PC Magazine Reviews the Motorola and Samsung Phones

[David McNamee]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1403971,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1403971,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div>PC Magazine's Bruce Brown takes a look at the two phones available in North America. This is the paragraph that changes this from a run-of-the-mill review to something I actually <i>wanted</i> to pay attention to:<br /><br />"Don't confuse Smartphone-based devices with PDA/phone combos (such as the Treo 600), which are based on either the Palm or Microsoft Pocket PC operating systems. Smartphones are not PDAs but rather very smart phones that happen to play multimedia files, work beautifully with Outlook (retrieving e-mail wirelessly), and more."<br /><br />That's great. I'm not seeing very many people in the press show that they really understand the difference in scope between a Smartphone and a PDA-based phone. Hopefully, more people will begin to understand.

[aristoBrat]

(For example, you can have your phone switch automatically to silent mode during the times you have meetings scheduled in your Outlook Calendar.)
I had no idea you could do that. 8O

[randalllewis]

The MS Smartphone feature to have the phone automatically switch from ring to vibrate depending on your calendar is one of my favorite features.

I'd recommend the PC Magazine review to WSJ's Walter Mossberg who seems to think Smartphones and PDA's are the same thing.

[Macguy59]

Note to Walt Mossberg . . . :D

[pdaisdead]

I don't know, I don't know how it's not a PDA. Just not a PDA with a larger screen or touch input.

[aristoBrat]

I don't know, I don't know how it's not a PDA. Just not a PDA with a larger screen or touch input.
I think your point is technically correct, but for most non-technical people, the word PDA is synonymous with Palm Pilot/Pocket PC.

[pdaisdead]

I don't know, I don't know how it's not a PDA. Just not a PDA with a larger screen or touch input.
I think your point is technically correct, but for most non-technical people, the word PDA is synonymous with Palm Pilot/Pocket PC.

Actually, I would say it's just Palm Pilot for most non-technical people. It's really semantics though as my Smartphone does just about everything my Palm or Pocket PC did.

[Luzerman]

I agree with you pdaisdead. The MS Smartphone is a PDA/phone combo device that is focused on the phone. The other devices are PDA/phone combos focused on PDAs. They are still both PDA/Phones.

The biggest differences are that the MSSP devices do not have an easy and fast text entry method while the larger MSPPCPE or PalmOS SP devices all have a faster and easier text entry method and those devices tend to have larger screens that are also touch screens.

Its two different ways to attack the same problem of adding functionality to a phone or adding connectivity and functionality to a PDA.

[ARW]

(For example, you can have your phone switch automatically to silent mode during the times you have meetings scheduled in your Outlook Calendar.)
I had no idea you could do that. 8O

I can't figure out how to make my i600 do this. Anybody want to point out how?

TIA,

Al

[aristoBrat]

(For example, you can have your phone switch automatically to silent mode during the times you have meetings scheduled in your Outlook Calendar.)
I had no idea you could do that. 8O

I can't figure out how to make my i600 do this. Anybody want to point out how?

TIA,

Al
Turn it to the profile called 'Automatic'.