Yahoo Email on the fly with GSM Cellphone - Nokia GSM 6820 Bluetooth Phone Review

 by Adrian Biffen, GM, AeroHOST WEB SYSTEMS
 (Get private email accounts with any of our hosting packages)

July 21/06 - PLEASE NOTE: This article has been left here for legacy purposes. You can read the updated articles about mobile internet at our new site: ConnectWirelessWeb.com. 

Nokia 6820 user - Adrian Biffen My decision to use GSM and the Nokia 6820 Bluetooth phone with the full fold-out qwerty keyboard was based largely on the ability to send and answer my email while roaming freely in different countries, and the recent commitment by ATT to expand their GSM system at home was no small factor. To top it off, the reception sensitivity of this phone is amazing - it works where other phones are dead! Then the ATT - Cingular merger took place, further expanding the available network, which solidified my decision. The faster EDGE (EGPRS) data bearer system is also currently being deployed in our area; it should provide mobile broadband capability. Nokia 6820 (Cingular) 

GSM (Global Standard for Mobile) technology is actually a type of TDMA, and is used in about 80% of countries worldwide. The US market, up until now, has been dominated largely by NON-GSM CDMA phone systems (CDMA vs GSM).

If you've ever been to Europe or Mexico and discovered that your phone doesn't work, it's because those countries use primarily GSM technology. GSM also includes the accompanying data service, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), an 'always on' internet system. I can access and respond to email and web pages directly on the phone, and I can also use the phone as a modem, connected via the wireless Bluetooth system to my laptop for a full display and surfing experience. Need to check your Yahoo mail account? Got Hotmail email? No problem ...

Switch GSM Providers in Different Countries:

I bought a Nokia 6820 for everyone in our company, AeroHOST, and I would have bought them just for the ability to respond to my email with the full fold-out qwerty keyboard, but it offers much more than that. I don't normally use the built-in SMS text messaging, but it sure is a lot less expensive when you're out of the country. Another very significant factor is the SIM card (Subscriber Identification Module) - a personal identity card that creates the ability to move from carrier to carrier with an unlocked phone, depending on where you get the best rate and service.

Wireless Bluetooth Backup - Copy Your Phone Contents to a PC:

If one of us loses or breaks a phone (it already happened to me, I went swimming with it) we can just borrow one until a replacement arrives, insert the SIM card (it's a good idea to keep a spare SIM card), and download the memory backup from a laptop to get back on the air - with all our contacts, appointments and settings intact. The free Nokia software (Nokia PC Suite) is very slick and works perfectly, and includes a wireless Bluetooth PC backup software program, among other things . No more fumbling with cables!

Finally, we get a way of having mobile email with a keyboard, easy backup and protection against loss, sensible competition between GSM service providers, and no more huge bills from roaming charges. This is a win-win situation for both consumers and service providers.