on. I looked at Samsung and Mitsubishi units that work with CDPD 1.1. Nokia was unable to send its GSM-based Communicator 9000 in time for this review.
More Than Meets the Eye
I spent a week with Samsung's Duette and Mitsubishi's MobileAccess 120. I quickly realized that smart phones do not live by hardware alone. Many components make the smart phone tick, including the hardware itself, the cellular voice service, the cellular data service (which includes e-mail service and an address), a text-based Web browser, and content.
The only third-party application you may need is Puma's IntelliSync software for Pocket Net phones. It synchronizes desktop applications with those on the phone.
Luckily for me, AT&T Pocket Net Service packaged everything I needed to get the smart phone up and running, including AT&T's data service (Pocket Net), voice service, and Unwired Planet's U
P.Link software platform and browser (which bundles a variety of Internet-related software and services). AT&T sells the phones for $299 and unlimited use of the data service for $29.95 a month. It also provides voice service (in certain markets, at least) and bundles the connectivity software and pushed content.
Pull for Push
Setting up both phones to access Unwired Planet's pushed Internet content was simple. I downloaded the software on my laptop, registered each phone with a user name and password, and configured my personal information manager (PIM), calendar, and address book, which are stored on Unwired Planet's Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML) server. I configured each phone for the right LCD contrast, tone volume, and speed-dial numbers. I could check e-mail, the weather report, news, and even play a game of hangman on each unit.
Connecting to Unwired Planet's server to access this content was faster than I expected and surprisingly reliable. I connected at various time
s throughout the day. The maximum connect time was 7 seconds. Another bonus was the time it took to get the information I needed. With a laptop, you must wait to boot up, spend time connecting to an Internet service provider (ISP), and navigate to the right Web site. With a smart phone, it took a matter of seconds to flip on the power and navigate to the stock quotes menu. If there's a killer application for smart phones, it's definitely push technology.
Besides using Pocket Net, the Mitsubishi and Samsung phones are similar in a few other ways. Both come with anytime technical and customer support. Both phones are similar in form and function. Each phone is full-duplex and provides Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) data encryption and IS-90 authentication. The two phones come with a PIM and a calendar, and have serial-port interfaces to their 19.2-Kbps CDPD modems. What differentiates these two phones are some key features and a few subtle details that contribute to each phone's usability.
Mobile Cha
mp
The first thing that struck me about the Mitsubishi
MobileAccess 120
phone was its backlit screen and keys. The entire key lights up, not just the number or letter on the key. With the
Samsung Duette
, the screen is also backlit, but only the numbers on the keys are lit. That's important, especially at night.
More important, though, the MobileAccess 120 has three user modes: voice, data, and dual. While I checked my e-mail, I was able to receive an incoming call. With the Samsung Duette (which has either voice or data modes only), incoming calls received a busy signal when I checked my e-mail. Both phones' 19.2-Kbps CDPD modem can connect to a laptop or via a special serial cable and serve as a packet modem. The MobileAccess 120 also has a 14.4-Kbps Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) modem that you can use, in the same fashion, as a circuit-switched modem.
I liked being able to store 99 names and numbers in the MobileAccess 120's memory. On th
e Duette, the limit is 40. Additionally, the MobileAccess 120 has a few empty memory slots for future expandability and to accommodate future enhancements and new applications.
The Mitsubishi smart phone is well thought out, gaining extra points for its viewability. In voice mode, the phone's display shows a large battery-indicator picture, in addition to date and time displays. (The Duette does not show the date and time while in voice mode and has a very small battery indicator.) The MobileAccess 120's viewability is also improved by its use of big fonts. The Duette's screen is larger, but it wastes a lot of its space and uses small fonts.
I also liked Mitsubishi's Power Navigating tools, which are basically shortcuts. By pressing down on and holding a number, I was able to avoid having to press enter after each number when navigating the menus. Another neat feature is the phone's voice mute button (to temporarily block your voice when you're talking on the phone). Finally, the MobileAccess 120
has a slightly smaller form factor than the Duette. It stored easily in my pocket. All this, in addition to its backlit keys, large memory storage, dual data and voice modes, and good viewability, earn the Mitsubishi MobileAccess 120 recommended status.
Separated at Birth
With a keypad astonishingly similar to my TV's remote control, the Samsung Duette has a familiar look and feel. This interface makes it quick and easy to get acquainted with the phone's voice and data menu systems. It has soft phone keys and arrow keys for all four directions (the MobileAccess 120 has only up and down keys). Its learning curve is a bit easier than the Mitsubishi phone, due to its intuitive keypad. In truth, though, it's not easy sending e-mail using the small keypad on either phone.
A key differentiator of the Duette is the desktop charger that comes standard with the unit. It recharges in less than 40 minutes. The Mitsubishi phone comes with a trickle charger that takes 8 hours to charge.
Both pho
nes have audio controls, which is important because all keypad action is accompanied by a sound. The MobileAccess 120's tones are shrill and high-pitched. The Duette's tones are more bearable, especially if you've used the keyboard for a long time.
I didn't like the fact that the Duette has only two modes: voice and data. The fact that you can't use these two modes simultaneously, as you can on the Mitsubishi phone, is a major minus. During my tests, incoming calls were unavailable to me, in real time, when I used the Duette to access the Internet or check e-mail. Though the Samsung Duette has a familiar interface, fast battery charger, and nonannoying tones, it is less feature-rich, overall, than the Mitsubishi MobileAccess 120.
Product Information
AT&T Pocket Net........................$29.95 a month for data services
(PC and Mac)
AT&T Wireless Services
Kirkland, WA
Phone: 888-299-8558
Phone: 425-803-4000
Internet:
http://www.att.com/wireless/data/
Enter 1070 on Inquiry Card.
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Smart Phones Make the Grade
