Is there a Data Only service?

Patrickof

Trying to get myself some data services - flat rate.

I use a Nokia 6310i for phone calls but also have a pda for calender/diary etc. I'd like to be able to put a data only sim into the PDA for email/browsing etc.

I already have a vodafone pre-pay in it, use vodafone bill pay on my nokia and have a vodafone 3g broadband datacard at home.

Is there a relatively inexpensive data only package SIM I can put in the PDA? Most of the data add-ons available still require you to have a monthly voice contract also.

I'm hoping for something around €10 per month but not on a per MB basis.

Any ideas?

Patrickof

Also forgot to add, if I decide to join the 21st century and ditch the 6310i in favour of say a Nokia N73 or Blackberry, how does the email integrate with an always on PC at work.

If I set up my email account on the blackberry and it also is set up on the PC, will the blackberry get a copy of emails or will email go to only one of the devices?

I'm on on the road about 1/4 of the time so when in the office I'd prefer the email to arrive on the PC but when out for it to arrive on the blackberry. Can this be done easily?

billbond4

Why dont you put sim card from your datacard into your PDA?

FergalBoards.ie

Oh man brother have I been here!

Palm OS is an excellent late 90s operating system. People scream and shout about Apple, but honestly I can't see what the fuss is about relative to Windows. Now Palm is a different story. Elegant simplicity.

My first trick was to go to all the cellular providers. It seems possible with Vodafone and 3 to use the SIM only in the PDA. Voda customer care will tell you to go to a dealer. The dealers are mostly good ole boys who know a thing or two about the local sports team, the more urban dealers may have denizens of the local trendy bar. Bottom line, they haven't a clue what you are talking about.

Both Voda and 3 actually forbid this in their T&C (using a data SIM in a PDA, in fact anything non-PC/Apple). A Voda helpline person told me though that if I used the "right" dealer to sign up with, it "might" be "overlooked", if the dealer backed up for me. He said to look for the dealer that did a lot of data in my area. This dealer also didn't really "get" the concept, but said point blank that if I would have to buy a Vodem and if I was caught....tough.

A very trendy, clueless but very helpful person in a Vodafone shop said he didn't understand the concept but had heard of people getting caught and barred for using Data SIMs in non-computer devices.

The local 3 guru said that no one had been caught and barred yet for it, and currently it's not checked for really, but that's not to say it wouldn't be actioned in the future.

The local Meteor guru said the company had the technology to check and did so on an occasional/unpredictible basis. This seemed the dodgiest of the lot.

So I kinda went off the idea really.

First I tried a WM5 Palm Treo. But let's face it, WM5 is a joke. It's an MS product that doesn't even come with Windows Live Messenger installed. It's limited-functionality 1995 computing in your pocket at an extortionate cost. And I will defend MS to the death on the desktop, I personally think they're great. I'm not a Gates-basher. Very disappointing.

So I got with the plot and bought a Nokia E61i. It's the future. It may not be quite there yet, but it's growing and getting better literally by the month. Palm, the manufacturing company, hasn't bought into the latest Palm, the Operating System company's latest product. It's crazy. Now they're releasing something that's not a laptop and not a PDA while they can't even get muti-tasking on their PDAs already.

WM6 has been released to great fanfare. You still can't record a conversation (like directions) when you use a Bluetooth headset. Missing from WM5, missing from WM6 already. No one cares at MS. That functionality is in non-multi-tasking Palm and Symbian.

If you want to take a chance on a data , I suspect 3 might be your best bet. But you'll have to buy the modem. They don't sell data SIMs.

I really think that Nokia might be your best bet though.

I do hope this helps. I've been there. It's a crazy setup.

FergalBoards.ie

PS:

You can very easily use any WM5/Palm/Nokia smartphone as a modem for your PC. There are drivers on the disc for it and it functions as a USB modem.

Been there done that on all three platforms. No issues. (On Windows PC anyway).

Edit: I'm not at all sure about why you are asking this question really about the email. There are options in the email syncing programs to set the state of "read" or "unread" on your server. It's not "easy" as in Palm-easy though. It's a bit more like setting a similar option on Outlook Express. It's a widely advertised feature of a lot of the email sync services. Am I picking up right on this?

Is it the synchronization you are worried about? Or is it the change from data-card for on-phone data vs on-PC data?

Patrickof

billbond4 wrote:

Why dont you put sim card from your datacard into your PDA?

Coz it's our home broadband (no dsl or other available) and the wife works from home and uses it there.

billbond4

Ok, if you get O2 broadband (This is a data price plan) you will get a Sim Card with the O2 Modem so you could use that.
Can can also make calls on it ( if your stuck)
But that is going to be over 10e a month