[geeks] Cell phones for SSH

[velociraptor]

On Nov 25, 2006 09:31 PM, Jeremy Grosser <synack at csh.rit.edu>
wrote:
>
> > I'm looking at buying a new cell phone in the near future and
> > would
> > like to get something that I can use for SSH and possibly some
> > light
> > web browsing. Ideally, the phone would have a QWERTY keyboard,
> > bluetooth, and be relatively small. I tend to prefer candy bar
> > style
> > phones (My current phone is a Nokia 6030) but I'm open to other
> > form
> > factors.
> >
> > I'd also like to know what kind of data plan to get. I'm not
> > really
> > tied to any carrier but my current carrier (Cingular) has data
> > plans
> > at 5, 10, and 20 MB/month as well as an 'unlimited' plan. How
> > much
> > traffic should I expect to use with SSH?
> >
> > Thanks for any suggestions.

There are a number of new devices that have QWERTY keyboards, they
looks like side "slider" type phones.  I've looked at them briefly,
but to be honest, they all seem too large to me (I too prefer the
candy bar type phone that I can just drop in my pocket).  The majority
of these are probably running Windows Mobile, so there should be an
ssh client for them.

I've had a Treo600 and switched to a 6030 myself due to the size issue
and reception (I was in a marginal area for my cell service at the
time and the Nokia just performed better).  I also had the first
Sidekick, which was a great IM platform, but marginal otherwise,
mostly due to being crippled with only one GSM band.

There is an ssh client for Blackberries, but when I last checked it
was part of a software package that cost $$.  This may have changed
since the newer Blackberries appear to be more like mainstream phones,
so is probably worth further investigation.

I haven't used a data plan since the Sidekick, but if you are truly
planning on only using it for "emergency" ssh use, a 5-10MB/mo plan
should be sufficient.  Once you toss in web browsing, all bets are
off.  The down side is that most of these small plans are GPRS, not
high-speed.

Another option would be a "normal" cell phone that is bluetooth
capable--you can tie this to a BT enabled PDA or laptop for "dial-up"
service.  This would mean a smaller form factor when you are don't
need the full monte.

If the phone is EDGE or EVDO enabled, you'll even get decent speed.
It would be worth checking to see if your carrier has an "on demand"
usage plan.  E.g. you get enabled to use it, but only pay the
minutes/data usage fee when you actually use it.  If it truly is only
for occassional, this would probably be a lot more sane for doing
something like on-call use of ssh.  But again, tossing in web browsing
changes the picture a lot.

Iirc, the 6030 is an EDGE phone, so you could just buy a BT-enabled
PDA without having to get another cell phone if that configuration
works for you.

And, definitely ditto on the suggestion of 'screen'.

In my experience, one of the best places to research such stuff is
howardforums.com.  There are a lot of folks on there who have a wide
variety of experiences with cell phones and their tech.  There are
also a lot of folks on there who can get into the nitty-gritty with
you about all the data plans (including service reps who post).

Regards--
=Nadine=