The scout
IF YOU'RE on the go without a home base and need to be in constant contact with the office, you're a scout. Insurance adjusters, sales and marketing gurus, journalists and the like tend to fall into this category --and if you simply like a minimal amount of clutter with a maximum amount of firepower, consider yourself to be in this category as well. The key here is communication. Depending on the amount of time you're away from the office, you might not even need a laptop, heretical as that sounds.
Palm Inc. recently improved its $449 wireless Palm VII organizer so that it can log in to corporate and Web-based e-mail accounts. Palm also stopped charging by the byte and switched to a flat monthly rate of $45. The Palm VIIx is just as reliable as a laptop fi)r keeping your data safe (in other words, don't lose it), and it weighs only about seven ounces.
Of course, writing down anything more than an appointment using the Palm's stylus is extremely tedious. So for $99, pick up a collapsible keyboard for the Palm VIIx, available on Palm's Web site or at Palm dealers. The nearly full-size keyboard folds up into a case just slightly larger than the Palm itself. It syncs with the Palm at the touch of a button and will recognize anything you type in any program you're using. The eight-ounce keyboard will take a little getting used to--and forget about using it in your lap. But if you can deal with that, you'll get a very serviceable e-mail and Web-surfing device for less than $550 that weighs less than a pound. The Palm VIIx's keyboard also works with any Palm III device.
Still, the Palm-keyboard solution is probably good for only a day or two on the road. Any longer than that and the boss may require real work--which means a laptop. Many scouts will be lured by the ultrathin Sony VAIO, but it has a very limited battery life: Some models last barely 90 minutes. Instead, check out the Toshiba Portege 3480CT. For $2,299, about $500 less than the VAIO, you get a magnificent laptop that's just pounds. It comes standard with a Pentium III 600megahertz processor with the new SpeedStep technology. That drops processor performance down a notch (usually to 500MHz) to save on power. The standard battery has two and a half hours of battery life, which is great for such a thin machine.
The rest is pretty standard: 64 megabytes of memory, a roomy 12gigabyte hard drive and a modem. The screen is inches, which may seem a little small but isn't bad. The big drawback here is that it doesn't have a CD-ROM or DVD drive, which are $179 and $379, respectively. Plus, you have to use another piece of hardware, the port replicator that comes with the computer, to attach a CD or DVD drive to the Portege. Still, a scout doesn't usually have time for CDs or movies anyway, and the drives can be squirreled away in another piece of luggage if need be.
A scout needs two things in a mobile phone: battery power and compatibility. Someone who is constantly on the move can't be worrying about how much talk time is in his or her phone's battery. And if you're headed overseas, a phone that can handle various wireless infrastructures is critical. Otherwise, you might as well get a pair of tin cans and a really long string.
Nextel Communications' i2000 is one of the few phones available in the . that uses GSM, Europe's main wireless system. The six-ounce phone boasts a respectable 240 minutes of talk time, voice mail and paging. Plus, no matter where you are in one of the 65 countries Nextel serves, you need only one phone number.
But such advantages will cost you worldwide. Foreign calls can range from 99 cents per minute in the United Kingdom to $ per minute in the Ivory Coast. Even in the ., Nextel's basic service plan costs $ per month, although that includes free long distance and no roaming charges. The phone, by the way, was recently on sale for $99.
The other drawback is that in the ., Nextel uses its own proprietary wireless network. Although the company has done a great job of getting on the air in most major . cities, forget about using the i2000 (or any other Nextel phone) on a trip to the country. If you don't stay urban, you're really away from it all.
The general
IF YOU DON'T do any extensive computing or traveling but it's critical you stay in constant contact with the office, you're a general. When it comes to computing, generals need only a handful of things. E-mail, of course, is an absolute must, and the usual suite of Microsoft Office software is probably necessary as well. But let's get real: The boss isn't going to be doing data mining. If he is, well, he probably should be back in the office.
Microsoft's oft-maligned Handheld PC, a hybrid laptop and personal organizer, is actually a good compromise solution. Just out this fall, the new Handheld PC 2000 device, like its forebears, is long on battery life. It offers a decent suite of Microsoft pocket applications, which are stripped-clown versions of popular programs such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Internet Explorer. You can download your files to the H/PC and use them, but don't expect to create spreadsheet miracles or write a novel.
But the biggest improvement is the addition of Windows Terminal Server 2000 software to the H/PC line, which enables these lightweight, long-lasting machines to dial right into your desktop computer. Forget your presentation? Log in to your computer from a continent away and grab it. You can also use any software that's on your machine as well.
The best of the new H/PC crop due this fall will be an improved version of the Clio, which recently changed hands from Vadem to MainStreet Networks. The Clio has a screen, a 90%-size keyboard (about as big as some ultralight-notebook keyboards), a 56-kbps modem and 32MB of RAM aboard--and no hard drive to crash. But the best part is that the screen is on hinges and can flip around to rest screen-side up on top of the keyboard. With the Clio's touch-sensitive screen and its serviceable handwriting recognition, you can use it as a computerized tablet with the accompanying stylus. Open it slightly and prop it on its ends and the rest of the room can see your PowerPoint presentation. Flip it open and it's a laptop.
The new Clio came out in November at a cost of $999. That's a little steep, but if you already have a desktop and don't want or need to haul a laptop around, it's a good value for the price. Plus, you can bring it home and, using Terminal Server software, log in to your machine at work whenever you want.
Among mobile phones, Nokia's 8860 Chrome Phone is the standout for both style and efficiency. First off, it looks cool: This is the phone used in the sci-fi thriller The Matrix. But more important, it's a lightweight four ounces and has text messaging, paging and voice mail--all very important for someone everyone wants to be in touch with. However, battery life is a little low at 90 to 160 minutes of talk time, and it's an expensive $499. Considering that a pager and text messenger are included, it could be worse. And did we mention that it looks really cool? Just the thing to separate you from the rank and file.
The grunt
LET'S FACE IT: If you're somewhere in the middle, you're a grunt. You probably need to do a little of everything, and you just want to get home in one piece. The keys for grunts are low cost and general functionality, with a little bit of fun thrown in. And the Compaq Presario 1700 is the best, most affordable solution out there.
For $1,478, you get a 600MHz Celeron processor, 64MB of RAM, a 6GB hard drive, a screen, a built-in modem and, for just $100 more, an 8x DVD-ROM. On long flights, you will come to discover the true joy of watching your movies on your computer while those around you sleep through Hollywood's leftovers. This luxury feature comes bundled with Microsoft Office.
As for a phone, a grunt can go pretty basic. The Samsung SCH-3500 has a very stylish silver case, weighs ounces, and costs only $150. It has wireless Web access and e-mail service, although the screen is fairly standard. The biggest drawback is the paltry 60 minutes of talk time on the rather substandard battery. But for someone who checks in only a few times a day, it's inexpensive and packed with features.
Accessories
NOW THAT you're armed with your laptop and cell phone, you're ready to hit the road and conquer the competition, right? For the most part, yes, but there are a few little-known add-ons that could give you an edge in the field.
If a scout, for example, will be hitting six briefings in one day, he or she has to be free from the tyranny of the dreaded phone cord. Various mobile-phone companies make cables that connect your cell phone to your laptop, but service is slow and spotty. A Ricochet modem, however, is always on and is at least twice as fast as the best phones--and in some cities, it's twice as fast as a home-computer modem.
Ricochet provides 128K service in ten cities, but only service in Seattle and Washington, . Parent company Metricom is planing 128K rollouts in 46 major markets, including Los Angeles and Chicago, by the end of 2001.
The modem usually runs $300, but Metricom and its service partners have recently been charging $99 for the modem along with a $75 to $99 monthly service charge. That's pretty steep, but the ability to access the Internet at twice the speed of a regular modem is attractive, and if the road warrior is doing the job right, it should easily pay for itself. You might want to hold off, however, until Metricom comes to the cities you visit most.
What about the road warriors who have to take whatever equipment is handed to them? If the above recommendations don't fly with your boss, you can at least take your software with you. The Q is the latest answer to portable storage. Starting at $70 for 16MB of storage, this tiny drive, measuring less than three inches long and one inch wide, plugs right into the Universal Serial Bus (USB) port on any computer.
If you want to transfer data, just pop the Q into one computer's USB port, move the data, then plug it into the other computer. It's a handy solution for just about any storage need, especially for laptops that don't come with floppy drives.
And finally, although all this gear is wonderfully useful, who wants to look like a reject from a science-fiction convention carrying it around? Coach, the upscale leather retailer, has adapted well to modern times with a line of computer, organizer and cell-phone cases. The standard Coach laptop case or attache costs $298, while the Coach Express On-line Brief will run you $448. Leather covers for the various Palm organizers cost anywhere from $69 to $110, while cases for Nokia's 5100 and 6100 phones and the Motorola StarTac weigh in at $68.
Again, those items may seem a little pricey. But you'll look every inch the modern road warrior, and you'll have the gear to back it up. --Reporter: JUSTIN WISER
More tech online. Check our home page for "Practical Tech," a new column by Michael Martinez.
