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Cell Phone / PDA Shopping Tips
(Click here for ScoutPalDB hardware requirements)
- MOST IMPORTANT: Does the carrier provide wireless service in
the areas where you bookscout? Some carriers have service limited to major
metro areas and interstate corridors only. This may only be a problem if
you bookscout in small rural towns.
- How easy is it to navigate and enter data? Some cell phones have
twitchy navigation keys. On the other hand, Motorola phones have very
tactile keyboards. This is a personal judgment, and best determined by web
browsing using a live device.
- Hold the phone or PDA in your hand, and simulate entering 10-digit
ISBNs. Can you do it with one hand, without looking? It's generally
easier to enter ISBNs on a phone rather than a PDA. Phones are designed
for rapid entry of 10 digit phone numbers, which is exactly like entering
a 10 digit ISBN. In contrast, PDAs are designed for tasks like email, and
typically have tiny little keyboards (or none at all!) that often require
you to "shift" the keyboard into numeric-only mode each time you enter an
ISBN.
- Does the wireless web plan ("WAP") have unlimited use for a single
monthly fee? Carriers that do offer this include Nextel, Cingular/AT&T
Wireless, Sprint PCS, and T-Mobile. Other carriers may charge you a full
minute from your voice calling plan each time you click on a web link. If
so, are there enough minutes in the plan to provide for a few hundred
ScoutPal searches each month?
- Are there enough lines on the display to provide a good web-browsing
experience? More lines are certainly better, as you will do less
scrolling, however there are many ScoutPals using simple 3-line phones.
- Ask about promotional plans, especially with regard to wireless web
use. Some plans are not advertised, and available only if you ask.
- If you ask before you buy, many carriers will give you a few days
after you purchase to try the phone out. You will usually still have to
pay the account activation fee if you return the phone and cancel the
contract. (Typically around $35)
- Make sure that your wireless web plan allows you to browse to any
web site. Some of the base-level cell phone web plans give you only a
fixed set of web sites.
- After you have selected a cell phone or PDA, ask to have it activated
with web service in the store before you take it home. A couple of
ScoutPal users have taken home new phones and PDA's only to have them
remain unactivated for many days after purchase because of snafu's with
the carrier. Make your salesman work for the commission! Also, have the
salesman show you how to add bookmarks (links) to the phone browser so
that you can quickly get the phone logged into ScoutPal when you are ready
to bookscout.
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