I'd give it a better Exchange-compatible email client. The current version is horrible. Here's a comparison between sending an email from the E71 vs. the iPhone. The E71 is has great hardware but is completely let down by poor Exchange support.

E71

1. Press the Mail button
2. Press Options
3. Press twice on the down arrow to Create Message
4. Press the right arrow
5. Press the down arrow three times to highlight the email option
6. Press the selection button
7. With the new message open, press Options
8. Press twice on the down arrow to highlight the Company Directory option
9. Press the selection button
10. Type in "Jonathan" (for example)
11. Click the Ok button
12. When the search is complete, press the selection button on Jonathan's name
13. Click down twice to the subject, enter it; click down once to the body, enter it.
14. Press Options
15. Select Send

On the iPhone, the same thing requires:

1. Press the Home button
2. Tap the Mail icon
3. Tap the New Message icon
4. Type "Jonathan" (or just "jont")
5. Tap Jonathan's name from the list that's returned
6. Tap on the subject line and enter it; tap in the body and enter it
7. Tap the send button

I've been using an SSD-equipped X300 for a couple of weeks now and it's pretty nice. Relatively, it's much thicker than the Air but in absolute terms, both computers are really, really thin. The Air's screen is brighter but the X300 does have higher resolution. Battery life is about the same for both - four hours - both go into standby really quickly (which is a big deal for me 'cause I catch a train and am always hurrying to finish up that last email before getting off). There are only two things I definitely don't like about the X300: 1) Its fan comes on too often and when it does, it's quite noticeable; 2) It's got *four* different colors of LEDs just below the screen! Lenovo isn't Apple! (Yeah, it's a little thing).

I don't have an X300 with built-in 3G (I have model 6477-1TU) but that'd be pretty cool.

An X300 would definitely replace my T61 but I'm not sure if the Air would replace my MacBook Pro.

This is just the custom Samsung home screen that the SGH-i600 is running. It's still Windows Mobile 5. The i600s that Samsung had in their booth at 3GSM were using this screen and they were *definitely* WM5. I know because I asked their smartphone product manager when we'd see a WM6 version and she was very cagely. And, of course, I checked the version on the i600s at the show and they were certainly WM5.

Ah, good point! I hadn't thought of that.

Give me HSDPA support over WiFi anyday! WiFi is an addition for geeks. 3G is something that anyone can use, in most places and it's close to the real-world speed of WiFi.

"HSDPA would be nice for streaming video on this device. But otherwise, it's worthless."

Umm...no. HSDPA (unlike EVDO) permits simultanous voice and data trasmission. If you've ever been on a conference call where someone sends out an agenda or notes *after* the call has started, then you'd appreciate HSDPA. Also, having a device that supports HSDPA means you don't need a separate 3G data card; you can just use the phone as a connection.

If you don't think HSDPA is useful, you're missing the point of it. Operators and handset makers aren't missing the point: probably half of the new phones and PDAs that were introduced at 3GSM included HSDPA.

I got one of these yesterday and I'm not especially impressed. When the 8700 came out, it was a much better email device than anything else on the market; really streets ahead. However, having just come back from 3GSM, my reaction to the 8800 is mostly "blah". It's an ok upgrade over the 8700 but nothing more. I suppose the built-in GPS will be useful to some people but I would have much preferred 3G support. I'm used to 3G devices like the BlackJack and Treo 750 now and not being able to get email while on a call - or use it as a modem while still getting calls - is an annoying step backwards.

Also, Windows Mobile 6 really has a bunch of nice improvements that bring it closer to the capability of the BlackBerry system. RIM is going to find it hard to compete with Microsoft and the legion of OEMs who make devices that use their OS. I've been a huge fan of the BlackBerry but I think its days are numbered.

Once we get our new Exchange 2007 server working with our Direct Push system and I get a WM6 device, I'm ditching the BlackBerry. HTML email and 3G support are just too appealing.

This is definitely true. I saw Opera as the default browser on a WM6 device this week at 3GSM. The only problem is that with all the WM6 devices on display, I can't remember which one it was! Might have been the Motorola q9. I was thinking at first it was on an upgraded Dash but that can't be right, as Microsoft were using a Dash as their demo phone at the WM6 theatre in their booth.

There's no mention of size or weight in the linked article. Is this around the size of an X60 or is it bigger?

It's too bad that Cisco's VPN client for the Macintosh doesn't seem to be compatible with this card (or any high-speed PPP connection). I got to the Internet just fine but getting into my company's network was a no-go. Bummer.