Thread

I’m starting this thread on a Sidekick LX for a couple of reasons, not least of which is to test for Derek Jones.

My first voice+data phone was a Sidekick II, and it’s informed my selections in a phone ever since.  Some are eager to dismiss the device as “kiddie”, but the QWERTY keyboard is best in class, the browser is solid, it has push email built in, and at $20/mo for unlimited (S/M)MS. No special servers or specific “Pro” OS required, and if you upgrade your handset, It’s a pretty compelling package.

Some of its advantages in one way are disadvantages in another.  It is like running a “fat” client over the network, but I’ll discuss that more in part two.  Right now, I want to get back to knocking off a few more feeds in Google Reader before I get off the bus and into work.

And?

... and among those drawbacks is that there are more moving parts, so even if your data connection is up, your SSH client works, and you can exchange instant messages, you still have to contend with their web proxy, which went down immediately after I posted.

Which really gets to my point—why do smart/PDA phones suck?  There are far too many tradeoffs, no matter which way you go.  Windows Mobile is junk in a “smartphone” edition, and clunky with a stylus.  Nokia doesn’t seem interested in combining their N and E series phones.  BlackBerry hasn’t really figured out rich text, and are practically begging to live in a holster—I don’t want to wear a Bat-Belt.  The iPhone doesn’t have an SSH client or IM, and I want a real, tactile keyboard please.

The iPhone doesn’t have an SSH client or IM, and I want a real, tactile keyboard please.

It does have an SSH client and IM. You just have to jailbreak it. As for the tactile keyboard, well you cannot have everything!

no need for jail breaking anymore for SSH or IM not that I SSH without a real keyboard…

I’m not seeing any sort of ssh/terminal client in the app store.

There are a few to choose from.