Channel 8.
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