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Re: [PLUG] Cell Phones & Computers /Nokia/Cingular?
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On Sun, Mar 25, 2001 at 10:28:13AM -0800, multiple seriousity wrote:
: I am probably going to go grab cell service soon... like by the end of
: this month. Cingular has a deal that is just TOO good for me to not
: grab. (It's up at the end of this month.) [Although I'm really PO'ed that
: they pulled the free mobile to mobile option and the interactive messaging
: looks up in the air right now too.] (I've never had cell service before.)
I've got a number of friends on Cingular, they're mostly happy. I've
got AT&T (company standard), and am not totally thrilled. When I'm not
home, the phone's fine, mobile originated SMS works great, etc. When
I'm home, the AT&T cell isn't the greatest, and sometimes just plain
doesn't work, but otherwise, I'm reasonably happy. They use (mostly)
the same handsets (both are TDMA carriers). I'd probably be more inclined
to choose AT&T at this point, since AT&T just recently announced that
they're going to be transitioning their network to GSM, and deploying
3G (128k data to the handset).
: Basically I will have the options of a few phones from Nokia either the
: 51xx family, the 61xx family, or the 71xx family. I don't really want to
: spend the extra $$ for the features the 71xx family adds, Does anybody
: here have any experience with these model numbers?
5160/5165/6160 are solid, venerable phones, though aging. The 7160 only
gives you extras if you plan to use wireless web (not all that useful at
this point & this handset doesn't work w/AT&T). I've got the 8260, nice
and little, has good battery life (a couple of days, with reasonable amounts
of talking), vibrating battery, supports custom ringtones/group graphics
(sent to the phone via SMS). Of course, I work for Nokia (Internet Security
products, NOT cellphones), so we always have to carry the latest, coolest
phones. It's a must for impressing cute flight attendants as they make
their rounds asking people to turn their phones off before the plane
pushes back from the gate... :-)
: and 2) has anybody had experience hooking up these phones to a computer
: for net access? any drawbacks? any tips? would you recommend one of the
: 5100 or 6100 nokia family over another?
You can get a cable to hook it up to certain modems. Depends on the modem.
The xx60's (US TDMA models) are not data capable, so you can't just get a
cable that hooks straight up to a com port. If you want that functionality,
you'll need a GSM model, such as the 5190/6190/7190/8290, which would be
on Voicestream, which currently has spotty coverage in the burbs.
: And has anybody had experience with a car kit / car mount? (I already
: have a car mount in my car - used car -- unfortunately, I think it's a
: mount for the 2190 model -- I think I may be able to reuse at least some
: of the parts if I can manage to find and swap out the junction box and the
: phone mounting part. Or does anybody happen to know where I might be able
: to get these partial pieces?)
Car kit? Bah, ugly metal crap in my car. No way. Get the cigarette
lighter adapter, and use the headset that comes with the phone, or buy
one if it doesn't come with one...
--
Jason Costomiris <>< | Technologist, geek, human.
jcostom {at} jasons {dot} org | http://www.jasons.org/
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
My account, My opinions.
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