Three New PDAs Provide Mixed Experiences

I tested three of the more advanced units: the RIM BlackBerry 7230, the Sharp Zaurus SL-5600 and the latest Palm OS phone from Samsung, the SPH-i500. I loaded the units with a 5,000++address book from my Outlook contact manager and proceeded to carry them around with me to check for cell-phone coverage and the utility of the various component applications. The three draw on different strengths: a mobile e-mail manager, computing and a phone, respectively. And while none offers an optimal blend of all three, they each make strides toward the other areas with these latest releases. None is a truly satisfying experience overall, but if I had to pick my favorite, the BlackBerry would get the nod.

The BlackBerry 7230 combines a GPRS cell phone with the standard BlackBerry contact management and e-mail functionality. The BlackBerry has always been a solid mobile e-mail device, letting users synchronize their Exchange and Notes messages and have them delivered on the device. This unit tries to bridge the world of cell phones but doesn't quite succeed. The device is designed to be used with or without an earbud (something New York State drivers, for example, are required to wear by law). The phone functions are available via a button on the top of the unit, and you can directly dial a contact from the address book. Of the three address books, the BlackBerry's contact display is my favorite. You have to open the contact record to view the phone numbers or e-mail addresses, but you have plenty of fields to fill out and the conversion from my Outlook contacts didn't mangle too many of them.

One caveat: I unfortunately used an e-mail account that gets hundreds of messages as my test account for the device, and soon my e-mailbox was overflowing. There is a way to delete the messages using a Web site, but I urge caution. Otherwise you will be spending lots of time doing mundane inbox-management tasks.

Perhaps the most technologically interesting unit is the Sharp Zaurus, which runs a full-blown version of Linux disguised as a hefty Palm-compatible device. As I said, its roots are a computing device, first and foremost, and as such it comes with a standard typewriter-like QWERTY keypad that is protected by a sliding cover on the unit. Number keys are placed above the letter keys as on a typewriter. As you would expect, given its computing heritage, of the three units I tested, the Sharp Zaurus had the best keyboard.

One drawback is that the Zaurus doesn't come with a built-in cell phone like the others. Nor does it have e-mail capability. It runs like a standard Palm PDA with some additional applications, such as MS-Office-compatible word processing and spreadsheets from Hancom, as well as an Opera Web browser and media player, microphone and speakers. The screen is bright and crisp, the sound terrific, and the two memory expansion options (Secure Digital and Compact Flash slots) can handle cards with files on them from Palms as well as Macs and Windows PCs. Zaurus also has its own file-transfer desktop software to move data between the desktop and the PDA. This is probably one of the smallest Linux computers around, and if the developer community gets energized by this platform, it could prove to be a useful device. But it is more of a heavy Palm-compatible curiosity for the moment. You can add network adapters and other cards, but you'll need drivers that will work on this platform, and they are in woefully short supply.

Next up is a phone that is trying to be a Palm, or is it the other way around? The Samsung SPH-i500 is the smallest of the three units tested and doesn't come with a QWERTY-style keyboard. It has a smallish graffiti area to enter text, which will be familiar to Palm users. This is a convenient way to enter appointments, look up contacts or even establish a phone connection. The i500 does have advantages. For those who are heavy cell-phone users and like to have access to e-mail, the Web and data residing on a larger Palm, the i500 packs all that into a unit that fits comfortably in any pocket. The color display is crisp, and it's easy to hotsync with a PC or exchange data with other Palm devices through the infrared port.

But my test unit had problems. First, it has too many buttons on its face and sides to handle all of the functions of both phone and Palm PDA. To fit both sets of functions into a single unit, Samsung had to make some tough choices. One of those is that the main screen is smaller than the average-size Palm. Another is stability; I had to reboot the phone/Palm a few times when applications crashed. Battery life was short. Still, at least with this unit you can be on the phone and take notes concurrently, something missing from earlier models. The phone lacks support for a Flash memory card and an optional folding keyboard. All in all, if you love your Palm but sometimes find it too bulky to carry, and you are looking for a new phone, the i500 is a nicely converged unit. If you have up to $600 to spare and are willing to sign a contract with a specific carrier for a given number of years, you'll probably find it to be quite convenient.

In Summary

Other features are worth mentioning as well. For example, you can search for a particular contact with all three units' contact managers by typing in most of a last name, and the results that match the entry will show as you go along. This is helpful, particularly if you have thousands of contacts in your address book as I do. The Zaurus also has dictionary-style alphabet tabs across the top of the screen, so you can scroll directly to the listings beginning with the letter "T," for example. All three are synchronized via a USB-attached cradle/charging station. The BlackBerry's was the most elegant and had the least volume, in case you are thinking of packing these to go on the road.

Both the BlackBerry and Samsung include a Web browser as part of their package, but it is virtually unusable for all but the simplest pages. The tiny bandwidth and even tinier screens will make surfing the Web an unpleasant experience. By the way, all three units offer color screens of varying degrees of brightness; the Samsung is the smallest and brightest. I don't think a color screen in these dimensions buys you much functionality, and it certainly drains batteries more quickly than monochrome. But given the highly competitive markets these devices play in, color is almost a necessity.

In terms of cell-phone coverage, both Sprint and T-Mobile aren't the most complete carriers in the metro NYC area where I roamed around with the devices, but the calls made from both sounded crisp and clean enough for my purposes.

While I liked the BlackBerry for its messaging strength and good phone features, overall these PDAs are still too expensive and quirky for the average user. Better to stick with a separate phone and PDA. Despite the inconvenience of carrying around two units, you get the best of both worlds,and better battery-life management, too.