Motorola’s all-in-one gizmo
Scrap your phone, pager and PDA with the Accompli 009
By John Morris and Josh Taylor
ZDNET
March 28 — The all-in-one communications device remains the stuff of science fiction, but that hasn’t stopped a long line of communications and technology companies from trying to manufacture one.
WE RECENTLY UPDATED you on the Microsoft Stinger phones, slated for release later this year, and look for a column later this week on the now-shipping Kyocera QCP 6035 Smartphone. Both of these start with a phone and add on other PDA functions. Then there’s Handspring, which started with a PDA and added a phone.
Motorola has tried a totally different tack with the Accompli 009 personal interactive communicator, starting with a pager and adding phone and PIM functions. We recently got our hands on an early engineering sample of this innovative little all-in-one device, due in the United States sometime during the second half of this year from GSM carriers.
The Accompli looks likes an overgrown, two-way pager — it measures 3.8 inches by 2.8 inches by 8.7 inches and weighs 5.7 ounces — with a stubby antenna. Open the flip cover and you’ll find a miniature keyboard and a surprisingly readable 20-line, 256-color active-matrix LCD display. Its Home screen displays a series of graphical, color icons for all of the major functions. The Accompli also includes a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that is rated for 125 hours in stand-by mode and 140 minutes of talk time.
So what exactly does the Accompli do? An easier question might be what doesn’t it do.
For starters, like the popular Timeport series, the Accompli is a tri-band GSM phone that works both in the United States and Europe. You make calls using the included earpiece or an optional speakerphone that snaps onto the side of the unit. The speakerphone worked surprisingly well on our test calls — you could easily place it on a table in a small meeting and hold an impromptu conference call.
But the Accompli 009 is also one of six new Motorola models that supports GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), an enhanced version of GSM that offers significantly greater bandwidth (150 kilobits versus 9.6 kilobits) and is “always on,” making it a perfect solution for e-mail and Internet access.
Using GPRS, you can access your POP3 e-mail and browse the Web via the built-in Phone.com microbrowser. With an optional cable, you can even attach the Accompli to your notebook PC and use it as a wireless modem. Not all of these features were available in the engineering sample we looked at.
Finally, the Accompli is designed to replace your PDA. It includes all of the basic PIM functions — contacts, calendar, tasks, and memos — and you can synchronize all of this data with popular applications such as Microsoft Outlook using the bundled cradle or via infrared. Motorola even claims you can use the Accompli’s IrDA port to beam data to any compatible device including other smart pagers, PDAs, and even printers.
The Accompli has its limitations. Those who keep their cell phone permanently attached to their ear will probably have a hard time getting used to a device that requires an earpiece instead. Second, like other two-way pagers, it has tiny, Chiclet-like keys that are really only suitable for quick messages or very simple data input. Finally, the Accompli 009 is expected to be priced (street) for around $600, which sounds a little steep.
But when you consider that for some users, it could replace your cell phone, two-way pager, and PDA, the price doesn’t sound too bad. We’re looking forward to seeing a final version of this promising little gadget.
