Bluetooth SD Card on Palm's European Site

Thanks. Keep in mind though, when you see that "Breaking News" at the beginning, what it means is I'm still writing the article. I've just posted it so you don't have to wait another 30 minutes or so while I continue to edit it and add more. In general just the basics are there. I try to remember to spell check it first. :-)

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News Editor

Throughput for Bluetooth is rated at 1 Mbps under optimal conditions. With error correction overhead and other environmental factors, however, the real throughput should be about 700 Kbps to 800 Kbps.

Several other factors can influence Bluetooth's speed. The presence of other 2.4-GHz devices, such as an 802.11b WAN, can degrade performance of a Bluetooth piconet.

Truth of the matter is that other devices running 2.4 gig do have a little play with Bluetooth. But then, so do microwave ovens. :-)

The fun of a T39 with a bluetooth enabled Palm OS device (I saw a demo of the memorystick version long time ago, whatever happened to that?!) is that the phone can be in your pocket and the palm browsing the web in your hand. Wheeee....

For security, the palm to phone connection is protected with a 14 digit code so security is ok there. But if you have your bluetooth enabled on your palm device and don't have it 'hidden' from the network, anyone with a bluetooth device can find you and send you stuff... without your permission.

Palm Source had several cool palm and phone connection demos running. The sad one was the Palm Bluetooth to bluetooth printer demo where someone in the audience took over the printer and the demo person couldn't stop them.

Are any of the phones listed above available in the US? I want a Bluetooth enabled phone dangit!

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Sir Tez
IT is a rough life

Cingular doesn't sell T39 phones, but you can get one from other sources and use them on Cingular's network. I just got one from Primate Systems a week ago to replace my T28World and I love it.

You can also find them on PlanetOmni and eBay.

I got my T39 off the net and have it working on Voicestream and Cingular (when I'm on the west coast). I LOVE this phone. So far, with the extended battery, I can run for almost 3 weeks without recharging it! Already put in a request for this bluetooth SD at my local vendor.

"The card was demonstrated at PalmSource working with the i705"

Scott, the only problem with that assessment is that the i705 also has it's card slot on the side. As far as being usable, I think that Palm expects for people to take the card out when not in use. This would save a lot of calls from people who forget to sign off the net and the person's phone minutes are eaten up by a Palm that is sitting in their pocket.

A Palm in hand is worth two in your pocket.

it's BOOTHTOOF

My guess is that it will not be compatible with the m125 since the m125 (and m130?) does not have Flash ROM. The software for the Bluetooth drivers may need to be applied as a patch to the OS in ROM, and thus require Flash ROM.

"Scott, the only problem with that assessment is that the i705 also has it's card slot on the side. As far as being usable, I think that Palm expects for people to take the card out when not in use. This would save a lot of calls from people who forget to sign off the net and the person's phone minutes are eaten up by a Palm that is sitting in their pocket."

Ed said that the i705 wasn't listed, either. I didn't argue that it wouldn't work with the m125, just that they were probably not listing it because it would be kinda clunky since it would stick out of the side. Quite honestly, it seems to me that it will be worse than clunky, it will actually be uncomfortable to hold an m125 or i705 with the card there, since that's where your hand is supposed to wrap around the device. I also have to disagree with you a bit on the issue of connecting wirelessly. Sure, accessing the internet via a Bluetooth phone will no doubt be one of the biggest uses of it. But, the beauty of Bluetooth, to me, is with a lot of the other things people haven't even thought of yet. Actually, Palm did think of one. Remember the idea about scanning other local Palm OS devices for a list of someone's favorite software? You won't get very far if everyone's walking around with the Bluetooth card in their pocket.

Overall, I'm disappointed. Not just with the fact that it sticks out, but also with the cost. Until Bluetooth PDAs are widespread (enabling the neat stuff I mentioned above), most people are going to be using this basically as a cable-replacement. Is a cable replacement worth $130?

Scott

Good points mtg101. Sorry to hear about the excessive cable costs. Surely, 3rd party cable makers make them cheaper, no? While your arguments may make sense for European customers, here's why I wouldn't go for it:
1) If I buy it with the hopes of not having to worry about buying a new cable with every new PDA I buy, I'll be locked into SD devices.
2) With the diminishing costs of Bluetooth, it's possible that future devices will have it built in anyway.
3) The card still sticks out. By the time I got around to buying another PDA without Bluetooth but with an SD slot, I'd be willing to bet that a newer, smaller, cheaper SD Bluetooth card would be available.

Personally, I hope they (and everyone else) get moving on integrating Bluetooth into all of their PDAs ASAP.

Scott

At a minimum the card requires Palm OS 4.x, so at least for now the answer would certainly be no.

I just saw Palm's website - I didn't realize it was their mistake, not Ed's. It MUST be a typo...

Yes but so does the T29s and other phones. I find it strange that there is no driver for the 6310 or the 8310 with built-in bluetooth, although the fact that they were relatively recently released would explain it...

I have a Nk8310 right here and definately no bluetooth capability out the box.

You can buy that as an option - it's a battery with Bluetooth capabilities. However, I don't like the card sticking out so much. It won't fit in my case, so it's a bit annoying. If I'm gonna use an add-on for Bluetooth that adds to the form factor, I might as well go with the TDK Blue m - then I will have access to all the apps and stuff I keep on my SD memory card at the same time.

Anyone know if the m515 will have built-in Bluetooth?

peace,
airwhale

Sorry, you guys are right about the 8310. For some reason I was under the illusion it was triple band and had bluetooth, simply because a lot of people were comparing it to the T39!! It does have GPRS though :P

Well the T39, the T68, as well as 8310 are all triple-band GSM phones, so they can be used in the US too. If I am not mistaken, Voicestream and Cingular are both GSM? All three have GPRS which is another plus.

Aren't these sold in the US?

It's too bad there isn't more GSM competition in the US. The price of the phone without activation is about $300. In parts of Europe you can get it for free with activation.

Ericsson does upgrade the firmware for free (in my country anyway), and since you got it with activation it should have already been the English version! Anyway, look into your nearest service center - the upgrade takes about 30 minutes. If it's just a matter of firmware change, you have no problems.

Does anyone have the T39 in California? In addition, what processes did you guys have to go through to get the phone. How did you get the phone with activiation if you bought it from an online retailer, did you buy the phone direct from this website and then Voicestream reimbursed you or...?