InfoTart

I belong to a networking organization called Harvard Startups. A guy recently wrote to the group asking for suggestions on which phone to get and which wireless operator was best. Since I work for a mobile software startup and get to play with a bunch of cool and exotic phones all the time, I wrote back offering these suggestions. This is what I tell my friends when they ask me for advice, as well.

Requirements: The fellow who wrote the request for information is a businessman who needs integration with email, calendar and contacts, needs a qwerty keypad (with keys arranged like a computer keyboard), and wants to be able to listen to music and watch videos.

Here is my take on the winning devices…

Best Integration with PIM Data (email, calendar, contacts): BlackBerry.

Runners up:

• Nokia S60 smartphones (like E62, E90, E65, etc.)
• Sony-Ericsson UIQ3 smartphones (like P1i)
• Windows Mobile devices (like Motorola Q9h or T-Mobile Dash)

The BlackBerry is a pain to set up, but once it’s done, you’ll never worry about keeping things sync’ed up again. The Nokia and Sony-Ericsson smartphones also support Exchange sync. I find usually Windows Mobile devices a bit unpleasant and usually too slow, but they do have good integration.

(By the way – we recently got the Motorola Q9h at the office and it’s really nice. It’s my favorite Windows Mobile device to date. I’d actually even recommend it to people! I’ll post a blog note on it later…)

International Roaming: GSM-based phones (like AT&T or T-Mobile)

Runners up: None

If you travel abroad, get a GSM-based phone which allows you to easily switch out the SIM Card (an ID chip). Thus, if you’re going to be abroad for an extended period, you could easily swap in a local pre-paid SIM card rather than mortgaging your first born child for those calls home.

International Roaming, Part II – Radio Bands: Quad Band Phones

Another very important consideration if you travel abroad (or purchase a cool phone overseas), make sure you get a quad band phone. Most Europe-oriented phones are tri-band only, and need the 4th band to work more broadly in the US.

Must-Have – WiFi: Nokia S60 smartphones (like E65 or E90).

Runners up:

• Sony-Ericsson UIQ3 smartphones (like P1i)
• BlackBerry Curve or 8800 series with WiFi (which are new)

I find that Nokia’s smartphones are the easiest to use and easiest to set up for Internet access, and for switching between cellular data and WiFi connection points. Note that T-Mobile now sells a WiFi-enabled BlackBerry Curve which has integrated WiFi voice calling. That’s pretty cool.

Must-Have – Office Document Editing: DataViz Documents To Go and QuickOffice

If you need to be able to view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint slides, then give these applications a try. DataViz software is available for all major smartphone platforms, with BlackBerry support coming soon. QuickOffice is available for S60, UIQ, and Palm. Both of these products are surprisingly affordable at just $30 – 40.

Love to Have – Video, Music: Nokia S60 smartphones or Sony-Ericsson
W960i

Runners up: Most any other smartphone

Almost any device in the smartphone category supports video and audio playback. Get yourself a 2 GB memory card (typically mini-SD), pop it into the phone, and save to it your favorite MP3s and videos. (Rip that South Park Season 1 DVD!). I love these features of my smartphones and always make sure I have lots of fun content when traveling.

Most Pleasant Overall Usability: Purely subjective

I love my Nokia S60 smartphones, but also have a big weakness for the Sony-Ericsson UIQ line (esp. the P1i and upcoming W960i) and the Motorola MOTORIZR Z8 (another UIQ3 phone). However, one of my colleagues who is on the road constantly swears by his BlackBerry Curve. So it’s totally up to you. Try to borrow a friend’s phone for a few minutes to see what you like and might dislike about the device. (Unfortunately, phone stores rarely have live, working devices that people can look at.)

This afternoon, I hopped in my car and took the Pike out towards Worcester. My destination: Deja Brew, this cool “brew your own beer” place somewhere on Rte. 9 in Shrewsbury. I was meeting up with some buddies who had brewed up a few batched of beer there last year, but this was my first time going there and somehow I got lost.

Deja Brew is located on Rte 9 near Rte. 140, so I thought, “Hey, I’ll get off the Pike at the Rte. 140 exit.” What I didn’t know is that there is no Rte. 140 exit! Oops…

So I got off at the nearest exit, knowing that Rte. 9 was north somewhere. So I pulled over, pulled out my spanky new GPS receiver, Bluetooth connected it to my phone, and then launched Google Maps and clicked on the button for “my location”. (Thank goodness for an unlimited data plan!)

Within maybe 2 minutes, I’d figured out how to get where I needed to go and got back on the road and I was only 5 minutes late. And since I’m a guy, I was deeply relieved that I didn’t have to ask a random gas station attendant how to get there. 

The funny thing is that I had to use the Google Maps + GPS wonder duo again later this evening. See, I didn’t discover that there is no intersection for the Pike and Rte 140 until I was driving home. When I drove under the Pike, I figured there was a problem… So I pulled over again, and figured out how to get back on the Pike to Boston. *whew!*

Google has recently come out with a new version of their software for Nokia S60 smartphones. What’s brilliant is that this software is a native S60 application — not Java, so it is more integrated into the device.

Practically speaking, what this means is that if your phone has a built in GPS receiver, or if you get a standalone receiver, then Google Maps can connect with it to display your current location, get directions, etc. Nice!

My one major complaint about Google Maps? It crashes when it tries to access a data access point (APN) that’s not available.

For example, I was using Google Maps at work, so I connected my phone to the free WiFi in the office. (Neat!) Then the next day, I was walking through Harvard Yard on my way to the subway and decided to look up my destination on Google Maps. Unfortunately, Google Maps expected the office WiFi APN to be available — which it certainly isn’t being on the other side of Cambridge. So Google Maps rudely showed me an error message and crashed. Duh!

Instead, Google Maps should have said, “Hey! That APN isn’t available, so let’s ask the user which APN to use this time.” Or try the approach used by the S60 browser, and let the user save a setting for a preferred APN or have it always ask which one to use.

What fantastic news! I got a Nokia E65 (in red) yesterday and I’m totally loving it. Loving it!

What software am I putting on my phone?

• Google Maps: Because in New England, the roads were laid down by drunken cows and city road commissions are allergic to street signs. Much better than Nokia’s own Navigator/Maps product.
• Gmail: To get access to my Gmail on the go!
• iSkoot: Hello! It’s my day job. Gotta eat the dog food.
• Widsets: An excellent RSS reader and “gadget” application. Using Widsets, I can get weather updates and even access my Univ. of Michigan email account, which is pretty cool.