Phones Without Internet

A possible Internet-free PDA substitute: Apple’s iPod Touch

I am a long time Palm PDA user. I want a more trim phone, with a larger screen, that will sync my personal data with my desktop.

I don’t need or want Internet access on my phone. Are there any options out there for me? It seems everything uses cloud storage.

Both the BlackBerry and the iPhone offer you the option of syncing your personal data over a cable to your PC or Mac, without sending the data wirelessly or over the Internet. Both phones do of course feature Internet access, such as email and browsing and apps, but you don’t have to use it, though you do have to pay for it.

A better option might be Apple’s iPod Touch, which has nearly all the features of the iPhone, including the cable-based synchronization option, but requires no monthly fee for the Internet access you don’t want to use. The Internet access is only over Wi-Fi.

I have an Asus Eee 1000HE netbook, with the Windows XP operating system. I would like to upgrade the operating system to the Windows 7 Starter Edition, which I understand is meant for netbooks and which I have on another netbook I own.

Can I do this? How? I don’t see Win 7 Starter offered for sale anywhere.

Microsoft isn’t selling the Windows 7 Starter Edition to U.S. consumers for self-installation. It is only being offered in the U.S. as a pre-installed feature of some netbooks. But, depending on the specs of your netbook, you might find that Windows 7 Home Premium would work.

Are there any limitations to the type of Windows programs that can run on a Mac using Apple’s Boot Camp software?

When a Mac is booted into Windows using Boot Camp, it becomes a 100% Windows computer. Unlike when you use a virtual machine utility like Parallels, with Boot Camp, the Mac operating system isn’t running at all.

Windows is in full control of the hardware, just as it would be on, say, a Dell or an Acer computer. Windows programs detect that they are running on just another Windows PC and behave accordingly. They don’t know it’s a Mac.

So, the main limitation I can imagine with Windows programs would be hardware limitations—whether the processor, memory, and graphics card in the Mac you’re using meets the software’s minimum requirements, and whether the hard disk space you’ve allotted for Windows is sufficient.

Those are the same questions that would apply on any other Windows PC. If the software requires a standard Windows USB keyboard or mouse instead of the ones Apple supplies, which are slightly different, you can buy these, plug them in, and they should work just as if you had plugged them into a standard PC.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox and my other columns, free, at the All Things Digital site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at walt.mossberg@wsj.com

amorris101

Re:the Palm PDA user who want to sync personal data with his smartphone – I am running into similar issue. I would like to sync my Outook destop Calendar and Contact ( and Notes and Tasks would be nice as well). I'm talking syncing to my desktop Outlook – no Exchange Server – I don't have a corporate account. Android Smartphones apparently do not sync to Outlook – you must have a Gmail account and sync to Google Calendar. Syncing contacts to Gmail seemingly involved exporting contacts as .CSV file – no real time two-way sync. There are for pay Android apps from CompanionLine and Mark/Space that claim to sync some or all of Outlook but reviews I've read on-line say they don't work well.

I'd consider an iPhone but wonder if the Outlook contacts I sync to the iPhone are the same contacts I would access to make phone calls from the iPhone. Plus I never had much luck syncing Outlook to my iPod.

Don't want a Blackberry and don't know if a Blackberry requires Exchange Server to do Outlook sync.

Palm web site indicated desktop sync is possible with Palm Pre and webOS but they also they discourage this and indicate everything is moving towards the cloud and that contacts, calendars should live in the cloud and not on the desktop. Plus who knows what HP will do with the Palm line of smartphones so I don't want to get a Palm Pre or Pixi.

That leaves me waiting for Windows Phone 7 which I've gotta believe will offer reasonably seamless sync with desktop Outlook.

My Verizon contract expires end of Oct, 2010. I'd upgrade to a DroidX now but for the Outlook sync issues. I'd get an iPhone at end of October but am hesitant to go ATT instead of Verzion and am suspicious of iPhone sync with desktop Outlook.

I guess Microsoft will have me using Windows Phone 7 when it comes out. I'm hoping Windows Phone 7 is a lot better than their previous Windows Mobile OS.

I find it hard to believe that I'm one of only a few that finds desktop Outlook sync to my Smartphone a critical application. I'm amazed Google had not built this into Android.
LarryD 517

Re:the Palm PDA user who want to sync personal data with his smartphone -

As a long time Palm PDA user, the Treo 700p, available 'new' (not sure what that means) on eBay, etc. is a powerful workhorse. It's virtually indestructible, is a natural upgrade (not sure which PDA you use) to your current set up, is available without an internet contract but as a stand alone phone.
Been using mine for 7+ (?) years, a longer life span than most 'throw away phones' and contains a ton of data (contacts, calendar, Excel, Word, photos, etc.)
I use the iPad, laptops, etc. but this 'ancient' product is well suited for my needs…and I'm sure yours.
Find one from a reputable eBay seller…you'll be very impressed.

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