It’s been a couple of weeks since I got my spiffy new Cingular 8525 and I thought I would follow-up on my last posting with some updated reporting.

The Good
Overall I’ve been pretty pleased. The ability to check e-mail without powering up the computer is a good thing. I’ve been able to verify that there are no crises brewing and that nothing requires my attention—all without leaving the comfort of the leather easy chair that the dog and I seem to share. This has saved me quite a bit of time and no doubt some electricity as well.

I also had the opportunity to go off site—and I mean off site. I attended weekend Red Cross Training in Public Affairs at a private High School which offered NO Internet access at all. My little 8525 kept me plugged in pretty effortlessly.

Not sure how the camera capability will work out, but we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium the other weekend and I forgot my camera. Hopefully the shots of the otters will come out OK and I’ll figure out how to get them out of the camera and on to the computer.

The Internet Access is a good thing. I was able to find some shopping and food info while on the road and found that a tremendous convenience.

Since HRH the QM (Her Royal Highness, The Queen Mother for new readers) and I have the same device some of my tech support responsibility burdens have eased—I was able to reconfigure her AOL pretty quickly after her phone was repaired.

The Bad
There is no way I can use the phone while driving. While that’s good for safety, it’s bad for productivity and convenience. I mean the keyboard is so unfriendly that I can’t even dial the thing unless I’m stopped and out of direct sun light.

I lost my stylus this morning. The phone shouldn’t really require one—ask the Apple people they know. Luckily I’ve stopped biting my nails since leaving my former employer (imagine that?) so I’m able to pretty much navigate without one and since I usually have a pen as well, I hope to be OK. I found an on-line site to buy a 3 pack and ordered a pack today. This way I’ll have an extra when HRH the QM loses her first one.

The Ugly
The documentation is awful to be kind. I’ve tried to program Voice Tags, you’d think I was trying to alter the ratio of rods in a Nuclear Reactor. While I could program AOL I needed professional help (a local VAR) to program e-mail from one of my other sources and I need the same guy’s help to figure out how to make my 8525 act as a modem for my Vista Laptop. I’m hoping to solve the ‘modem’ issue later today.

Overall I’m a reasonably happy customer, but as with any new technology—time will tell the tale in the long haul.