Smartphones

The name most commonly given to covergence devices that combine a digital cellphone with a PalmOS PDA is "smartphone" and they are starting to become more common in Maritime Canada. The name is also sometimes given to the PocketPC / cellphone combos that are available, though we will not focus on those here. The PalmOS smartphones currently available in this region are the following:

PalmOne Treo - This is the flagship of the Palm Models. Includes a min-keyboard that is attractive to some but a disadvantage to others.

Kyocera 7135 - A very usable flip-phone with integrated PalmOS organizer, but with less memory (16MB), a slower processor (33Mhz), and an older operating system (4.x) than more recent units like the Treo 600/650.

The advantages of using a smartphone include:

• live (online) access to data
• reduces the number of devices a doctor needs to carry
• much better web browsing capability than a cellphone
• integration of contact / phonebook databases

The disadvantages of using a smartphone include:

• requires an expensive wireless data plan
• a single device means a single point of failure
• policies restricting cellphone use at many hospitals
• bigger and heavier than a regular digital cellphone
• hard to use your PDA at the same time as talking on the phone

Because of the possible cons of a smartphone, we recommend considering a two-device setup, in which you get a Bluetooth-compatible PDA (the Tungsten T5, or E2), and a Bluetooth-compatible, data-capable digital cellphone (like the Sony Ericsson T616), and use the cellphone, via Bluetooth, as your "modem" to the internet. We have tested this solution out quite thoroughly, and find it pretty flexible; plus, you can work on your Palm while you talk on your phone.