After some searching I figured out that you have to remove the string from the Pocket PC and it connects fine with the SPV E200. Now I have to play around and try to get my T3 to connect. I don't think I'll find much help here because most people with Microsoft Smartphones have Pocket PCs and there are not many with Palm Powered devices :)

I sent the NEC 780 back to usedhandhelds.com for a refund since I am going with the Jornada 720. Next, I have to see if I can find a low cost Socket Bluetooth card to connect it up to the E200.

I thought I was just about done with the book last week when I wrote my blog entry and was then asked to write 2 more chapters to get the book done by yesterday's deadline. So I wrote a total of 14 chapters after initially thinking I was just going to help write the Bluetooth chapter back in December. So now I hope to be able to update my blog more regularly, until the next book:)

I received the Jornada 720 on Friday and love everything about it except the fact that the keyboard is a bit small. I love the keyboard on the NEC MobilePro 780, but it runs CE 2.11 on a non-ARM processor so I can't get a Bluetooth card for it or run PlanMaker. I will be sending the 780 back to usedhandhelds.com for a refund. I would love to get a MobilePro 900 or 900c, but $800 to $900 is about double what I could afford after selling the Jornada 720. Most people would think buyers are crazy to pay that much for a Handheld PC, but I have to tell you the instant on and off functionality, the light weight (even the large NEC is much less than a laptop), and the use of flash memory with no moving drives make these devices very attractive to me. I'll keep my eye out on ebay for a cheaper NEC 900 when the 900c devices hit the market. I am now a Handheld PC convert though and will be going to buy TextMaker soon. I used the trial version to write 3 chapters in the book and couldn't believe it supported some of the rigid styles that Master Visually books require.

I went and picked up the E200 that Orange sent us Mobius attendees for our silence in keeping the NDA last year when WM2003 for Smartphones was announced. I am flashing the ROM to the latest and greatest as I write this entry. I like the form factor and it feels great in my hand, but I was unable to get it to connect to the internet with my Tungsten or iPAQ this morning. However, the ROM upgrade is supposed to add support for more Bluetooth devices so I am hopeful things will work out. I was able to pair everything, but the Tungsten requires that the device be known as a phone and the E200 showed up as unknown in the properties. I have some software to test out on the Smartphone and will next be hunting for a case I can use to clip it to my belt.

I also need to perform a hard reset of my iPAQ 4350 since it no longer will sync with any desktop computer. I tried a backup and hard reset, but it still wouldn't go. I have been pushing it to the limits lately while trying out things to write the book and ensure I covered all my bases to help people master advanced topics and think something must have been corrupted. I am actually looking forward to a hard reset though since I need to get all my devices up and running how I want them anyway.

I just said goodbye to my Tapwave Zodiac2 as I sent it off via FedEx to a buyer in California. I bought a Jornada 720 Handheld PC on Sunday and should get it in the mail tomorrow. I am quite excited to get this unit going since I tried an Orinoco WiFi card in the NEC 780 and it worked quite well. If the 720 works out I may get a Bluetooth CF card and get it going wireless. These Handheld PCs are a step back as far as the OS goes, but for mobile writing they are a step forward for me. NEC just released a new model based on CE .NET 4.2, but with the lack of any wireless features and a $900 price tag I don't think it will do too well. They could have at least included integrated Bluetooth which only costs a few bucks.

I have one last chapter, although it is quite large, to finish for the Windows Mobile 2003 book and then have to write a Palm Expert Guide on calculators and catch up on some reviews. The TomTom Palm GPS and Sena Cases ones are the most urgent, but I then have about 15 others to do as well.

I just received word that my SPV E200 that was promised at Mobius 2003 is now in, but it seems that everyone who is around to send them out is off at CTIA or the Microsoft Developer's Conference so it will be another week or so before it shows up. It will be interesting to see if it can knock the Nokia 3650 from my hands. I don't use the Motorola MPx200 too much anymore since I love the Tungsten T3 for email and browsing. I am trying to convince my wife to take the MPx200, but she just isn't that interested in my tech gear. My daughters on the other hand are always hounding me about stuff:)

I probably will not be posting much to my blog for the next week since it is crunch time on the book Bill and I are working on with a deadline next week. I have put the Handheld PC aside and am finally sending the Electrovaya Tablet PC back (after a 4 month review period). I may be selling my Tapwave Zodiac because I rarely use it now with the Tungsten T3 and would like to get a Jornada 72x Handheld PC to serve as a laptop replacement and mobile review writing platform.

I did receive two very nice cases for my iPAQ 4350 and Tungsten T3 from Sena Cases and will be reviewing both for Geek.com. By the way, I realize I have now had my iPAQ 4350 for over 4 months which is quite a long time for me to keep one device. I think the only thing that can knock that out of my Pocket PC hand may be the Motorola MPx Phone Edition. I have to first see that funky curved keyboard in person before making that decision though.

I held my 2004 GadgetFest at work yesterday to show off all my devices and educate everyone on the different mobile device platforms and capabilities that are out there. I was amazed how little even technical people like we have know about this stuff. Everyone was quite impressed and overwhelmed by the information I provided. I put together a PowerPoint show and the first slide had photos of every device I have owned, which totaled over 25 and looked very geeky. Yes, I think I am an addict! A couple people commented that I should take my show on the road to help companies figure out what mobile devices would work for their needs and I am giving some real thought to doing something like that since I have such a passion for mobile computing.

I spent about an hour trying to get the NEC to connect to the internet via IR on my Nokia 3650 without luck and was ready to drop kick the device and send it back. If I can't get wireless connectivity with my devices, then I will not keep them.

I then found there is a modem utility on the Nokia that has to be activated. I haven't had to use this for my PDAs, but then again I connect them using Bluetooth. So I was able to get the NEC up and running and web browsing is a joy on the large display. Granted the display is not as crisp as my other current PDAs, but the size is very nice. I also have email up and running, although I can't send right now for some reason and will try to match what is setup on my Pocket PC.

I now may keep this device because Hal gave me a great deal and typing my reviews on it may pay off since the keyboard is very comfortable to use. I may have to buy TextMaker for it and am disappointed that PlanMaker (the Excel substitute) will not be coming to this platform.

In other mobile device news, Mapopolis released a beta for Smartphones and my friend Peter already sent me a note asking how it performs. You see Peter loves Mapopolis and this program was one major sticking point for him joining the ranks of Smartphone owners. I have to say that the application is absolutely incredible and very useful. I still can't believe how much power they packed into it and think it is equivalent, and maybe even better, than the Pocket PC version. One handed operation is a breeze and it even works with a GPS, although there is no Bluetooth Smartphones here in the US yet.

I was looking around for a FM transmitter for my new iPod and stumbled upon links to the book that I am helping Bill Landon with. I should soon be listed as the co-author and wonder if it will be reflected in the descriptions at these sites. If you are a newbie at Windows Mobile 2003 or want to know everything there is about operating these devices, feel free to preorder the book from one of the sites. Since this is our first book, we have a small deal where we don't actually get anything from royalties so don't feel like I am pushing you to buy it or anything. The preorder price is already quite a deal and I don't know if it will be like this when the book comes out. It should be out sometime in April.

You can find it at Buy.com, Amazon, and WalMart.

I received the iPod and last night I ripped every CD I could find in the house and now have 1.4GB of music on the iPod. My oldest daughter thought the device was very cool and I just ordered her one for her 10th birthday next month. I bought the blue iPod mini for her since she only has a small music collection now.

I should receive the NEC MobilePro 780 today so I can check it out in time for my company demo tomorrow.

Our Geek SPOT watch review is now live and you can find it here. My Dick Tracy experiences are in the very last paragraph.

I was also asked to help out some more with the Windows Mobile book and now will write another 5 chapters or so and be elevated to co-author. We may also pursue another book after this one is complete at the end of March. I'll let you all know when it is available and where I'll be for book signings:) (Just kidding of course)

Man, I am one weak individual and just could no longer resist the temptation to try a Handheld PC. Maybe it was easier thinking that it is my 35th birthday on Saturday so I needed a gift for myself:) Hal over at Used Handhelds.com gave me a deal on the NEC MobilePro 780 that I couldn't pass up. I almost bought from a forum, but Hal has a great 30 day no questions asked guarantee and since I have never even held a Handheld PC I wasn't willing to shell out too much that I couldn't recover. I almost went for the more portable Jornada 680, but I think I would like something with a bigger keyboard. I don't think I will be able to use a Bluetooth card with the device, but can try IR with my Nokia 3650.

I am holding a gadget brown bag demonstration at work on Thursday and think it will be fun to show off all my gear. Last time I did it we ended up buying several Jornada 568 devices and accessories.

I also received the Dick Tracy SPOT watch to review and absolutely love how geeky it is. It is large, but the cartoon faceplates are quite cool. My wife, who usually laughs off my geekiness, even said she thought it was cool.

I've been debating on whether or not to pick up a used Handheld PC recently and was a few seconds from bidding on a Jornada 720 earlier today. I also have been talking with a guy about buying his Jornada 680, but I don't know know if I would really use the device since I am pretty satisfied with my Tungsten T3, iPAQ 4350, Zodiac, and portable IR keyboard. I have never owned a Handheld PC before and am very intrigued by the platform. I have been reading Handheld Addict quite a bit lately and it seems like the community is still pretty active. If I could pick one up for under $200 do you think it is worth the cost?

I should have a 10GB iPod coming this week, just in time for my birthday on Saturday and have started gathering songs and downloading some from iTunes today. I won 6 free songs from Pepsi bottles recently and downloaded songs today.

I am getting back on the review bandwagon and Joel just posted my review of the Logitech and Bluespoon Bluetooth headsets here. I really like the Logitech one even though it is larger because it is more comfortable and easier to operate the buttons. One person on Geek made a comment that Bluetooth is dead and WiFi is the way to go. I have to say that I will never own another PDA without integrated Bluetooth because I absolutely love the ability to connect to my Bluetooth phone anywhere I want to without paying the high public access WiFi fees. I really only use WiFi at home or if the hotels I stay in have it, but it is more of a convenience whereas Bluetooth is almost a requirement:)

I submitted my SplashPhoto review last night and plan on working on a couple more tonight. I started using the Pyro A/V Link unit last night and it worked great at recording output from my DVD player and VCR, but then I would get the weird Mobile Devices TCP/IP error and lose all ability to use my DSL connection. I then would go back and use Windows XP to perform a System Restore (I LOVE this feature) to before I installed the ULead software. I need to conduct more research and figure out what this problem is because this same thing used to happen when I tried using the Zaurus to sync to my desktop.

I also cracked open the TomTom Palm GPS software and put it on my Tungsten T3. I launched it this morning in the vanpool, after going through the required activation process, and was amazed that it connected to my Pharos Bluetooth GPS and started plotting our course in seconds! The Pharos unit even obtained good satellite signals in the back seat of the van away from direct access to the sky overhead. TomTom on the Palm blows away Mapopolis as far as navigation goes, but I have to check it out some more for routing, etc. Mapopolis is extremely fast at moving around the maps, but TomTom's 3D navigation view is very cool and geeky. The program and maps are all loaded onto an external card when you install from the CD on your desktop. There is no way to load the program into RAM, but the cool thing is that you just pop the card in and TomTom is launched. This beats Mapopolis because with them you have to have your maps copied into RAM to use. I could only do one county at a time on my UX50, I cross two counties going to work, and thus it wasn't that usable. The entire State of Washington is 20MB in TomTom.

As an experiment, I popped the loaded SD card into my Zodiac 2 and TomTom launched away. I was very excited about this prospect, but then found that another activation code was required. TomTom sent me one, but even after putting it in the program will not accept it. TomTom only officially supports the T3 and Tungsten C at this time and I know Tapwave has a bunch of propietary stuff in the Zodiacs that must be preventing me from using it.

Speaking of SD cards, I finally offloaded my last SanDisk card and will never buy another one of those brands again. I found a Lexar 256MB card for $50 at OfficeMax, after rebate, and have been happy with their dependability. In the past I have taken photos that were lost on a SanDisk card and had a 128MB card completely poop out for no reason. I have been very happy with Viking CF cards as well.

I just can't stop getting enough of this Tungsten T3 and am actually posting this blog entry, like my last one, from my vanpool using the IR keyboard, Tungsten T3, Nokia 3650 and FREE UNLIMITED T-Mobile data account. This WebPro browser is the only one I found that lets me access my blogs online entry form and so many other sites I thought I couldn't get to. Microsoft really needs to improve the Pocket Internet Explorer to allow a better surfing experience. WebPro is very fast and actually beats the Zodiac's NetFront based browser by about double the speed. Surfing and email are actually a real joy using this free GPRS data connection.

I meant to work on reviews the last couple of nights, but fell asleep with my daughters in my arms and have been getting some good sleep. I will work on some tonight and hope to get through a few that I have had in my queue for way too long.
I could probably have a site where I just write reviews on PDA and gadgets, but my life is too busy as it is. I would love to be working full time in PDA world since I have a real passion for them, but it would be tough to match the current pay and security of my engineering job.

I appreciate the comments on my last post and will now get back to my regularly schedule program:) As a result, I found a free site stat tracking program to use to see how many people actually check out my ramblings and may start another personal, theological blog for topics other than PDAs and gadgets.

I am typing this entry on the Targus Universal IR Keyboard with the Tungsten T3 while I am in my vanpool on the way home. I posted a question on PDAGeek regarding getting an iPod or a bigger SD card for my existing PDAs. I currently have a rather small music collection, but want to get back into music listening. A reader offered me a good deal on a 10GB model and I am close to closing the deal. The kicker is that I will be able to use the iPod drive as an external drive for my home and work computers. I will then be able to sell off my 512GB Viking CF card that is only used to carry files to and from work. Do you think the iPod is the smart way to go? Spring is here and I will get running again and think the iPod is a better solution than taking a PDA along.