This is an update to my earlier post regarding the Wind and OSX; and is just a quick update, kids…  It took a bit of doing, AND I gave up on trying to figure out how to create a bootable, Windows based USB stick. I pulled down 2 different tools, and neither could make the 8GB SanDisk Cruzer I have bootable. I’m guessing it was an issue with Vista Ultimate (running that on my MacBook Pro) and not the tools themselves; but with my Gateway desktop OFFICIALLY belly up, I had no other XP box to work from…

I am working with Dan Cohen fellow Gear Diary Team Member, to validate the process I used to insure its truly repeatable; and will have a FULL write up later. However,  I have gotten the Wind to dual boot both XP Home and OSX Leopard, with the latest 10.5.6 software updates, all hardware working, including the camera and WiFi card in both OS’.

Look for the full schmere later today (or likely later tomorrow).  We’re trying to incorporate some video along with the how-to guide I’m writing… So stay tuned!

Q.: Judie,

Hope this note finds you well. I need some gadget advice, if you have the time.  I have a birthday coming up in two weeks, and my wife wants a suggestion from me for a present. I am thinking about a new phone.  I have a Samsung Blackjack for work which runs Mobile 5.0 and I like it a lot.  Works very well with our Outlook Exchange server.  I also have a Motorola RAZR2 for weekends, which I also like, but I’d like a weekend phone that has a little more functionality.

I have looked at the N95, but if I am going to put that kind of dent in my wallet, I wanted to see if you have a favorite fun phone that you like and would recommend for a GSM system (I am AT&T).  Anything that really makes you smile?

Thanks for your time!!

Bill

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Q. Hi Judie,
I’m looking for an expert opinion on smartphones. I’m a Verizon customer, so I am due for my new every 2 free $100 in August.

I have a Palm TX, which I lovingly refer to as my electronic brain, and my cell phone LG8600.  The problem is that my brain often forgets the electronic brain, which is really bad for remembering meetings.    So, I want to get an all in one device.

I’ve been reading reviews and checking out all kinds of info, but I’m so confused between Treos, Blackberries, etc.  What I need is a phone, calendar, to do list (mainly some organization software), contacts, camera, and the occasional internet use.  I don’t need to check my e-mail.  Work has not given me a phone to make me constantly check my e-mail, and until they do, I don’t want them to think I’m going to spend all my free time working. 

With that said, I thought maybe a blackberry would be overkill.  I don’t need the super-duper data package for my phone.  Plus, like most people, I’m all about the speed (RAM needed???), and reception.

I’ve thought about taping my phone to my Palm, but that’s just not the fashion statement I want to make.  Plus, the doublesided tape doesn’t hold very well.

Thanks,
Heather

P.S.

I had another question kind of related to the cell phone question: why is it that GSM seems to get the more advanced phones before CDMA.  I’m not talking about just the iPhone, but it seems that way for most new phones.  I thought it had more to do with the fact that more people use the GSM ‘network’, but is there something different about the tech that makes it more difficult to make CDMA phones.  I’m happy with my Verizon service, but I guess I’m a bit frustrated.

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Q. Hi Judie

I hope you’re well. Knowing that you’re the expert for bags of all shapes and sizes, I thought I’d submit a Dear Gear Diary question to see if you can help me.

I’m going on vacation in a few weeks and security regulations in the UK only allow for one piece of hand luggage. The maximum dimensions allowed are 22” x 17.5” x 9.85”.

Within this one piece of hand luggage I need to accommodate passport and tickets, wallet, ipod and headphones, cellphone etc, plus my 13” Macbook and my Canon DSLR with battery grip and 2 lenses (one of which is quite large). I’d like a bag with compartments to protect all of my gadgets, but obviously I want to keep the size down as the measurements are pretty restricted. On top of all of this, I’d really like a bag that looks nice too, but that’s a secondary thought.

Does anyone have a good recommendation for me? My current laptop bag is very nice, but doesn’t fit my camera. All suggestions gratefully received!

Cheers!
Alison

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Q. On my MAC I want to run a XP Pro VM. Which is better VMWare Fusion or Nova Development’s Parallels? Both seem to offer the same features. All my Apple geek friends recommend Parallels but VMWare Inc. Is very well established in the VM Market. And until August I can get VMWare Fusion for only $39.99 compared to Parallels $79.00.

Just looking for a opinion. Thanks for your time.
Kyle

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Dear Gear Diary Readers:

As many of you know, Judie typically uses this space to answer questions from readers about problems they may be having with their technological gadgets. Well, we thought it was high time we turn the tides on all of you and ask you for a little help.

Here is the situation. I am a Verizon Wireless subscriber. About a year ago, I bought a RAZR phone with a 2-year service plan (man I hate those lock in plans). Anyway, a friend just offered to give me his Verizon Motorola Q Smartphone.

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Q.�Hi Judie,

My name’s Andy, and I’m a sound engineer for theatre/concerts in NYC/on tour, and have been reading your reviews for a long time on The Gadgeteer and, now that I’ve discovered it, at Gear Diary. I’ve been a long time Palm devotee, as well as a PC/Windows user, but lately have been worn down and plan, within the next month or so, to make the jump into Mac Book Pro land (with Boot Camp to XP, just in case, of course!).

At that point, something clicked and made me start questioning my avoidance of Win Mobile, and since I’m nearing the time when I’ll have to replace my Treo 650, I’m starting to consider going to a 700wx or 750 (should it ever come to Verizon) as opposed to a 700p (provided Palm’s promised patch fixes at least some of the lag issues, since the lag on my 650 is bad enough!) or a 680 (again, should it come to Verizon).

Anyway…I saw in your 700-series reviews that after trying the 700p vs the 700wx, you ended up with the Windows version. You noted that you would save the why for another time, which I’m not sure if I’m either just missing in the archive, or if you haven’t actually expounded on that further yet. If so, would you mind sharing at least the condensed version, LOL? I’ve avoided Win Mob for years under the whole, “I love my Palm programs, and _everything_ is so many more steps on Wind Mob” mantra, but I’ve realized I’m nay-saying without actually trying, so…

From left to right: the Treo 700wx and the Treo 700p

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Q. Hi Judie,

Fantastic review of the Dopod 838 Pro. I’m quite thrilled with mine, since acquiring it in October 2006. I have one big challenge – and a couple smaller ones as well…

When composing text messages, the system dutifully / pedantically stores all word entries that you make (intentionally or otherwise) i.e. , if you type ‘Mary had a little lambbbb’ , and inadvertently hit the space bar as you’re blazing along on the keyboard before correcting the spelling of lamb, the system assumes that you intended to write ‘lambbbb’, and stores that “new” word, seemingly forever.

I have not been able to find out If the internal ‘dictionary” / word suggestion list can be edited by the user. I’d love to be able to refine the list with my own lexicon.

Is there software available that allows this?

Thanks for your time.

Konrad

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Q. Judie,

This is Roland. I’m�not sure if you remember me or not, but you helped me decide to buy my HTC which I have been enjoying so much.

I have gotten a fabulous new Gateway notebook computer – my first notebook – and I was looking into accessories to use with my new toy, I mean necessary technology.

I have already purchased a mini wireless optical mouse and was looking at this chill mat. Are they worth it? Do you think they add to the life of your computer or are they just a unnecessary thing to spend money on?

I value your opinion greatly.

Sincerely,

Roland

photo courtesy of the Best Buy site

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Q. Hi Judie,

I’m writing to you because I’ve read on geardiary that someone asked you for advice on buying a PDA; I have a couple of doubts in buying my first PDA and I was wondering if you could help me…

The first and basic use I would give to this PDA is internet surfing, emailing (both by WiFi), and reading books (in .pdf mostly). But this is not the only reason why I want a PDA: I’m looking for a powerful PDA were I could listen to music, see movies, use 3rd party software, transfer files wirelessly with my notebook, and the possibility to upgrade it with a GPS compact flash card.

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Q. Hi Judie,

I hope that this e-mail will reach you personally. Since you left the Gadgeteer end of September I didn’t have a valid e-mail address anymore. Fortunately you sent me the LinkedIn invitation and then a follow-up�with your amended profile. So I found your website and contact address.

The reason I am contacting you is that I am at a cross road� and I would need some advise and/or help. A year ago I was�in a similar situation. Business�just started about 12 months earlier and the result was discouraging, while I was trying different avenues, such as the Internet, Watch Retail Trade,�specific and special approaches like Hospitals, Retirement Centers, etc. I also did some consumer advertising in Life Style magazines and in AARP. Nothing worked, except there was some potential hope for the Internet.

So I decided to ditch practically everything and to concentrate only on the Internet. I redesigned�my website and hired a company to do some SEO. That helped for a while but when I requested to put the bars higher I had the feeling that was it for this company. So I found another one who helped and�I started to do some advertising and the result improved quite a lot. Then I had the lucky strike with you guys at the Gadgeteer. In fact I still get a lot of leads and sales from this review.

Now I feel again that I need additional help if I want to reach my goal for the year.

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Q. Hi Judie,

I just read your review of the Palm Zire 21, which I was considering.�

I am about to purchase my first PDA and I don’t want the camera, cell phone, etc.

You’ve convinced me that the Zire 21 is probably TOO basic – and mentioned that there is something a step up from that – what do you recommend that is more advanced than the Zire 21 but not too far up the PDA food chain?

Many thanks,

Nancy

P.S. – I am also considering a PDA that would use WiFi spots to check email

A. Hi Nancy,

Well, that review was written in 2003, so while the Zire 21 was a good basic PDA, it is no longer even available from Palm. But, there have been some updated versions that still retain the basic Zire functions while adding some better features. Let’s take a look…

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Q. Hi Judie,

What’s the state of affairs with Pocket PC Phone devices these days (Not Smart Phones but true PPC phones). I’ve concluded that it’s still best for me to have two devices because so many do one or the other better. Like my first printer, scanner, fax machine. It was a good printer and fax.  I need to have a really good phone and a fully customizable PPC. I’m also committed to Win Mobile due to years of software purchases.

Thanks,

L e x

A. Hi Lex,

[Ed. note: I should mention that it wasn't even half a day after Lex sent me his question before he also forwarded two excellent and related posts that had been made on Mobility Site. The first post was about David Haskin's article Another Nail In The PDA's Coffin and the other was entitled Smartphones...Why Have They Not Taken Off?, which referenced a question asked in C|NEt's feature comparison report, Sleek and Sexy Smart Phones With Big Brains.]

Since you specifically asked about the state of true Pocket PC Phone Editions (and not Smartphones), I’ll let you know what I think: choices are decent – as long as you don’t mind a 2.8″ screen. HTC is cranking out various Pocket PC Phone Edition models, there is the Treo w/wx, and TechFaith Wireless (i-mate’s new partner) is also making quite a few PPC PE models. These are all fully customizable Pocket PCs, and many of them offer quite a few connectivity options out of the box, including GSM/GPRS, CDMA, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Infrared.

The bad news for anyone that actually uses their PPC Phone for more than quick information lookups is that 2.8″ screens seem to be here to stay. The day of the >3.5″ phone screen appears to have ended with the HTC Universal and Sharp-Willcom W-ZERO3, which I feel is a complete and utter shame. I hate that we seem to have lost the option to get anything larger. Every time I see an announcement for an otherwise promising PPC or PPC PE, the first thing I look at is the screen size, and anymore, they are all sub 3″. While this is probably fine for many people’s usage, it is not good at all for those that must do extensive work away from the office on spreadsheets, databases, documents, or yes…even reading eBooks. Convergence is king, but there is a massive trade-off. Not everyone wants their main PDA to also be their main phone; not everyone needs the smallest and cutest package possible.

Oh gosh – I seem to have stepped onto my soapbox…sorry!

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Q. Hi Judie,

I have a question.�Have you seen a CF or SD card anywhere that has both WiFi and Bluetooth?

John

A. Hi John,

Unfortunately I haven’t yet seen any�CF or SD�cards that combine the two wireless technologies, which seems pretty surprising. The closest thing I could find was a USB WiFi & BT dongle.

Q. Dear Judie,

I would like to start by telling you that I love you work. My latest device will be the 838Pro�thanks to your review,�and I wanted to know when the new Ipaq rx5915 will be reviewed since I really want to buy it but before I do I want to hear what you think about it.

Thank you,

Evan�

A. Hi Evan,

I think that the HP iPAQ rx 5915 is a very interesting device, but I haven’t yet decided if I will be buying one.

I like that it has a 3.5″ screen, built in navigation,�BT & WiFi, 2GB ROM, and…feh, never mind. I just ordered one. It should be here in 5 – 7 days. Ha!

I’ll let you know what I think once it arrives.

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I often get tech-related questions that I think more than one person would benefit from hearing the answer to, so I have decided to start a new feature. Once a week (or so) I will pick one or two emails I’ve received from readers and post them with my answers.

Of course, my advice is never the last word on anything and I am the first to admit that I don’t know everything, so I fully expect Gear Diary readers to weigh in if they have a better, simpler, clearer, or more interesting answer. Capisci?

So without further ado…

Q. Hi Judie,

If I may I wanted to ask a question about the hp pocket pc’s. I have�the hp3955,�the hp2210 and the hp4705. I believe that you once used the hp2215. My question is in reference to the hp3955 but probably applies to all models. I can’t seem to find an answer anywhere to this question [I contacted hp but they were no help]: How do I�make information that I enter in my Contacts go to either the IPAQ file store or other (CF or SD card) permanent memory? I had many files in my Contacts and when my battery ran completely down every�file was lost. Thus, I need to make sure that any future information entered into Contacts is in some kind of permanent memory. It looks like my main and back-up battery are ok–I just let the battery completely run down.

Any help would be appreciated,��

Ron

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