It says it has only bluetooth but can bluetooth connect to a wireless network?
I'm asuming yes as the quote from the website says "Easily access email and the Internet anywhere with both integrated Bluetooth wireless connectivity"
The e800 is available in two versions - the Bluetooth version and the Wi-Fi version. The one you've linked to is a Bluetooth version, so if you are able to connect to any Bluetooth networks, you will be able to access the internet (provided you have access privileges). Note that Bluetooth isn't the same as Wi-Fi - the latter is the technology used in most of the wireless networks people talk about nowadays. So to answer your original question, you can only use Bluetooth to connect to a Bluetooth network, and Wi-Fi (typically, the 802.11b specification) to connect to a Wi-Fi network. To be able to access Wi-Fi networks, you will need either (1) the Wi-Fi version of the e800, or (2) a CF-based or SDIO-based Wi-Fi card add-on for the device.
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Bluetooth is not the same as Wi-Fi. The specs for this say nothing about Wi-Fi, so you have to assume you will not be able to connect to wireless networks (like the one at your local coffee shop).
This does have SD (supporting SIDO) and CF card slots, so you will probably be able to add wireless connectivity with a card, but that will cost you more $$$.
You will find that the wireless hotspots and most office wireless access points are wifi rather than bluetooth. Bluetooth is commonly used to connect to peripherals (keyboard, mouse, printer, cell phone. etc) since it has long had a shorter range than wifi. While you can find bluetooth-enabled routers for network access, my experience is that they are rare and I have never encountered one in a public hotspot. Since the e800 line has both CF and SD slots, it would be easy enough to add a wifi card but as Martin has pointed out, that will be an additional cost. On the other hand, if you get a wifi version, you will probably end up adding a bluetooth card somewhere along the way for ease of access to a wide range of peripherals. Wifi cards are definitely easier to find.
Well I ordered it a few days ago thinking it did have wifi because I read a review of the wifi version and didn't notice that there are 2 different versions. . Its not a big deal though, I still have the wireless card for my older pda which is a linksys wcf12 that should still be compatible with it. I have to read more closely next time not a big deal though. Just a bit of a dissapointment.
You will find that the wireless hotspots and most office wireless access points are wifi rather than bluetooth. Bluetooth is commonly used to connect to peripherals (keyboard, mouse, printer, cell phone. etc) since it has long had a shorter range than wifi. While you can find bluetooth-enabled routers for network access, my experience is that they are rare and I have never encountered one in a public hotspot. Since the e800 line has both CF and SD slots, it would be easy enough to add a wifi card but as Martin has pointed out, that will be an additional cost. On the other hand, if you get a wifi version, you will probably end up adding a bluetooth card somewhere along the way for ease of access to a wide range of peripherals. Wifi cards are definitely easier to find.
Or ---> You could get a HP Hx4700 and have both Bluetooth and Wifi Built-in (maybe connect with Wifi and type with a BT KeyBoard) - and still have both CF and SD slots available for whatever at the same time. And have a bigger screen to see whats up. VGA instead of QVGA is nice, too. Oh yes, having native ability to rotate screen to landscape is good for looking at some sites. And did I mention the faster 624mh processor speed?
PTP (points to ponder)...
Ron...
Or ---> You could get a HP Hx4700 and have both Bluetooth and Wifi Built-in (maybe connect with Wifi and type with a BT KeyBoard) - and still have both CF and SD slots available for whatever at the same time. And have a bigger screen to see whats up. VGA instead of QVGA is nice, too. Oh yes, having native ability to rotate screen to landscape is good for looking at some sites. And did I mention the faster 624mh processor speed?
PTP (points to ponder)...
Ron...
Yes, they should be getting very cheap on ebay around now ...... :lol:
You will find that the wireless hotspots and most office wireless access points are wifi rather than bluetooth. Bluetooth is commonly used to connect to peripherals (keyboard, mouse, printer, cell phone. etc) since it has long had a shorter range than wifi. While you can find bluetooth-enabled routers for network access, my experience is that they are rare and I have never encountered one in a public hotspot. Since the e800 line has both CF and SD slots, it would be easy enough to add a wifi card but as Martin has pointed out, that will be an additional cost. On the other hand, if you get a wifi version, you will probably end up adding a bluetooth card somewhere along the way for ease of access to a wide range of peripherals. Wifi cards are definitely easier to find.
Or ---> You could get a HP Hx4700 and have both Bluetooth and Wifi Built-in (maybe connect with Wifi and type with a BT KeyBoard) - and still have both CF and SD slots available for whatever at the same time. And have a bigger screen to see whats up. VGA instead of QVGA is nice, too. Oh yes, having native ability to rotate screen to landscape is good for looking at some sites. And did I mention the faster 624mh processor speed?
PTP (points to ponder)...
Ron...
I'm not really up to dropping nearly 700$ canadian on a PDA right now.
I think if I were going to recommend a device, I would have to go with the Dell X50v before the hx4700, even though it has a smaller screen. The 4700 is going to be plagued by the same ATi chip issues that held the e800 back in the SE update: ATi is not supporting the Imageon well and not issuing updated drivers. Add to that the trackpad, which has not been picked up by other devices and will probably also become a driver drag on updates, and I think there are a couple of significant drawbacks for the 4700 now. I would be willing to put money on one of those two being the bottleneck that is delaying the WM5 update for the 4700 until next spring.
But, given the fact that the e800 had already been ordered, we were giving feedback based on what it would and would not do. Too bad, though, because a new X50v would be pretty reasonable and it will have the WM5 update in just a few weeks.