mobile email so that I can 'work' onboard

Inselaffe

Member
Joined
18 Jun 2003
Messages
364
Location
Lisboa
Visit site
mobile email so that I can \'work\' onboard

Hello All,

A pretty specific Q about mobile phones and working from the boat, and hence extending my sailing time dramatically!

I work from home a lot and want to extend this to my boat, but I'd like to keep an eye on my emails from there. I won't need to use the net unless in emergency (I can do that at home with flatrate DSL), just emails. I sometimes get quite large attachements (sometimes up to 10MB), so the ability to use webmail or some other way of seeing the list of emails & subjects without downloading all would be really useful -if it's important (i.e. from the boss!) then I will have to go home to download it. My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite A30.

My phone company (in Germany) will give me one of the following two phones as an upgrade free, so the choice is nicely narrowed down:

Siemens CX70: email, GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), Data speed 32 - 48 kbps, USB port

Nokia 6610i: HSCSD, GPRS Class 6 (3+1/2+2 slots), Data speed 24 - 36 kbps, Pop-Port interface

I found a full comparison at http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone2=742&idPhone1=869

I never got inspired by mobile phones, so I don't really have a clue which would best suit my needs, is it better to have the HSCDS of the Nokia (but do I have to make sure that that a service for this is provided and at what cost?), or the email (but what about large attachements?) and faster GPRS of the Siemans, or is there something that I have completely missed?

Other features aren't important to me.

Thanks
 

fireball

New member
Joined
15 Nov 2004
Messages
19,453
Visit site
Re: mobile email so that I can \'work\' onboard

Do a search on Ultrafunk Popcorn ... this email client can download just the email headers - then select which ones you want to read in full... can even delete them without having to get the whole lot.
 

Steve Clayton

New member
Joined
22 May 2003
Messages
7,478
Location
Benitachell - Spain
www.aloeland.co.uk
Re: mobile email so that I can \'work\' onboard

[ QUOTE ]
I sometimes get quite large attachements (sometimes up to 10MB), so the ability to use webmail or some other way of seeing the list of emails & subjects without downloading all would be really useful

[/ QUOTE ]

If not web-enabled access to your host then this will do the trick

www.mail2web.com
 
Joined
7 Mar 2005
Messages
844
Location
Pembrokeshire !
Visit site
Re: mobile email so that I can \'work\' onboard

I'm not quite clear if you are looking at reading your emails on the phone or on the laptop. If on the phone attachments generally wouldn't come through.

So assuming laptop - one thing you haven't mentioned is how the laptop is going to communicate with the phone. Options generally are cable, infra red or bluetooth. Infrared you have as standard I suspect - bluetooth may need a card in the PC and making sure the phone supports it - but IMO is by far the best to use (can place phone where there is good reception much more easily).

A free pop box viewer: http://mmm3.sourceforge.net/

As has been said - web2mal can be useful - and with GPRS you are paying for the volume - so web access is a more viable alternative.

Also though - what about your normal email client ? I use Outlook and this has reasonably flexible options for limiting the size of email downloaded, just viewing headers and then marking the ones for complete download etc. For me the advantage of this is that it keeps all my emails together - otherwise I end up with them (or at least replies) scattered round various webmail systems etc.

For what its worth - you can pick up a bluetooth Ericson for £30-40 second hand - SIM free - the route I took

Hope this helps
James
 

richardandtracy

New member
Joined
27 Jun 2002
Messages
720
Location
Medway, UK
Visit site
Re: mobile email so that I can \'work\' onboard

The web mail service I use is Yahoo. I have no real complaints and they've now gone up to 1Gb mail storage. The only downside is the advertising pictures they pepper the screen with take up time.

It does have the advantage that you can change ISP without an e-mail address change.

Regards

Richard.
 

Inselaffe

Member
Joined
18 Jun 2003
Messages
364
Location
Lisboa
Visit site
Re: mobile email so that I can \'work\' onboard

Sorry if I am confusing things but I don't really know what I am tallking about!

I guess the main question was really what are, and what are the advantages and differences between GPRS and HSCSD?

I can look at emails already as just a list on the web through what I call the 'webmail' page of work's webpage (it uses ms outlook web access). The question I had in mind was is the alternative of looking at the emails on the phone any good? (I have never seen it)? The siemens has this, but is it really an advantage in my case, or would I be better of using the webmail approach that i already use?

I will connect via cable I think, no infrared, and I can easily put the phone where there is a good reception next to the laptop.

thanks
 

MarkJohnson12345

New member
Joined
23 Dec 2004
Messages
1,177
Location
Swansea Wales UK
www.markjohnsonafloat.org.uk
Re: mobile email so that I can \'work\' onboard

I use an Orange phone (6310i) and a pocket PC.

The attachements won't come through as they are probably too large, but emails and web surfing is easy and convenient.

What is really useful is being able to get up to date weather from the Met Office web site.

Advantages are that you don't have to cart a PC around with you.

Costs seem to be quite reasonable, I get a GPRS package off Orange for a few pounds a month and as yet have not exceeded the time limit.

Worth considering....
 

andy_wilson

New member
Joined
16 May 2001
Messages
2,716
Location
S. Yorkshire / Devon
Visit site
Re: mobile email so that I can \'work\' onboard

HSCSD

Only supported by Orange in the UK. They Give you a guaranteed speed of 28.8Kbps download. Cost 25p/min all the time you are connected. This is expensive when compared to GPRS. Best used for low res. video streaming applications, or instances when you need a guaranteed minimum rate of data exchange in real time. Otherwise go for...

GPRS

Which offers 0 - 40Kbps, dependent upon network capacity. Quiet time, quiet place (+ good signal) and most UK networks will allocate 4 time slots giving approx. 40Kbps. If the network gets busy you will lose time slots until data transfer may stop until capacity released by another customer in your vicinity hanging up. Clearly not good for the type of applications mentioned above, but great to download e-mails, and reply, without having to worry about logging off and re-connecting in between. You are charged by the MB transferred (but billed by the Kb usually - check for minimum charges) rather than connecton time.

Typically £2.00 to £4.00 per Mb in the UK.

Prices referred to relate to UK accounts / UK useage. Roaming abroad has swingeing charges.

Also consider 3G / GPRS / WiFi card from Vodafone to insert into PCMCIA slot of laptop..

BT WiFi on your Vodafone bill if you are in range of a Zone, 3G (claimed 384kbps - HA!) when in 3G coverage - which is not where boats go in the UK, except perhaps up the Thames, Birmingham Canals, Manchester Ship canal! This solution requires an additional subscription as it is not available via data enabled phones, only via dedicated data SIM to place in the PC card. Also not likely to be in near future as networks don't want to sell you raw, fast, cheap data speeds. What they want is for customers to be downloading additional 'content' from their own providers, on the back of and therefore additional to the voice bill.
 

Neil_M

New member
Joined
29 Oct 2002
Messages
301
Location
River Deben, Suffolk
home.btconnect.com
Re: mobile email so that I can \'work\' onboard

I use a Blackberry - no messing about with cables & PCs and it doubles as a phone - also has enough web capability to get at weather forecasts (BBC, Meto, theyr.net) etc as long as you have coverage
 
Top