A New Gadget?

Well it's time for a new phone. My trusty HP iPaq 6515 is dying a slow death. I've droppped it a bazillion times so I'm not surprised that it's coughing out it's last breath.

I've been doing some research and I've narrowed down my choices to 2 devices: the Blackberry 8800 and the HTC S620. To completly different devices, both having exceptional features.

The Blackberry is based on RIM's own OS, while the HTC S620 is based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile software (in particular Mobile 5.0). From a pure physical perspective the S620 is shorter, narrower, thinner and lighter than the 8800. And the S620 has built in Wi-Fi and a camera. The 8800 has neither. The 8800 does however have a built in GPS antenna/receiver.

So how do I decide? How do I make the decision on which device I will use for the next 1-2 years?

I've decided to make the decision using 1 criteria. I installed Microsoft Voice Command on my iPaq 6515 when I first bought the device and I can't believe how much I've come to rely on it. I rarely dial a number by pressing the numbers on my phone. I simply hit the hot-key and say "Dial..." or "Call..." and the phone does the rest. I've come to rely on this feature so much that I "must" have it in my new device.

The 8800 does have voice activated dialing so we can't simply rule out that device. The S620 has voice dialing by way of Microsoft Voice Command - the program that I've grown to love.

So my decision will be based on which device handles voice dialing the best. I'll be trying that out over the next couple of weeks...

Labels: blackberry, phone