1. Gather requirements
2. Do research
3. Create a plan
4. Move forward

To be fair, my formal training in chemistry probably had something to do with it as well but I digress.

My most recent “major obstacle to overcome” is a new cell phone. I bought an HTC Hermes (aka AT&T 8525 aka over-featured, under-performing brick) about a year and a half ago with the intention of tripling my productivity through complete connectivity (har har har). There was this wireless network just begging to be used – who was I to deny it? I dutifully paid my $30 a month and tried desperately, bill after bill, to use it to its maximum. I ended up using it just to rationalize paying for it. That didn’t last for very long.

Now, my “mini-computer” is too big, too heavy, showing its age, and causing frustration. Time to move on to a new one. Queue the scientific method…

1) What are my requirements?

I have a fairly specific list of things I need my phone to do. Here are the “must-haves:”

• It must have a good calendar function. I need the option to set recurring appointments, alarms, and add notes. Since my phone is used 33% of the time as an appointment book, this feature has to work well.
• It must have a good contact function. I need many different fields – URL, multiple emails, notes – and I need it to be easy to organize and view.
• It has to have a keyboard. With all the contacts and calendar entries I make, it has to be easy.
• It must be fast. There’s nothing worse than sitting there, waiting for your phone to do what you want. This pretty much excludes Windows Mobile unless there’s nothing out there that runs it very efficiently.
• Has to have a decent camera.
• Must be AT&T; I don’t plan on switching carriers.

Here are the “really-wants:”

• Calendar and contacts should sync somewhere, preferably somewhere I can export (like Outlook). I need to keep backups of everything and I want to be able to change the information from a computer. It would be great if it synced with Google because that’s where everything is going eventually. This is almost a need…
• I really want it to be wireless internet capable, preferably 3G. This might be how I’ll have to sync my PDA information (calendar and contacts). I won’t use it much but it’s nice to have it available.
• I’d like to be able to connect it with a USB cord. I’m usually near a computer and it’s my preferred syncing method (so I don’t have to pay for wireless internet charges). It also provides another way of charging the phone.
• I want to stay away from touch screens because I like buttons. I’m still very impressed with how the iPhone works but, what can I say, I like the click of a button, it’s much more satisfying.

2) What’s out there?

I worked in the wireless industry from 1999 to 2005. During those times, it seemed like there was so many phones out there, it was hard to make a decision. Nowadays, the situation is even worse. AT&T is GSM so anything unlocked (and using the right bands) can be used. This leaves many, many options.

So, using my requirements, I started searching. Here’s the sites I used:

• CNet Reviews(CNet rarely disappoints with the amount of product information)
• AT&T Wireless (should give my carrier a chance, no)
• PhoneScoop (I used to use this site when I worked for AT&Tingular)
• Newegg (of course)

Here’s the process I use to narrow my choices:

1. First, I come up with a long list of possibles based on technology (in may case, which ones would work with my existing carrier) and obvious features (anything without a camera or some type of QWERY keyboard was out).
2. Then, I look through the specific features and throwout any of them that were missing key functionality.
3. Finally, I start reading reviews on the sites above. Anything with a grade lower than a “C” got tossed. I look for key words like “slow” or “buggy” because this is what I’m looking to replace. I typically read a lot of reviews which can be good or bad depending on how to see it. I get a lot of useful information but, after reading a million pros and a million cons, I’m even more undecided than before. Still, it helps to cut out the stuff I can’t deal with.

I came up with a good list of options:

• Nokia E71 (this is the one I really want… looks great, does everything I want. It’s a little pricey though and I’m not sure if it can sync or not)
• Blackberry Bold (I’ve heard great things about Blackberrys from most people using them. Might be overkill though)
• Samsung BlackJack 2 (I’ve heard good things about this one but it’s Windows Mobile)
• Samsung Epix (Windows Mobile is mostly a deal-breaker but, if the processor is fast enough, it might be OK)
• Motorlola Q (A little unsure about this one too)
• Samsung Propel (might not do what I need it to but I love the size and, after playing around with one for a minute, found it to be VERY fast which was nice)

3) What’s next?

Well, the plan was to head to an AT&T store and check out the local offerings. I really wanted to use these in person before I made a choice. Unfortunately for this process, I found a great price on the Nokia E71 on Craigslist and jumped at it. I’ll write a bit about my experience in another post (spoiler: I love it).

Related posts:

1. Posting this via email from my phone… glad I can! ** I tried to post this via email from my...
2. Getting started correcting your search engine problems. Who cares? Search engines are complicated, proprietary, heartless machines that...
3. Does your wifi disconnect often? Before you smash your laptop, here’s the fix… Find of the year, IMHO. Every time I pop open...

My first thought is that it would be nice to be able to watch movies at high wuality when I have a High-Def TV. My second thought is that we have all of our music on two different computers (and have a hard time backing it all up). Third, it would be great to be able to easily watch streaming Netflix movies without always having to hook up and plug in a laptop… same deal with streaming TV shows from the network sites. Fourth, it would be great to have a way to easily stream music and play it for the whole apartment. Clearly, we’re in DESPERATE need of a solution!

There are specific media boxes out there but I really want to build my own to my own specs. Here is my Newegg wish list for parts. I basically picked the lowest price with the highest rating that did what I wanted.

Case

SILVERSTONE SUGO SG02B-F Black ABS / SECC Steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case

I already have a power supply so I looked for a MicroATX case that could hold full-size video cards. This one got fairly good ratings and was not too big. I was actually surprised that this one is on the low end of pricing. I thought these smaller cases would be cheaper but I was definitely wrong.

$69.99 (sale)

Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Like the case, another great deal. Besides the microATX form factor (to fit in the smaller box), I was looking for one that would use DDR2 800mHz so I could use the RAM from my desktop. I’ve been considering more RAM in my main box and this was a good excuse to go for it.

$59.99

Processor

Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E2180

Nothing special. I figure a dual 2.0GHz is probably a bit more than what I actually need it for but it’s only $10 increments for 0.2GHz of processing power. I’d rather shell out the extra couple bucks and have a potentially more usable computer.

$69.99

Video Card

EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card

This is a tough one. The main computer upgrade people do, besides a new stick of RAM or two, is a vidoe card. As such there are A LOT of options and A LOT of configurations. I went with one of the cheaper ones but made sure it was highly rated. It’s easy to see the $25 video cards and want to cheap out but the ONLY thing I need it to do really well, play DVDs, might need some major playback power.  EVGA is a known brand and this got pretty high marks. There’s also a $30 rebate going on which is tempting…

$79.99

Hard drive

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD4000AAKS 400GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

I knew I needed over 250 gigabytes, SATA and 7200RPM were no-brainers, and Western Digital is my brand of choice. This one represented the best of everything and 400GB made it very attracted. This may end up being my secondary back-up for pictures, documents, and everything else.

$64.99

Add it up

Toss in the $80 for RAM for my desktop (4 GB from G. Skill) and we’re at $425. Not too bad for a fully-functional media machine that can probably hold its own with a few games of Battlefield 2142.

Stay tuned for a build (maybe).

Related posts:

1. Media box is pending… Still not totally sure I want to pull the trigger...
2. My New ASUS EEE 1000H (or) How my life just got a whole lot more productive Despite the fact that I’m not the type of person...
3. Screencasts: recording on-screen training videos As internet connection speeds get faster and video file sizes...