The Kyocera Smartphone originated in 1999 as Qualcomm's pdQ Smartphone, a product that was released before its time. In early 2000, Qualcomm sold its consumer phone division to Kyocera Wireless. Kyocera has been busy enhancing the unit's features since then, as well as shrinking the size and weight, increasing battery life up to 5.5 hours of talk time and 180 hours of standby, and dropping the price by $300. This time they got it right.

The Smartphone 6035 is the ideal phone for me. I'm a longtime Palm user and a longtime Sprint PCS customer. While on the road, I could often be seen pulling out my Palm to look up a number, which I then dialed manually on my phone. Or I'd be trying to hold my phone to my ear while using both hands to take a note or check a date on the Palm. I couldn't live without either device, but life was pretty tough trying to use both devices simultaneously. If you're a Palm user who juggles your phone as a separate device, then the Smartphone is for you. Listed at $499--about what it would cost for a Palm handheld and a full-featured phone separately--the price is right as well.

Size Doesn't Matter

The trend in cellular phones over that past few months has been shrinkage. In fact, one of my colleagues at Network Computing recently complained that her phone is so small, she feels compelled to move it back and forth between her ear and mouth so she can both hear and be heard. The Smartphone flies in the face of this trend, but this shouldn't be a problem if you're accustomed to toting around a Palm device. The Smartphone compares favorably to my Palm IIIx in size: It's about a half an inch narrower, three quarters of an inch longer and the same depth. The phone weighs in at a hefty 7.34 ounces. If you don't carry a Palm and you like small phones, then the Smartphone isn't for you.

Palm users already understand the advantages the Palm OS and Palm devices: hundreds of applications; a large, active developers community; Graffiti; a comparatively large screen size of 160x160 pixels; and excellent built-in or third-party support for desktop synchronization. Palm users who aren't accustomed to wireless Palm service will enjoy discovering the Smartphone's Internet services designed for small displays.

Integration Sensation

The real value proposition of the Smartphone, besides the form factor, is the integration between the phone and the Palm device. While at the NetWorld+Interop event in May, I used the Smartphone's included Eudora mail client as my only connection to my inbox during the week (OK, my laptop's modem was broken, but the point is that I still was able to keep in touch and respond to e-mail as needed). The CDMA wireless connection speed is not T3 or Ethernet or a cable modem or even a 56-Kbps modem--in fact it's darn slow at a maximum rate of 14.4 Kbps. Applications such as e-mail that tend to send large quantities of data should be tuned to transfer amounts in direct relation to your amount of patience. Thankfully, most potentially data-hungry applications written for wireless Palm devices let you tune the amount and type of information you download.

The Palm OS repository of Web Clipping Applications has more than 250 offerings--everything from 11 applications related to golf to eight for the stock market (I've always known that golf is more important). It's safe to say that Web clipping for wireless handhelds is the fastest growing segment in the software industry today. The Web-clipping architecture includes client applications that run on Palm devices, proxy servers that translate between the Web-clipping application format and HTML, and content servers. The Smartphone supports WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and SMS (Short Message Service) in addition to HTML.

The phone is well-integrated with the Palm's address book as well. Point to a phone number in the address book and the phone loads it up, ready to dial. Point to an e-mail address and a new mail message opens with the address already included. When the Smartphone is in phone mode with the phone keypad closed, you have complete access to the address book as well. The Smartphone also includes a nifty voice-dialing application that lets you train the phone to respond to a voice prompt for dialing (I trained it for my golf course, not my broker). This feature is great for hands-free operation, a critical consideration if you use your phone while you drive.

The Icing on the Cake

A feature that might be easy to overlook,but which I've found invaluable, is the built-in speakerphone. When I get a call that requires me to check my schedule, I put the caller on speakerphone, flip open the number keypad to put the phone into Palm mode and open my calendar, all while carrying on a conversation with the caller. Once, I accidentally left the speakerphone enabled after ending a call. A few minutes later, the phone informed me, in a pleasant voice, that there was an incoming call. When it asked me if I wanted to answer it, I said yes and was immediately connected.

The Smartphone also includes a voice recorder, an IR (infrared) port for beaming information to other Palm devices and synchronizing with your laptop, a multifunction thumbwheel ý la Blackberry for menu navigation and selection, 8 MB of memory, backlighting, a headset jack, vibrate mode for discreet notification of incoming calls, and ringer option nine--the best ringer sound in the industry (you'll need to try this for yourself).

What's missing? The Smartphone's form factor is unique for Palm devices so you won't have access to some of the useful add-ons, such as the Palm Keyboard, that have cropped-up recently, Also, there are no expansion slots for adding functionality or memory. I'd love to see a color screen, and I'd like the phone to be thinner and lighter. I'd also like to have a full head of hair, but time is working against me.