i've had a few days to live with the
danger
hiptop/sidekick
sidekick; while i'm generally happy with it, there are loads of
issues that make it less than a homerun. i'm aware of
t-mobile's terms of service issues
, but i chose to live with them given the steep discounts i got on
the device at the t-mobile store, and the fact that there is an
upcoming release of a syncing application that makes the whole
thing less of an issue for me.
size.
it's clunky. i knew this before i bought it, but it still doesn't
lessen the daily aggravation of having a phone/data device that
doesn't conveniently slip into your pocket. of course, if they'd
have made it any smaller, i'd be complaining about the keyboard and
screen being to small. in the end, i guess they got the tradeoff
almost right, but i just wish it could be slightly svelter, since
it's a pain to try to constantly find a place to stash device the
size of a largish bar of soap.
battery life.
i hate talking on the phone so i'm not exactly what you'd call a
power user. it looks like i
might
be able to go the day without charging with moderate data usage and
a few phone calls, so it's basically in the "charge every night and
maybe top it off during the day" category, which is not spectacular
but not surprising given the tradeoffs that the engineers had to
make.
converage and speed
coverage is so-so in grand rapids, which i know is the fault of the
radio in the device, since i haven't had any problems with other
phones on the t-mobile network. it also seems fairly instable, in
that the phone can move from 4 bars to 1 or none without moving
anywhere. data coverage also seems adequate. i haven't done any
speed tests, but the perceived download speeds are 56Kbps at best.
general web browsing is painful, but instant messaging is quiet
pleasant. a wifi replacement, this is not.
applications
up until this point the device doesn't have a whole lot going for
it, but it has a few applications that start to tilt things back in
its favor.
ssh client
terminal
monkey
. great geegaws words can not explain how happy this makes me.
there's no "pipe" key, but that's
fixable
. the latency sucks at times, but i don't care. the ability to ssh
anytime, anywhere almost makes me want to cry.
IM
it feels really responsive. and rightly or wrongly,
aim
if often "good enough". i wish that there was an ssl option for
more secure communications. and here's to hoping that someday
they'll turn on the
rumoured support
for
jabber
. in the meantime, i guess the support for ssh gives me some
command line jabber options for those times when i might not want
stuff going out insecure over
aim.
synch
o.k. it hasn't technically been released yet, but i am breathlessly
awaiting
missing
synch
. ssh, instant messaging and a good synch app, along with tmobile
unlimited $20 data plan more than make up for all the other issues.
email
the installed email client is a joke. i'm an IMAP guy. and the
email client only does half-way imap. you can retrieve your email
from an IMAP/SSL client, but it doesn't synch your folders - i.e.
if you delete the email on the sidekick, it doesn't get deleted on
the server, which largely defeats the purpose of IMAP. a quick
check of the
hiptop's forums
reveals that many people just migrate to something like
fusemail
. i suspect i might be able to kludge something together with
squirrelmail.
web browser
ugh. it's mostly a painful affair. the browser has all sorts of css
rendering issues, it doesn't do javascript, it seems to have issues
with http auth and so on and so forth. add in the fact that the
network does not in any way shape or form qualify as speedy, and
you quickly realize to avoid the browser on sites that aren't
specifically designed for small devices.
camera
i didn't get one because i've heard they are laughable. i might
break down and get one, but at this point it's not very high on my
list.
phone
and lastly, the phone. since i put this last you can see where it
sits on my priority list. i was looking for a mobile data device
with a wan interface first and a phone second. and that's exactly
what i got. if you're a power phone user you'll definately want to
pass this up. the sound quality is adequate, but nothing to brag
about. the size makes it difficult, if not impossible, to do a
one-handed "pick up the phone and answer it" move. you get the
idea.
“"it is hard to be brave," said piglet, sniffing slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal." rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: "it is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us."”
the complete tales & poems of winnie the poohthis site chronicles the continuing adventures of my son, odin, who was unexpectedly born on the fourth of july at 25 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 7 ounces.
he's quite a fighter and you can always send him a postcard to the most current address listed here if you're inspired by his adventures. see the postcard project/google maps mashup to see a map of the postcards.
if you're new, you can browse the archives to catch up. and don't forget to watch a few movies that i made while we were in the neonatal intensive care unit. or if you want the abridged version and you can find a copy, you can read about his adventures in the november 2005 issue of parents magazine.
daddytypes
/
blogging baby
/
rebeldad
/
thingamababy
/
The Continuing Adventures of Super-Preemie
/
dooce
/
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