Mobile Ministry Magazine

I think I started with something called a Velo by Philips. It was a little pocket pc, running a version of windows. It came with a very expensive modem which could connect at tiny speeds. But I loved it. I had two of those (they had quite a short lifespan) and an HP PDA of some sort. It enabled me to collect email when I wasn't at home, to carry the odd document, and to keep a synched diary on the desktop.

Then came my first real 'converged' device: a treo600 running palmOS. It was my first experience of Palm, and I can understand the love for it. I was bowled over by what it could do - Bible, book reader, music player, diary, email, I had a programme that told me what the lectionary was and somewhere to make notes on thoughts if I had a moment to spare somewhere. I had programmes for prayer and a whole host of things. I joined a community (My Treo.net) who were all as excited as I was, got to know some of the developers, and even spent a bit of time as a moderator there. I still have the T shirt (literally!) Sadly, my Treo died. The Treo600 didn't have a removable battery, so when the battery stopped holding charge out of sheer over-use, it was time to give it a decent burial. I deeply regretted that – and would never buy a device without a replaceable battery as a result.

The Treo died at an inconvenient moment, leaving me little choice but to rush into the nearest orange store and get a phone, quick. I walked out with a Sony Ericsson k750i. Compared with the Treo, it was a helpless creature. I managed to squeeze a bible on to it (using java) and my shopping list (Smart Shopper). I could sync my diary with outlook, but that tended to goof, so I used a little programme called My Sony Ericsson, from the people at Kyocera.

What I DID gain from it was a decent camera. The k750i boasted a 2mp camera – which for a phone was quite some beast at the time. And it was a cracking little camera. I found myself taking photos in the oddest places. Living in Cornwall, it was not at all unknown for me to pull up the car, leap out and grab a photo. I took to posting them on my blog. I guess that's the nearest I got to a truly 'theological' use of the device. I live in a glorious part of the creation, and I have no-one with whom to share the beauty around me. By always carrying a decent camera phone, I can share the loveliness with friends online. That's important to me: the thankfulness I feel is seldom put into words, but think people realise why I keep taking photos. And people seem to follow my blog for the pics among other things, because it makes them smile.

This is a reader submitted post; well, more like a person I asked about their experience with mobile devices and this was the result. Part one anyways. Stay tuned for part two. To submit your story, use the Contact page.

Labels: camera, Palm Treo, sony ericsson, user contribution

First there's good news of unlocked/unbranded Palm Centro devices going for $200, now there's some solid Bible software to go with it. Laridian has announced the availability of the MacArthur Study Bible Notes for their MyBible Bible Reader application. For those looking for a solid study bible solution for their PalmOS/GarnetOS mobile device, this seems like a great by. For more information, check out the Laridian website.

Labels: Bible, Centro, Laridian, MyBible, Palm Treo, software, study, Treo

As stated before, the Nokia E71 Review has been published at Brighthand for your reading. In addition, I also reviewed the new Palm Treo Pro smartphone in the same week (yea, busy one there for me).

Some general thoughts:

• The E71 is one impressive piece of device. The metal body, the battery life, and the number of features is absoutely incredible. Its amazing where mobile devices have gotten to.
• The Treo Pro is probably Palm's best Windows Mobile device yet. While it does miss some of the Palm tweaks that other Palm Treo devices have, it feels and looks the part of something that iPhone users would be willing to move to in order to be more productive.
• Both devices are a distraction during church, the Treo Pro moreso because of the color and sheen.
• Neither device is available on contract (in the US), and this works to your advantage especially of you have contract terms that are in your favor right now.

Both devices have strengths and weaknesses, but only one of them really stole the show for me. Check out both reviews at Brighthand. Feel free to ask any additional questions and look forward to some other E71 impressions in the coming weeks.

Labels: Brighthand, E71, Nokia, Palm Treo, review, smartphone, Windows Moible