August 6, 2004

Mobile Diva, Eileen shares her experiences with mobile technology

Eileen "Turtle" Parzek, Owner, SOHO It Goes! explained that she was tired of having to lug a heavy laptop around , her only computer four years ago, just to check email and write articles.

After her laptop crashed and she almost went out of business because of it, she realized she needed a better solution.

Now she carries no data on the laptop but wirelessly connects to her desktop computer. Her desktop computer has 2 hard disks - with one backing up to the other. She also uses a USB hard disk to back up data.

The next issue she wanted to tackle was how to completely avoid carrying a laptop around. Other than the weight, just waiting for the thing to boot up can be annoying and time consuming.

So when smartphones started getting attention she figured she would buy one. Before she bought one, one of her loyal investor's bought her an iPaq for Christmas - it came Bluetooth enabled, with a keyboard and extra memory cards. She used it but didn't like it and instead went with a Palm Treo 600 using Sprint.

Now to write articles (using a portable keyboard), talk or check eamil her Treo 600 does it all. She gets unlimited email and web access for for one flat fee of $15.

Eileen feels that with her unlimited data plan via her cellular phone, WiFi for all its glory is irrelevant. She doesn't have to worry about finding a hotspot as her "network" is national - wherever Sprint reaches she can get access to her data.

In fairness, WiFi access is much faster than cellular phone data access. But for quick web browswing and brief email access - data via the cellular phone is just fine.

What's next for Eileen? She wants to buy a wireless card for her laptop that will let you use Sprint's high speed data network with her laptop also.

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