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View Full Version : 2 Way Pager or Pocket PC?


ThePanda
10-04-2003, 04:31 AM
Hi, I want something that will let me receive like 10 or 20 pages (or emails) per month, and I need to be able to send a simple "Yes" or "No" response to a few of these messages. It also needs to have a vibrate function for when these messages come in.

I looked at 2 way pagers, but the service seems to be around $20 a month, plus $50 or $100 to buy the unit. I've also read that sometimes it can take a long time for the messages to get sent (Is that true?).

Does anyone know a cheaper way to get done what I want? I'm on a college campus with several wireless internet coverage areas, so I was thinking maybe a pocket pc type device would be better because it would eliminate the monthly cost, but I don't think there are many with a vibrate feature. Basically I just need a device that will vibrate to let me know when it receives a new message and then let me send a one word response.

Please, I would appreciate any suggestions.

rzanology
10-04-2003, 09:00 AM
sounds like you need a cell phone. try the t68i you'll be happy with that.

ThePanda
10-04-2003, 03:15 PM
Thanks for the info, but isn't the monthly fee for a cell phone with text messaging expensive? My dad has a 19.99 a month cell phone from t-mobile. Is it possible to just add a second phone to a plan or do you have to pay another 19.99 plus the text messaging? I don't even need to make calls with it, just to send a few messages.

rzanology
10-04-2003, 03:21 PM
even if you get a pocket pc you will still need some sort of service to send and recive your e-mails. Like you said...maybe you are better off with a two way page if sending those montly e-mails are you only request.

ThePanda
10-04-2003, 03:28 PM
ok i think you may be right about getting a cell phone because the service area is larger than the wireless internet coverage at my school and I can't find any vibrating pocket pcs for less than like $500. i guess the 19.99 a month t-mobile is my best option plus 5 cents per message, because 2way paging seems to cost about that much anyway. too bad you can't add a second cell phone to a plan without doubling the price.

thanks

Bruno Figueiredo
10-04-2003, 04:17 PM
What's up with the t68i everyone's talking about? It's an old cell phone, breaks in half if you drop it, has a crummy display, paint shaves off.

Why does it seem everybody here loves it? I don't get it.

I'm much more happy with my Nokias, thank you. 6610 is the best. No bluetooth but I ain't got the need for it. There are other Nokias with BT though, and much better than the t68i.

shill79
10-04-2003, 05:05 PM
The t68i is an excellent phone.... Small, color display, bluetooth.. You can get it off of Ebay for $100 or brand new for $150 or so... It was a excellent phone when it came out and is still excellent today... Even in the U.S. where the relatively poor GSM network coverage exists...

Janak Parekh
10-04-2003, 06:53 PM
What's up with the t68i everyone's talking about? It's an old cell phone, breaks in half if you drop it, has a crummy display, paint shaves off.
It is indeed an old phone, but it's hardly as crummy as you state. I dropped mine once and it was fine, it has a perfectly decent transflective display that works in all lighting, and I never had the paint shave off of mine. I eventually retired mine when I moved to a Pocket PC phone, but my friend just went "back" to one and I forgot how compact and useable it was. Its UI is very simple and functional.

The T610 is a nice upgrade from the T68, but you can get great deals on the T68(i) nowadays because of its age.

I'm much more happy with my Nokias, thank you. 6610 is the best. No bluetooth but I ain't got the need for it. There are other Nokias with BT though, and much better than the t68i.
Very few of them, though, are triband. There's the 3650, but it's relatively large.

--janak

Bruno Figueiredo
10-05-2003, 08:54 AM
Very few of them, though, are triband. There's the 3650, but it's relatively large.

You're wrong. My 6610 is triband and almost all new nokias coming out are. And there are no transflective displays on cellphones yet. They are all reflective but being small their lights are closer and we can see the screen everywhere.

Also t68i has a low-res screen. The screen on my 6610 is just gorgeous. Also it can sync contacts, tasks and calendar with my pda effortlessly. My phone recognises what type of info is being syncked and back. I love it! What phones do you now that have 8 lines of text on screen and being as small as it is?

Janak Parekh
10-05-2003, 06:40 PM
You're wrong. My 6610 is triband and almost all new nokias coming out are. And there are no transflective displays on cellphones yet. They are all reflective but being small their lights are closer and we can see the screen everywhere.
The 6610 doesn't have Bluetooth, though. The three Nokia phones that are triband and have Bluetooth are the 3650, the 6600 (new Symbian phone, not available yet AFAIK) and the 6310i (which isn't actually a bad choice, but it has a BW screen). You're right, though, that the 6610 wouldn't be a bad choice for ThePanda... I was mixing points. ;)

As for the transflective: I'm 90% sure the T68(i) uses a transflective -- the display properties closely mirror it (very dark when the backlight is off and can't see a sidelight and the blacks are rather black). I wouldn't bet money on it though.

Also t68i has a low-res screen. The screen on my 6610 is just gorgeous. Also it can sync contacts, tasks and calendar with my pda effortlessly. My phone recognises what type of info is being syncked and back.
The T68i does support this too, you know, with the XTNDConnect application. I never bothered to do a two-way sync, though, as I kept my Outlook setup the most current.

--janak