newman

I am a newbie to the pda concept in general. Have had my Axim since Christmas and love it. Now for the dumb question and simple answers please as I am a simple man (according to my wife). I want to be able to send, receive and access my email after pulling over while driving. What is the most economical way to do this?

code_joe

If you are wanting to Acess your email real-time (Download it and send it right then and there) you will need a Cell phone and a Connection kit for your cell phone. A company I found that has connection kits for many brands of cell phones is Socket ( http://www.socketcom.com/product/dpc.asp ). you use this just like a dial-up modem to your Internet Service Provider.

JakeRich

Also, Gomadic makes interface cables, but I don't know if they have a Dell cable yet. The Laptop cable with a null modem connnector would probably work with the new Dell serial cable.

Gomadic

jda5id

Depending on what you mean by "pull-over while driving," another possibility could be WiFi. With the cell modem service referenced in the last reply you will be able to pull over anywhere (where there is cell service of course) and download. The advantage is that you never have to leave your car and you can do it almost anywhere. The disadvantage is going to be slower speeds and the costs/reliability of the service and the equipment. The speed may not be an issue if you are only talking small numbers of emails without attachments. I can't talk directly to the reliability of the services but I have heard that data service can be even spottier in some places than the regular voice cell service is (and in some places this is pretty deplorable). As to price, it seems that the prices range anywhere from $40 on up, but that is for a fixed amount of downloads. If you are a very active user, some of these services can quickly ring up bills over and above $100/month. I also recall seeing that some of the equipment to do this can be pricey and non-standard (if you switch to a different provider you may need new equipment).

WiFi is becoming more of an option for this thanks to the ever-increasing profliferation of hotspots. Starbucks is one place that is driving this by providing T-Mobile hotspots in over 1000 locations. The T-Mobile service ranges from $30 for a local area plan to $50 for a national plan. This includes 500MB of data transfer which is far more than I recall seeing that cell providers include in their plans. Also keep in mind that there are a growing number of free hotspots in many areas as well. Where I live we have a number of local chains as well as small cafes and lunchspots that are providing free WiFi access. The advantage of WiFi is that it is far faster than any cell service you can get. It is also standardized in that the WiFi card you use to access service at Starbucks, will work anywhere - other stores, airports, within your house if you setup your own hotspot. The equipment is also cheap, ~$50-100 for a CompactFlash WiFi card. Of course, the disadvantage to WiFi is that it is not nearly as mobile as a cell connection. You won't be able to just pull over anywhere and have access to the network - you will have to find a hotspot. Now if you live in a Metro area, this might not be an issue since there is a Starbucks seemingly on every corner - not to mention the other potential places to find WiFi access. If you are in a more rural area however, this will be far more of a challenge and potential inconvenience.

Good luck with your decision.

newman

Thanks for all your help guys!