My Audiovox SMT5600

Since we cut over to using Remote Web Worksplace on our Small Business Server (SBS2003) at the office, I have been having difficulties syncing my Motorola MPX200 to Exchange over SSL. Although contacts would sync, the shared calendar would not.

I have also been having cell reception problems since my phone is dual band, which leaves me with NO SERVICE at home, and almost no service at my desk. So after missing one of the most important phone calls of my career today, I decided to do something about it.

Rogers finally has a smartphone in their offerings in Canada, which is the Audiovox SMT5600. Robert has been talking about the Audiovox SMT5600 since last October (aka Scoblephone), but I have learned not to fully trust when he evangelizes technology. Why? Because he seems to always talk about it from a gee-wiz factor, and not from a real productivity standpoint. I have had the pleasure of hanging with Scoble when he has been in love with a piece of technology, but I rarely see him using it to truly maximize the productivity benefits on a day to day basis:

• Longhorn Evangelism at PDC. Enough Said.
  
• TabletPC evangelism. He RARELY ever uses his Tablet when I am around, except to read email/blogs. A few times when we were on campus together, his Tablet wasn't even working. To be fair, we don't do a lot of work together, so perhaps this isn't a good assessment.
  
• Scoblephone. Um, he lost his.

He's an uber-geek. He likes to play. But I buy things as tools, not toys. Especially when I typically pay a LOT more than he does for them. (Still trying to figure out how that *cough* free trade agreement *cough* works when there is a premium on almost ALL technology up here). Anyways, long story short, it was time to get the Audiovox... and Robert was right. It's a great phone.

Besides the fact it fully syncs with my Exchange server and has 4 full bars everywhere I go now, its bluetooth. As I am typing this up on my TabletPC, I am currently connected via bluetooth to my Audiovox to access the Internet via GPRS. At the same time, I am having a Skype call over my bluetooth headset on the TabletPC, through the smartphone, onto the GPRS network, bridging to the Internet. In the middle of nowhere, where there is no wireless Internet access. Talk about being productive. Or maybe that should read "shackled".

Anyways, I flog Robert for his techno-geekness, yet seem to be following in his shadow. First he got me hooked on the TabletPC. Now on the Audiovox SMT5600. What's next? It better not be Longhorn.