A Core Competence Product Evaluation
AT&T PocketNet™ Service
Just shy of a year ago, I wrote about
the AT&T PocketNet™ Service and
my first exposure to the world of wireless data and first-generation smart phones. AT&T Wireless Services
recently invited me to again participate in the PocketNet™ Service Influencer Program, and provided
me with a new phone, new software and service capabilities. So much has changed, and for the better,
that I'm obliged to write about this service again.
AT&T Wireless provides PocketNet
service in my area over the Cellular Digital Packet Data
(CDPD) network. The service is available in over twenty cellular
markets nationwide. I've used CDPD in Austin, Boston, New York, Orlando, Pittsburgh,
and all together too frequently in the major metro areas of California!
Coverage in my home town of Dresher, PA, has improved considerably this year,
so much so that I can read mail anywhere in my home. You should check the
coverage map
at the AT&T Wireless web site for information regarding service in your
area, but Atlanta is the only major metro area I frequent where CDPD isn't yet available.
(You may already have read
about CDPD, and if so, you can forego this section.)
CDPD is a "digital data over cellular" service.
CDPD operates at rates up to 19.2 Kbps by carving out frequencies
from the same cellular spectrum
used by analog mobile phone service (AMPS). Through a process
called channel-hopping, CDPD seeks out temporarily unused cellular
frequencies and transmits packetized data across an idle channel
for a short time, then seeks out a different channel. By transmitting
only briefly over any idle channel, collisions between packetized
data transfers and AMPS voice traffic are minimized. CDPD may
not get as much press as PCS, but it's available now, and it works.
CDPD packets carry IP
packets using a SLIP interface. A proprietary transport protocol
runs on top of IP. The transport protocol packets
contain Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML), a skinnied
down version of the HyperText Markup Language (HTML), which is
the basis of World Wide Web content representation. Where HTML
presents web pages containing text and graphics, HDML presents
"decks" of ASCII text "cards" suitable for
display on a 2x4" screen. HDML and the supporting Handheld
Device Transport Protocol (HDTP) were developed to allow devices
with limited memory, storage and processing power to operate in
wireless environments, where bandwidth is limited and packet
latency can be long.
New Software for Smarter phones
The Samsung Duette phone runs
an HDML-based micro-browser software developed by
Unwired Planet.
Indispensible (no caveats this time!)
The applications available through
PocketNet™ have become indispensable.
I really enjoy traveling with only a
single appliance to access email, info sites, and "use the phone".
I politely smile at fellow air travellers who struggle with
20 pounds of PC and accompanying hardware, and hope I won't
be caught in the crossfire when airlines impose a one carry-on item
rule. Best of all, I no longer struggle
with Microsoft DUN and hotel PBX's.
I suggested in my previous review that additional consideration be given to
streamlining the navigation from function to function within applications.
I'm happy to report that the current generation of menus and buttons
make it much easier to navigate than before. Unified messaging
remains elusive. You can only create new mail from the PocketNet™
client interface. To retrieve and process mail from
my dave@corecom.com account, I now use a client interface provided
in cooperation with MailandNews.com, which supports Unwired Planet compatible devices.
Email processing through this interface is more straightforward than
earlier proxies I tried, and it's easily configured by adding a bookmark.
I'm still desperately waiting for an easy way to delete a sequence of mail messages,
but at least the Delete process is less chatty than before.
Alphanumeric
entry for email and info sites is less tedious than before. Earlier
interfaces to the 12-button keypad offered ALPHA
or NUMeric options. To type an "S", for example, you had to hit the
"7PQRS" key four times. A simple word like "sun"
required eight touches to the keyboard (4 for
"s", 2 for "u", and 2
for "n"). A new SMART option in many
instances reduces the number of touches for word entry by offering
you the most likely "next letter" for a word. For example,
if you've typed the letter "P" and touch the "6MNO"
key, the phone is programmed to display an "O" first, as
the probability of entering this vowel is greater than that for the
other letters. It's not perfect, but better.
Scrolling through long messages on a 3-line
text display admittedly tests my patience, but it's a small price to
pay for the luxury of carrying a phone that weighs about 9 ounces (with
battery) instead of a laptop perhaps ten times as heavy. I rarely
carry a laptop these days, but
if I do find a laptop necessary, I can use
the phone as a fax/modem through a serial port.
Would a PDA or Handheld PC
with a wireless data modem be a fairer comparison? Size
(pocket-print?), service and equipment costs are arguably the same for
data. But I still need a phone, I hate chicklet keyboards, and
PDAs with useful handwriting recogition are overtaken by events, so
the Duette comes out on top.
Wireless services operate in a low bandwidth,
high delay spectrum. CDPD performance varies as you roam in and
out of cellular serving areas. Such things as weather and terrain
can also interfere with service. Packet loss can be a real killer.
When cellular service is consistent enough where packet loss
is low, the service is comparable to low-speed analog modem.
But when service is lossy, timeouts and the nefarious "Service Read
Error" can be frustrating. The good news is that power lifetime for
the Duette, especially with the Extended NI-MH 1800 mAH battery, is
seemingly orders of magnitude better than earlier phones.
PocketNet™ Service has matured
considerably, and AT&T Wireless has done a commendable job not only
with the service, but with web- and companion-ware. PocketNet™ subscribers
are provided a private Web Site. From your Web Site, you can
With IntelliSync™ software, you can synchronize personal data
between your Duette and a slew of PC PIMs, contact managers and
group scheduling applications.
I continue to be impressed with the product and service. If you are a
highly mobile worker who requires anywhere access to voice and email,
try out this service.
Contact:
(1-800-DATA ATT extension 158)
My new smart phone is a Samsung Duette PocketNet™-compatible telephone.
Calling the 9-ounce Duette a telephone is misleading. It's actually a multi-function
handheld device that supports phone, fax, modem, and personal data assistant capabilities.
These would be outstanding capabilities from a phone, but for my purposes,
the killer applications of the PocketNet™ and the Duette remain email and information (web) access
using a hyperdeck browser. (The MobileAccess™ 120 Phone from Mitsubishi is also PocketNet™-compatible .)
The 4-line browser window
on the Duette offers a satisfactory viewing area
for text-based messaging and information retrieval.
Three lines of the viewing area are used for text display
and selection menus. A fourth line is used to enable application specific HDML
buttons (the "Softkeys"). Arrow keys control cursor movement, and
additional keys (MENU, END/BACK, STO/MARK) help you navigate quickly through
hyper text and decks and bookmark locations in a deck much in the same
way one uses a Netscape or IE Navigation Toolbar.
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