Bricks and broadband

OK, I have to admit I've been suffering from gizmo envy for some time now. How is it that a connected guy like me has no mobile device with always-on internet and email capability? How is it that even stodgy UO administrators sport fancy BlackBerry's while a wannabe hipster tech entrepreneur has no way of checking his email at SFO without paying T Mobile for wifi access?

Well, the situation is now remedied with Sprint's EV-DO data plan. For only $15 a month I get all I can eat broadband (up to 1 mbps or so) through my new gizmo, the admittedly brick-like PPC 6700 smartphone.

So far I'm pretty happy with the phone, despite the large form factor. It has a retractable qwerty keyboard (see link above) and is very functional -- I can ssh into my server, run emacs and use gmail. I can even use Bluetooth to get my laptop online, using the phone as a modem. Urbanites in Asia probably find my giant phone very amusing, but, hey, I live in the semi-rural United States, with its patchy broadband and 3G coverage.

I admit, it does make for behavioral problems when you can check your email at all times. I'd hate to know how many times a day I do it.