I wish the n800 had a GSM radio built into it instead of just the WiFi though.
Is the screen large enough to be comfortable for web surfing?

I don’t think I’ll really gain anything by trying to do the ROM update to go from Vodafone to Cingular. Now that I’m back home, I really don’t care that the time might not update again via the network time. My problems with appt times not correctly updating when the time changes is not a ROM issue, it’s a Windows Mobile issue.

Regarding the alarms, I don’t use the Settings/Clock & Alarms applet. I use the Calendar and just make an appointment. BTW: while typing this I just did two test alarms and both worked fine. Go figure!

The 680 review is going to be delayed because the device I was sent seems to have some hardware issues. They are going to swap me out for another one.

Looks like some people have put Cingular ROMs on 750vs. Check out http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=280500

Let me know if there is something you want me to check on the Cingular 750.

- Joe

Spend some time on the XDA-developers.com website. There is a ton of information here about how to update your ROM as well as the tools and the ROM that you’ll need.

You’ll discover that you will probably need a couple of programs – 1 to unlock the phone for software updates and then the ROM.

Chances are you will also find people on the forum who have already done the update and can give you a feel for what you gain by updating the ROM. Past experience with Cingular ROMs have shown me that you often times lose a little. Cingular tends to have a bloated ROM – with the xpress mail, music, video etc applications – so you’ll want to study this.

Also – I’ve never had a problem doing upgrades like this – but be clear about the risks before you do anything. You paid way to much for your 750 to turn it into a paperweight.

Also – wondering about your use of the 680? Are we going to see a review of that phone anytime soon?

I asked a Palm person last night if I could update the ROM in my Vodafone version with the Cingular ROM. He said that he didn’t think so. Seems strange to me. I don’t know why there would be an issue. Hmmmm… But the problem with alarms not firing is a Windows Mobile issue. An issue that has plagued Pocket PCs for years. I thought it had been fixed as I’d not noticed the problem until I really needed to count on the alarm. Grrr. My wake up alarm didn’t work again today.

Mark:
CES is fun but also overwhelming! I’m back home now. Just got in the house about 10mins ago There’s no place like home

Thank you so much, Julie, for these updates…I would love to go to CES, but my teaching job sort of kills the chances of attending.

Mark

Thanks for all the info from the show. Regarding your 750v, I am told that Cingular has a different ROM in their 750 than the 750v has. It should be possible to try that ROM if they fixed some issues.

I will try a Cingular 750 next week, so I can see if I have the same time zone and alarm issue you have with the 750v.

I am currently using an 8525 and found it much more usable after a few weeks of use. The first week, it felt very strange. I also installed a few applications that I like alot:

- AgendaOne is great for one-handed use of the calendar and contacts
- PTTfix allows me to use the PTT button to toggle silencing the phone
- TXTMan is a free threaded SMS application
- Bluemusic allows me to send all audio to my bluetooth headset. Great for listening to Audible books. They are at http://www.teksoftco.com/. That should work on your 750 as well.

- Joe

SQLDba wrote:

At first I was bummed by the 6 month wait too Julie

Imagine how bummed out those of us on CDMA networks are! My New Every Two comes due from Verizon this March. Gotta stick with the big V…they are the only carrier with any coverage in my neck of the woods. No iPhone for us!

Mark

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they or a 3rd party comes out with an Outlook / Exchange client for email. Without that – it severely limits it’s usefulness as a business tool. Push IMAP is nice – but not quite the same. Clearly with the music player, iPhoto etc – the iPhone is not targeted toward the business user, but I think plenty would buy one just for the improved web / phone features.

At first I was bummed by the 6 month wait too Julie – but knowing how active the Mac developer community is – and assuming this truly is running a version of OSX – when this phone is finally released – there will be a slew of applications waiting for us.

I can’t say I have been this excited about a peice of technology in a long long time.

moofrank:
Please let us all know what you think about the Sears router after you’ve had time to play with it!

And I agree that tablets maybe doomed after what I’m reading about the iPhone. It really sucks that we have to wait 6 months to actually play with one though!

And the Internet tablets may have trouble. Apple’s new phone has Wifi and Safari…. It is certainly making my beloved Treo a lot less interesting. Sigh.

Moo,
Frank

SQLDba wrote:

Mark,

Would love to know what you will be using the OQO for – and why you think this is the holy grail?

I will admit that it is a very nice looking unit – and I’m stunned that they are able to run Vista on it – (although I wonder how much of that is a marketing ploy)

In fact it looks great – until you click on the “Buy Now” button and see they are looking for $1500 for one.

I hate it when back seat drivers post and say “for that kind of money you could buy….” but jeez – that’s one heck of a chunk of change.

I won’t deny that having a full fledged computer as your “main brain” – carry everywhere system would really be nice. In fact, I used a 12″ iBook for my PDA etc for about 6 months – and still miss it.

ultimately, I’m just looking for more reasons I can give my wife as to why I NEED one too

BTW – have you seen the Nokia N800 internet tablet that has just been released? At $400 – it looks pretty interesting as well…..

Now to see what Steve Jobs has up his sleeve in the morning….

I am buying the OQO Model 02 becuase:

1) It gives me a lot more freedom in the classroom. I can use it to very effectively take attendance, do my presentations and do all those classroom management tasks with it in my hand as I go around the class. It will also cut down substantially on the bulk I have to carry around.

2) It will make it a lot easier to do my education conference presentations due to the fact that it will fit into my gear bag with all my other junk.

3) It will be the perfect travel partner, especially when I go storm chasing (yes, Stormchasers is great stuff, Julie).

I have wanted a full computer in the same form factor as my HP 200LX since I first had my 200LX. I still have it, too!!!

I had the Nokia 770 and was ultimately disappointed with it. I replaced it with a Dell X51v, which is nice, but the OQO will replace that.

Mark

Next up was a product from Fujitsu called the ScanSnap. It’s basically a color scanner that can scan 18 page per minute. Who cares you might be thinking… Well what makes this scanner cool is the fact that it scans in duplex. In other words, it scans both sides of the page. No flipping required. Nice huh? I thought so too.

We just got the fi-5110EOXM, the model before the one you saw, where I work. It’s similar but a bit slower (only 15 double-sided pages per minute). I use it with DEVONthink Pro Office, a wonderful Mac program that includes built-in support for the ScanSnap line and OCR software. It was easy to set up. I created a new database, put some documents in the scanner, pressed the scan button, and have been happily putting my paper documents that had been in a pile into a fully searchable database. I’m using my iBook G4 to do all this.

We’ll be putting our church’s minutes and newsletters into a searchable database that will let others be able to search this shelf of records online.

Check out the software for more details. While I’ve had a few “jams” (usually because of bent paper around where the document had been stapled) most pages go through quickly and quietly. If you have a bunch of papers and would like to have an easy way to be able to search through and find specific information in them I recommend using these products together.