My New Technology
By Tiny Ruisch
I’ve finally replaced my old IPAQ pocket computer. It was four years old and getting to be outdated technology. Not only was it getting old, three of the buttons had quit working and the rest were very erratic. During the course of a typical day, I usually had to reboot it three or four times. I’ve carried a pocket PC for many years (it was my third IPAQ).
A few months ago, when I mentioned to Stuart that I was going to buy a new IPAQ, he suggested that I buy a smart phone. I told him that I wasn’t interested in smart phones because I liked Windows Mobile and the ease of syncing with Outlook on my home computers. He showed me his HTC Mogul phone and I liked what I saw. I did a little research and ended up buying a HTC Touch Pro 2 (TP2).
The people at the Sprint Phone Store seemed to think I was a little nuts when I explained that I wasn’t buying a phone, but was replacing a pocket computer that happened to have cell phone capabilities. The TP2 is loaded with a 3.6 inch touch sensitive screen, a slide out keyboard, GPS, Bluetooth, wireless WI-FI and a 1500 mAh battery. This machine boasts 512 MB of ROM and 288 MB of RAM. The expansion slot will accept up to a 16 GB MicroSD card.
One of the features that I really like is the speakerphone. There are two speakers on this machine. You can set it on a table and easily talk up to ten feet away. That is really useful to someone who mostly only makes family calls where everyone talks at the same time.
The camera and video camera are adequate, but not great. What is great is the output. With a cheap video cable, you can hook the phone up and view on your television or computer monitor. Last month at the SIG meeting, I hooked up to Woody’s 62 inch TV. Everyone agreed that the picture was decent and the processor adequate for watching videos.
The TP2 has a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The keys are slightly bigger than most phones and are offset to resemble a typewriter. The screen tilts which makes the keyboard much easier to use. Almost everyone that I’ve showed the machine to has told me that they wish their phone had this keyboard.
I’m included on my daughter’s Sprint plan. She subscribes to everything they got. I can use my new Pocket PC for web surfing, email, GPS, TV, music, Sprint radio, voicemail and messaging. Many of these features I’ll probably never use, but I have tuned in to Handy Manny on Sprint TV and handed the phone to my grandson. Worked fine.
I won’t bore you with a list of all the software applications installed on the TP2. I use the Windows Mobil Media Player every day while I’m on my morning walk. Eleven audio and seven video formats are supported.
I use Excel and Word Mobile all of the time. I can reach in my pocket and tell you how many miles I walked last year. When I’m at the doctors office, his questions are usually easy to answer because I’ve got most of my medical data on my pocket PC. Reviewing past blood glucose is helpful in maintaining my blood sugar levels. Its nice to have the history in my pocket every day.
I’ve been experimenting with voice recognition and have downloaded a few utility programs. Everything I’ve tried on my home network seems to be working OK. Many things (like printing) is usually easier done from either my desktop or laptop. I’ve got my machine set to automatically synchronize every time I connect.
I should take a minute to tell you how hard I am on my telephones. I usually carry them in my shirt pocket and I often forget to remember to hold on to them when I bend over. I’ve accidentally dropped two of them in the toilet. So far, I’ve managed to drop my TP2 three times. The worst incident was when I was walking. I took the machine out of my pocket. When I put it back, I missed the pocket and dropped it on the concrete roadbed. I’m happy to report that you can’t tell that I’ve dropped my pocket computer.
There are a few things I dislike about the TP2, most of them inconsequential and easily fixed. The system calculator is lousy. It has a copy function, but no paste. I wish the screen was a little bigger. The solitaire program is still pretty hard to beat.
I’d guess that you can see I’m pretty impressed with the capabilities and quality of the TP2. It’s a great pocket computer with a pretty decent telephone attached to it. Just ask when you see me and I’ll be glad to demonstrate it for you. I‘ll even show you how I wrote this article on my pocket pc.
Thanks for reading.