[PLUG] Blackberry with Linux?

[Kurt Sussman]

Chris Dawson (xrdawson at gmail.com) typed this ...
> I'll second the Treo.  I've had four treos (270 x 3) and now a 650. 
> There has always been great support for Linux with Palm products.  I
> can use Bluetooth and much more.  The interface is, imho, much better

You mean use BT to connect to the phone as a modem?

> than blackberry; I tried a blackberry for a week and disliked the
> interface so much I decided to go back to the Treo.  Palm has a much
> better hardware interface, and the software is built around the

Both have very small keys. My fingers are not too fat for the tiny keys,
but I know it will be an adjustment for either BB or Treo.

> hardware.  For this reason I would never recommend the 700 since
> Windows is not meant to run on a tiny screen like on a Treo.  I'll

I actually looked at the T-Mobile MDA (Win Mobile 5.0), but I'd rather
avoid Windows if I can.

> leave it up for debate whether Windows is right for even a desktop
> computer.  And, throw in the fact that you can run a SSH client on
> your Treo for emergency shell access to your servers, and I'll never
> leave the Treo fold.

I have been using a Sidekick for almost 2 years now and it has a lot of
advantages. The ssh client is very usable, the keys are big enough that
I rarely have typos, the screen is big and bright. It dropped about 8
feet to the floor a couple days ago with no noticable damage whatsoever.
But it has no BT, no USB, no integration with anything, no easy backups
to a disk that I control. The SK3 will be more of a brick and will
probably have wifi, but I'm not sure that's such a big win.

I can justify a certain amount of money for features, but I have most of
the important features with the phone I currently use. I can save about
$50/month by putting a couple of accounts together and I can get a new
phone from Amazon along the way. I can't justify $600 for a Treo but I
can justify $100 for the new crackberry.

Or I can wait for the summer phone deals, and maybe get BT, EDGE, wifi
and GSM in one convenient handset. I hate charging the phone every day
though, and anything with wifi will suck battery power like crazy. 

I'm trying to keep an open miond, but if I'm going to switch phones, I
want the new one to be significantly better in the ways that are
important to me. SSH, PIM features, voice and display quality, battery
life, integration: that's my list (not in any particular order).

--Kurt
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