Instant Messaging

For some reason, I was surprised to be able to Instant Message from a few of these Portable Devices. It was so...Instant...it was to good to be true! I used Yahoo Messager of the Palm Devices (hoping for an AOL version soon...anyone?) and both Yahoo and AOL had versions for all the Windows CE devices. I was able to chat in real enough time with people while sitting on Wall Street. Very cool. The combination of the PalmV/Minstrel Modem and Yahoo Messager was a hit for me. And since Yahoo stores my buddy list on the server, I didn't have to configure the app at all, just name/password and boom, I'm on.

Prediction: Definitely watch for a unified Instant Messaging standard and the convergence of all the competing players. Instant Messaging is the next big thing since email, and when it's wireless, it's oh so sweet.

Email

None of the PDA devices I used would I consider email workhorses - except the RIM BlackBerry devices. The WindowsCE devices tried to deliver Outlook to the small screen, and kind of succeeded. But why port something from big to small, when you can design it right from the ground up. If you slog through email, filing it, replying, forwarding, and you need these capabilities on the road - a BlackBerry device may be just for you. I saw more of these devices on Wall Street that anywhere else on my trip. What was funny was these guys had Pilots, Modems, AND BlackBerry devices. When they needed email taken care off, out came the BlackBerry, otherwise it's the PalmV. Very interesting. This situation is screaming for resolution, because I personally don't want more than one device in my pocket.