Should I buy a Thera?

[gai-jin]

I was at the verizon store last night and saw a price drop to 199 for the thera w/ 2 yr contract. I've wanted a combo pda/phone for a long time, but the prices always kept me away. Currently I use a hp 5455, but had been considering a 2nd pda for my wife. (so, if I buy a thera, which one does she get... :) ) What do y'all think of the Thera?

Gai-jin

[Janak Parekh]

Don't. The Thera is an old StrongARM device with a reflective display and 32MB RAM. It has terrible battery life (standby of about 8 hours max, talk time of 90 minutes, less if you use the PDA part). It's not Pocket PC Phone Edition -- it's proprietary software bolted on top. The ergonomics make it lousy to hold it up to your ear.

The i700 is a lot more expensive, but there is simply no comparison between the two. I'd only consider the Thera for very light use, and data-only -- not voice. Maybe. The fact that it's $199 is because Verizon has a surplus, and can't give them away.

--janak

[The Yaz]

Like Janak said, its strongarm, its PocketPC 2002, and it's not the most ergonomic device out there.

If you wanted it as a secondary phone/standby PDA, it is serviceable if you purchase the additional battery sled from Audiovox for $99. It brings the talk time to 2-3 hours, but the combo becomes unweildy to use on a regular basis.

Also, its quirks were acceptable when it was the only combo out there. With the newest phones available, it is no comparison. Better to wait for the prices to drop or wait for the GPRS CF card to come out.

Steve 8)