[Geckotek]

WIFI ENABLED PHONE!?!?!? IN OTHER COUNTRIES??!!?!? Where do you travel?? Japan? South Korea?

Yes

Believe it or not, they have free WiFi all over the place including Europe.

Saving 45/mo? Do you mean you can get data on your i730 *without* VZ's exorbitantly priced data plan? As I understood it you need the $45 data plan to use EV-DO at all on VZ, or to use the net at all on a VZ Treo - which is what drives board members here to Sprint.
How do you find the usability of the i730? Mossberg implied that it's a powerful pda but awkward as a phone since it often requires 2 hands. I've never touched one, that's just what I've read. Impressive bit of hardware by the specs.

I think the idea was to turn off EV-DO and go WiFi only (therefore saving $45/mo.)

[grndslm]

Saving 45/mo? Do you mean you can get data on your i730 *without* VZ's exorbitantly priced data plan? As I understood it you need the $45 data plan to use EV-DO at all on VZ, or to use the net at all on a VZ Treo - which is what drives board members here to Sprint.
How do you find the usability of the i730? Mossberg implied that it's a powerful pda but awkward as a phone since it often requires 2 hands. I've never touched one, that's just what I've read. Impressive bit of hardware by the specs.

Yea, Slinky!! What are you going to do when you're traveling and can't get WiFi in that situation? Or are out walking around town? Or at a friend's house that internet connection went down, or your own went down. I'm even starting to consider Verizon's $45/mo data price is worth it. Not the best value, but the internet in my pocket everywhere I go is worth approximately $45/mo to me. If I had to use Verizon (Thank God I don't) I'd prolly drop my broadband connection to get internet on the Treo...then [IL]LEGALLY use that connection for Bluetooth DUN.

And how about that i730 that you've been commenting on in so many threads lately? How does it feel? What are its quirks? How does the true battery life compare to the 650s? Is the WiFi a major drain on the battery or what? Do you find that PPC software is built better than Palm software? Please elaborate with your vast knowledge of and experience with this phone!! I want one too, Slinky!! You've convinced me!

[grndslm]

Yes. Believe it or not, they have free WiFi all over the place including Europe.

I don't believe it. OK, OK, OK...Europe I can chalk up there with the other 2 technologically advanced countries.

NOW -- Outside of Japan, South Korea, and the newly added Europe...I couldn't possibly imagine any more countries with that many WiFi spots. And even in Europe...I couldn't imagine it being ubiquitous.

But yea, in my first post about overseas wifi, I forgot how expensive overseas service was (not to mention the fact that you can't get service at all with CDMA phones)...so, as long as I found one in every couple of days to a week, I think I'd be alright.

[slinky]

Saving 45/mo? Do you mean you can get data on your i730 *without* VZ's exorbitantly priced data plan? As I understood it you need the $45 data plan to use EV-DO at all on VZ, or to use the net at all on a VZ Treo - which is what drives board members here to Sprint.
How do you find the usability of the i730? Mossberg implied that it's a powerful pda but awkward as a phone since it often requires 2 hands. I've never touched one, that's just what I've read. Impressive bit of hardware by the specs.

Yes, that's exactly what I meant.

1) There are WiFi spots all over NY. I can either tap into one and also into our corporate network locally as well. As I said earlier, you can also use it as a WiFi enabled phone.

2) From what I've read, there are several items that make the i730 much easier to use with one hand, albeit maybe not as easy as a Treo. With everything else it adds, I'm not so worried about one handed usage, which I don't do much anyways except the basics which are the same on the i730, e.g. answering the phone, hanging up, etc.

[slinky]

I don't believe it. OK, OK, OK...Europe I can chalk up there with the other 2 technologically advanced countries.

NOW -- Outside of Japan, South Korea, and the newly added Europe...I couldn't possibly imagine any more countries with that many WiFi spots. And even in Europe...I couldn't imagine it being ubiquitous.

But yea, in my first post about overseas wifi, I forgot how expensive overseas service was (not to mention the fact that you can't get service at all with CDMA phones)...so, as long as I found one in every couple of days to a week, I think I'd be alright.

Not trying to be obnoxious although meeting your sarcasm regarding WiFi with an appropriate response, outside of Mississippi WiFi has become very much a way of life. Not just being able to cruise around for hotspots (do you know how much tMobile and Starbucks make with theirs?) but also with corporate networks AND home networks -- sales of wireless routers have been through the roof. They extend much further than Bluetooth and are ubiquitous, especially everywhere in the tri state area. How about travel on the road? Virtually every hotel I've stayed at, even at Holiday Inns, there are WiFi connections provided for Internet access. In many instances there are no wired connections at the older hotels and only WiFi access. Many places don't want to install Ethernet and you know that bluetooth isn't provided.

Regarding Europe, there are some rather large countries there and people on the East coast have been known to travel there with great frequency. You may be familiar with England, France and Germany, to name just a few. Having not to invest in another phone for travel is a FANTASTIC advantage and it's easy to point your voice line to your WiFi enabled phone.

With regard to the ability to speak and use WiFi at the same time, it's not such a problem. Use your phone to collect email for a minute or two and it's all done. It's an amazing convenience and way faster than any method via the Palm. With my Treo 650 I can't do any of those things as I can't use WiFi and my Internet connection disables phone usage anyways.

Don't get me wrong. I like my Treo 650 but I'll give credit where it's due. But crippling the 650 was a bad, bad idea. This is why I'm hoping owners will write love letters to Verizon and Palm to get at least WiFi drivers for the cards that have been out for a long time. WiFi is tremendous and rationalizing why your phone is still the king of the hill doesn't really do us any good as we watch the i730 owners surf at Barnes and Noble...

[Geckotek]

This WiFi subject got beat to death in the last thread. Let's leave it here....cool? grndslm?

This thread is about EV-DO...let's get back on topic shall we?

[mjeleven]

Has anyone tried using Good. www.good.com. I use it for email on my Treo and can view emails and a call can come in. It sometimes goes directly to VM but not too often. Not enough to create a thread on it. I also don't know if you can purchase single seats of the product.

MJ

[Geckotek]

Same thing....if data session is active, call goes to VM. Nothing new here.