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Carole - 26 Mar 2004 18:51 GMT

What is the best cell phone Verizon offers to get online? I currently have
a LG4400 and it seems pretty good, but SnapSync & BitPim are a little
primitive. Are there any other options out there that I haven't seen.

Thanks,

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Carole

chboise@yahoo.snoopy.com
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Peter Pan - 26 Mar 2004 20:33 GMT

> What is the best cell phone Verizon offers to get online? I currently have
> a LG4400 and it seems pretty good, but SnapSync & BitPim are a little
> primitive. Are there any other options out there that I haven't seen.
>
> Thanks,

Just out of curiosity, have you tried the Mobile Office kit instead of the
BitPim stuff? I use MO now with my 4400 and like it a whole lot better, and
the Venturi Compression (which works with MO but not BitPim) makes it seem a
whole lot faster. If you (or anyone lurking/reading this) want to save a few
bucks, the stores in different areas have the MO kit for anywhere between
$29 and $70. I found it for $29 and had my sister walk into a store near her
and buy it (no phone or contract needed to buy), and ship it to me.

If you use mobile web to access the internet directly without a computer,
they all seemed to connect about the same, but the biggest problem I had,
was trying to use the keypad for keystrokes. In that case, you may want to
check out the PDA's and smartphones. (way more expensive, but access the
internet directly and can work as phones too, nothing else needed)

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Roger Binns - 26 Mar 2004 22:19 GMT

> Just out of curiosity, have you tried the Mobile Office kit instead of the
> BitPim stuff? I use MO now with my 4400 and like it a whole lot better, and
> the Venturi Compression (which works with MO but not BitPim) makes it seem a
> whole lot faster.

Ehhh? BitPim does things like transfer phonebook, calendar, ringtones, wallpaper
etc to/from your phone over a cable. It has *NOTHING* whatsoever to do with
using your phone as a modem.

The Mobile Office Kit gives you three parts:

- A cable and drivers
- A Windows only sync application that usually only supports the phonebook
- Random other gunk to help your phone act as a modem, including
Venturi

The sync program is more complete than BitPim, but ONLY for the functionality
they cover. And if you don't use Windows, you are SOL. For the modem stuff,
you can just configure your operating system yourself. The Venturi stuff is
of some use as it transparently compresses some web traffic, and also downgrades images
etc so they take less space.

You can seperately download Venturi for free from
http://www.fourelle.com/tech_support/VerizonWireless.html

Cables and drivers can be gotten all over the Internet typically for around
$20 for data only and $30 for data and charge.

The PC sync program in the MOK is usually from SmithMicro and can be had
for $30 from their website.

If you actually want every piece, the MOK is fairly good value at $50
or less. If you don't want every piece, then you can get the parts
you want for far less.

Roger

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Peter Pan - 27 Mar 2004 01:27 GMT

> > Just out of curiosity, have you tried the Mobile Office kit instead of the
> > BitPim stuff? I use MO now with my 4400 and like it a whole lot better, and
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
>
> Roger

While what you said is true, the original poster had stated what they had
now, and was looking for something else since they weren't satisfied with
it. I suggested MO as an alternative.

> What is the best cell phone Verizon offers to get online? I currently

have

> a LG4400 and it seems pretty good, but SnapSync & BitPim are a little
> primitive. Are there any other options out there that I haven't seen.

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Jack Hamilton - 27 Mar 2004 05:24 GMT

>You can seperately download Venturi for free from
>http://www.fourelle.com/tech_support/VerizonWireless.html

I installed Venturi and it caused all of my internet connections to
cease working. I had to reinstall Windows; I suppose it was time to do
so anyway, it last having been done several years ago, but still...

Your mileage may vary, of course.

Thanks for putting together your FAQ, by the way. I found it very
useful.

==
Jack Hamilton
jfh@acm.org

==
In the end, more than they wanted freedom, they wanted comfort and security.
And in the end, they lost it all - freedom, comfort and security.
Edward Gibbons

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Roughrider50 - 27 Mar 2004 01:51 GMT

I bought a cable & software on Ebay for about $25. Works great with my
LG4400. The software comes with the cable. Heres where I bought mine
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3086113665&category=35211
. Been using it for about 6 months now & no problem connecting to verizons
ISP....takes about 10 seconds & I'm on the net.

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Roughrider50

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Roger Binns - 27 Mar 2004 04:04 GMT

> I bought a cable & software on Ebay for about $25. Works great with my
> LG4400. The software comes with the cable. Heres where I bought mine
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3086113665&category=35211
> . Been using it for about 6 months now & no problem connecting to verizons
> ISP....takes about 10 seconds & I'm on the net.

What is the software they include? It seems like it would be BitPim
from the description, but maybe it is something else.

Roger

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Roughrider50 - 27 Mar 2004 16:24 GMT

> > I bought a cable & software on Ebay for about $25. Works great with my
> > LG4400. The software comes with the cable. Heres where I bought mine

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3086113665&category=35211

> > . Been using it for about 6 months now & no problem connecting to verizons
> > ISP....takes about 10 seconds & I'm on the net.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Roger

Mobile office dialer, Also I believe it includes the sprint dialer. The pkg
I acquired works on both sprint &Vrzn. I Also have Data Pilot which works
great for Phone book management but haven't tried the dialer yet....the one
that comes with the cable does such a nice job I see no reason to use
anything else.

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Roughrider50

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Roger Binns - 27 Mar 2004 20:03 GMT

> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3086113665&category=35211

> > What is the software they include? It seems like it would be BitPim
> > from the description, but maybe it is something else.

> Mobile office dialer, Also I believe it includes the sprint dialer. The pkg
> I acquired works on both sprint &Vrzn. I Also have Data Pilot which works
> great for Phone book management but haven't tried the dialer yet....the one
> that comes with the cable does such a nice job I see no reason to use
> anything else.

I was referring to this statement in their ad:

We now include software for the VX4400 only that will let you load
ringers, wallpaper and edit and sync your phonebook with outlook and
calendar using the data cable.

Elsewhere on the page:

Yes! we fully support Macintosh users.
This kit will also work with Linux if you are running a USB enabled
kernel.

It is ambiguous if the multi-platform support is for the dialers only,
or also the software they include, and I was wondering what that software
is. (DataPilot 3 can do what they claim, but it supports Windows only
and does support the 5350 so it wouldn't seem to match their description.
The whole package is also too cheap).

Roger

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David S - 29 Mar 2004 17:07 GMT

On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 19:04:01 -0800, "Roger Binns" <rogerb@rogerbinns.com>
chose to add this to the great equation of life, the universe, and
everything:

>> I bought a cable & software on Ebay for about $25. Works great with my
>> LG4400. The software comes with the cable. Heres where I bought mine
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>What is the software they include? It seems like it would be BitPim
>from the description, but maybe it is something else.

I bought a USB charging cable from rpiwireless.com for ~$30. The CD
included drivers, MO, Venturi, Bitpim, and I think something else. I now
use this cable for both modem use and Bitpim. (Using this cable, the phone
not only connects with Bitpim while set to 230400 (which it would not with
my Futuredial serial cable), it also does not close the connection down
completely after I use Bitpim.)

The biggest PITA is that if I switch the USB port that I plug into
(including by use of a USB expansion hub), I have to dig deep into the
modem settings to change the com port; why can't it be easier to find and
change, or better yet, automatic like Bipim?

[As soon as you plug the cable into the computer and phone, the phone says
"Charging finished." I assume this means the current capacity of this
connection is below the phone's threshold for telling you it's charging.
Nevertheless, it *does* charge the battery, even while in use as a modem.]

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Roger Binns - 30 Mar 2004 00:58 GMT

> > > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3086113665&category=35211

I am more curious about what the software is that those folks (freedomnet)
provide, since it sounds like BitPim, but has capabilities BitPim
doesn't have.

> use this cable for both modem use and Bitpim. (Using this cable, the phone
> not only connects with Bitpim while set to 230400 (which it would not with
> my Futuredial serial cable),

There is no data speed as such with a straight USB cable. The modem
side might do some flow control, but the diagnostics interface
doesn't.

> The biggest PITA is that if I switch the USB port that I plug into
> (including by use of a USB expansion hub), I have to dig deep into the
> modem settings to change the com port; why can't it be easier to find and
> change,

The builtin Windows modem stuff doesn't expect modems to move around.
The code dates from the days of ISA cards or things connected to the
end of a com port (of which most people have two).

For dialer programs, they can do their own thing in which case their
view of the modems will differ from Windows, or they can just delegate
to Windows. In earlier versions of Windows, many of the dialer
programs did do their own modem infrastructure, but it got very
annoying as a user since other programs didn't see the same thing
(eg a firewall program or a web browser)

> or better yet, automatic like Bipim?

I think this is the first time someone has praised that feature of BitPim.
Thanks! Most software that does auto-detection opens each port and
blasts a string at the other end at various speeds. BitPim does it by
looking at the USB product and vendor ids. The BitPim approach is a
LOT quicker, but can't tell the difference between some devices - for
example every LG phone uses the same product and vendor ids. Consequently
BitPim can't tell the difference between an LG VX4400, VX4500 or a VX6000.
Of course it could blast strings at the devices but I haven't bothered
writing code to do so since I am probably one of the few people who
has multiple LG phones connected at the same time.

> [As soon as you plug the cable into the computer and phone, the phone says
> "Charging finished." I assume this means the current capacity of this
> connection is below the phone's threshold for telling you it's charging.
> Nevertheless, it *does* charge the battery, even while in use as a modem.]

Which phone do you have? In my experience the 4400 has that behaviour, but
it does stop charging. I think it is only designed for use with fast chargers,
and although the electrical parameters may be ok from USB, it just doesn't
work with them well.

Roger

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David S - 31 Mar 2004 07:13 GMT

On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 15:58:45 -0800, "Roger Binns" <rogerb@rogerbinns.com>
chose to add this to the great equation of life, the universe, and
everything:

>> > > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3086113665&category=35211
>
>I am more curious about what the software is that those folks (freedomnet)
>provide, since it sounds like BitPim, but has capabilities BitPim
>doesn't have.

Can't answer that, but btw, the other program I couldn't remember was
something that syncs it with Outlook, which I don't use.

>> use this cable for both modem use and Bitpim. (Using this cable, the phone
>> not only connects with Bitpim while set to 230400 (which it would not with
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>side might do some flow control, but the diagnostics interface
>doesn't.

I'm thinking that if I use it with the serial cable, then switch to the
USB, I have to go into the phone and not only change the connection to USB,
but also change the speed to 230400. However, this may only affect modem
use, not Bitpim -- I haven't paid close enough attention to say for sure.

>> The biggest PITA is that if I switch the USB port that I plug into
>> (including by use of a USB expansion hub), I have to dig deep into the
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>The code dates from the days of ISA cards or things connected to the
>end of a com port (of which most people have two).

That makes sense. Time for Bill and the boys to update it, huh?

>> or better yet, automatic like Bipim?
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>writing code to do so since I am probably one of the few people who
>has multiple LG phones connected at the same time.

I had no idea *how* it does it, I'm just glad it does!

>> [As soon as you plug the cable into the computer and phone, the phone says
>> "Charging finished." I assume this means the current capacity of this
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>and although the electrical parameters may be ok from USB, it just doesn't
>work with them well.

4400. All I know is that if I plug it in showing half on the battery meter,
it immediately says "charging finished." Then I fire up a lengthy session
on NA and unplug it when I'm done and the battery shows full.

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