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Latest Wireless Gadgets Leap Ahead of Old Hardware

Alan Cohen
The American Lawyer
March 17, 2006

There was a time when a lawyer's favorite phrase was "billable hours." But that's so 1990. Today, cutting-edge lawyers are boosting their productivity (and revenue) with slick handheld devices that keep them in touch and organized. The words that those lawyers most want to hear are "new BlackBerry" and "new Palm."

Last fall both devices got a makeover; new versions hit the market just before the holiday shopping season. We took both out for a trial run, as well as a line of clever portable keyboards that make these and other handy devices even handier. If Santa didn't bring you any of these products a few months ago, fear not: Maybe your IT manager will.

BLACKBERRY 8700c

For some lawyers, the arrival of a new BlackBerry seems to be almost as momentous an event as the birth of a child -- or at least, the birth of someone else's child. But one doesn't have to be gaga for mobile e-mail to appreciate this bundle of joy: The latest BlackBerry, the 8700c (available in the United States only through Cingular Wireless), is the niftiest version yet.

The best thing about this new BlackBerry ($299 when purchased with a two-year service contract) is tactile, not technological: The 8700c simply feels right in your hand. BlackBerry's maker, Research In Motion, has finally hit on the perfect form factor for a device that is used both for mobile e-mail and for mobile phone calls.

Thinner, shorter, and lighter than previous BlackBerry models, including the popular 7200 and 7700 series, the 4.7-ounce 8700c never seems too big for making calls or too small for typing e-mail. While the keyboard is indeed a bit more cramped than in earlier models, we didn't have any difficulties tapping out messages, at least after 10 or 15 minutes of practice.

This is a much better design than RIM's other recent BlackBerry, the 7100. That device -- in an attempt to more closely resemble a traditional cell phone -- is far too narrow, requiring an abbreviated keyboard where each key serves two letters and onboard software has to figure out what you're trying to type. It was a nice try, but when letters share a key, it's like brothers sharing a bedroom: an efficient use of space that leaves everyone miserable.

On the technology front, the 8700c is good but not groundbreaking. Its color display is large and bright, but not as much as those on the most recent PDAs. It's adequate for reading e-mail and even attachments, and reads well in daylight, too -- but it's not going to blow you away. Like too many recent electronics, the device has a rather shiny screen, which means you may encounter some glare, but nothing too troublesome. BlackBerry touts the 8700s as a speedier Web browser, since the device runs over Cingular's Edge network.

A word of warning: There are those who refer to Edge as a "high-speed" network. We don't. It's more accurate to call it a "higher-speed" network, and then only in comparison to traditional second-generation networks. In those, Web browsing was just a tad faster than, say, walking to the Web server to get your information. Other cellular service providers, such as Verizon Wireless, already use networks that are far faster than Edge. Cingular is upgrading its system, but until its faster network is rolled out, Edge will provide only a ho-hum browsing experience. You'll wait for pages to download, and then wait some more. Even clicking on a link is a drawn-out process, as the 8700c will always display a menu asking you if you want it to go to the link. (Of course you do -- why else would you click on it?) And since there is no 802.11 wireless capability on the device, you can't hop onto a speedier WiFi network when you're in range.

In the end, we found browsing on the BlackBerry to be useful in a crunch, but not on a regular basis.

Still, the most popular functions on this device are bound to be e-mailing and calling, and the 8700c does both well. Dedicated "send" and "end" buttons make calling seamless, and the device's Intel processor -- it's the first BlackBerry to have one -- makes viewing attachments faster. The 8700c is a quad-band GSM/GPRS phone, making it a good international traveling companion, able to work on many networks worldwide. E-mailing was a snap. The device can integrate with corporate e-mail via BlackBerry Enterprise Server (for e-mail residing on a Microsoft Exchange or IBM Lotus Domino e-mail server, you can also opt to use BlackBerry Internet Service). The 8700c also works effortlessly with popular POP3 or IMAP4 Internet-based e-mail services (such as Yahoo Mail Plus).

Other than the sluggish browsing, our gripes were minor. The battery indicator stayed on four (of five) bars for three days straight, leading us to believe that we had plenty of charge left. The next morning, while running around town, we started to send an e-mail, only to find the battery at one bar, a red zone in which the unit automatically disables its radio. That left us unable to communicate until we got to a power outlet (and fairly unhappy). There's no slot for a memory card, either, a notable omission when so many mobile devices now have one. So if you want to bring your tunes on the road, plan to bring an iPod.

PALM TX

Integrating WiFi into a PDA isn't a new idea, unless you're Palm. That company only recently embraced the concept. So at first glance, the new Palm TX doesn't seem special -- that is, until you check its price: At $299, the TX is less expensive than most WiFi-equipped devices (even Dell's oft-discounted Axim X51).

It offers a host of compelling features, most notably a big, bright screen that is among the best we've seen on a PDA. The screen takes up almost the entire face of the unit, measuring a full 4 inches, measured diagonally, which makes it a pleasure to read e-mail and documents. The TX comes with 128MB of built-in flash memory -- less than some other Palms, but a hefty cache for this price point. Bluetooth is another nice touch. The TX uses a special browser called Blazer. It runs far faster than the Pocket Explorer browser used on Pocket PCs, and it can be set to strip out graphics to run even faster. But Blazer had trouble working with the occasional site. Formatting would get screwy, making navigation difficult. Sometimes the on-screen buttons would freeze, making navigation impossible. Surprising, especially for such a low-cost handheld, was the Palm TX's speed. There is barely any lag switching among applications (a problem we've seen on other PDAs); indeed, the TX was able to play music (via the included Pocket Tunes application) while we surfed the Web, without skipping a beat. Credit here goes to some solid engineering -- and the 312MHz Intel processor.

Less solid, alas, is the TX's construction. The TX is light (just 5.25 ounces) and fits easily in a pocket, but you'll want to make it a secure, well-padded pocket. The device's shell, which Palm calls "midnight blue" but you'll recognize as "black," looks and feels a little cheap, so try not to drop it. The touch screen isn't as responsive as others we've used, so be prepared, too, to tap with the stylus a bit more forcefully than perhaps you had planned. At times we found ourselves banging on this thing as if it were a slot machine that wouldn't cough up our quarters.

There's no docking cradle, or voice recorder, both standard fare on PDAs costing a little bit more. And thumbs-down on the rechargeable battery -- it isn't user-replaceable. But our biggest complaint is the lack of a power/charge LED, which would tell us when the battery is charging, and more important, when it is finished charging. It's an omission that doesn't make much sense.

At $299, the Palm TX is a great value. For just a few dollars more, it could have been a great PDA.

STOWAWAY KEYBOARDS

Every now and then a product comes along that is so ingenious it simply has to be bought -- even if you might never use it. With the Stowaway keyboard, from Think Outside, there's no reason to worry: It will be used.

There are several different Stowaways available, each designed to work on one or another type of handheld device: a PDA, a smartphone, a BlackBerry. They fit nicely into a jacket pocket, and at about six ounces, are as light as many MP3 players.

The trick is that this is a full-size keyboard: Think Outside has managed to get a keyboard -- and a stand to hold a handheld device -- to fold into a pocket-size package. These guys must be great with carry-on luggage.

A Bluetooth Stowaway, which works with most Bluetooth-enabled PDAs and phones, is the costliest version, at $149 (although it can be easily found for under $100). It boasts sturdier construction than its less-expensive, infrared-based counterpart (available for under $50). With a mechanism that locks the unfolded keyboard into place, the Bluetooth version works fine in a lap; the infrared model, which doesn't lock, requires a flat surface. We had a tendency to strike our thumb on the plastic protrusion just under the space bar on the infrared model, but after a little trial and error, typing was simple -- and better yet, fast.

Think Outside's BlackBerry model, called the Stowaway Shasta ($100), is the latest addition to the line. Sure, the BlackBerry already has a perfectly adequate tiny keyboard, making this version seem redundant -- until you find yourself putting ice on your thumb.

Alan Cohen is a freelance writer based in New York.