Notable absence

SBP -- Adrian Weckler admires four gadgets.¹ Notably, a mobile phone is not among the four items he cites. I suspect that if he had a Motorola V525, he would list it as a "must-have item." At the moment, he values four gadgets above all others.

1. RIM Blackberry. I believe he could get more out of a Nokia Communicator but it would mean syncing to Nokia software, not Outlook. The Communicator's keyboard is much faster for tactile typists like Adrian. The Communicator's GSM connectivity is less expensive than GPRS and it's faster with mail when using Vodafone's HSD service. But the Communicator costs EUR 600 more than the Blackberry, although power users can claw back the difference through GSM call savings within six months.
2. Vodafone Mobile Connect Card. This limits you to GPRS service, which means you're sunk into higher fees.The Nokia D211 card lets you select your service, choose from GSM, GPRS and two flavours of Wi-Fi. The D211 costs EUR 200 more than the Vodafone option, but it delivers more value-for-money than separate GPRS and Wi-Fi cards.
3. Wi-Fi Card. Go with the Nokia D211 card. It reduces your carry-on luggage by one item.
4. iPod. You will pay EUR 350 for a basic iPod. For EUR 100 less, a Sony MD-R carries more music, runs longer on its batteries and can record interviews as well. Journos can expense a MiniDisc Recorder far easier than scraping back compensation for an iPod. I get no fewer than 10 people a day referring here for "iPod alternative," so I know there are plenty of people opposed to the iPod price point.

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¹Adrian Weckler -- "Four gadgets to live for" on The SUnday Business Post Technology, February 29, 2004.
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