Last month (May 23), Verizon Wireless announced the availability of the Audiovox Thera. Although this is not the first PDA Phone to hit the market, it is the first PocketPC Phone to hit the market. After trading in my Compaq iPAQ, I'm happy to be the benefactor of the latest in convergence technology.

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In the week that's followed its release, I've played around with my own Thera and perused the message boards for the criticism by other gadget aficionados. Many try to compare it to the Samsung I300, or the Kyocera 6035, or even the Handspring Treos. First let me say this: this is a PDA with phone and data capability, and not a phone with PDA capability. In addition, this is the first in what will surely be a series of integrated devices running the PocketPC OS.

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In the Box

The box for the Thera (available from Verizon Wireless) contains the PDA, a charger, a USB cradle, two styli, a leather carrying case, a headset, and a remote control. The remote control is an especially nice touch. It controls the phone as well as Windows Media Player. One can listen to music by plugging a regular headphone jack into a port on the remote. The port on the Thera itself accommodates standard wireless headsets.

The software that is included has everything you need to get up and running with a PocketPC PDA. Outlook 2002, Activesync 3.5, and some nice weblinks like PocketStreets and Microsoft Money are standard. The manual is also included as a PDF file.

The staff at the Verizon store activated my Thera, and all of my data that was on my iPAQ 3635 was instantly transferred to the Thera upon synchronization. My Thera became personalized at the click of a mouse! Since this one has the full version PocketPC 2002 instead of the Compaq upgrade, I was immediately impressed with the Spelling Checker on Pocket Word and the included MSN Messenger and Terminal Client program. I was also able to easily re-install some of my non-standard programs like Adobe Acrobat Reader, Palm Reader and all of my music. I added my own 128 MB SD card for good measure. The Thera itself has 32 MB on board in addition to a 32 MB SD card that Audiovox included.

Dialing

Using the phone is simple. Since the Thera does not come with PocketPC 2002 Phone Edition, it uses a third-party dialer called Watcher that copies your phone numbers into its own directory. I didn't find it too much of a hassle to click "Update Directory" and get all of my phone numbers. Clicking the phone number within Watcher dials without a hitch. The signal is as good as any phone I've had (it's a dual digital CDMA phone that works on 800 MHz and 1900 MHz Networks), and using the headset is not a big deal. I've also used the phone as a speakerphone while driving, and it works quite well. Turning down the volume and flipping it upside-down makes for an awkward but workable cell phone as well. However, this device's strong point is its data connectivity. Two dial-up ISPs come preloaded: Quick2Net and Express Network. Quick2Net is the standard 14.4 kps dial-up familiar to all wireless web users, but the Express Network is Verizon's 1xRTT 2.5G network, which connects at speeds up to 144 kps (average is closer to 40-60 kps). This is the first PDA to connect at this speed without the need for a PC card, so this is a clear advantage the Thera has over the competition (like Sprint). No longer do you need to carry around a couple of devices to organize your life, the Thera can do it all!

I don't anticipate spending hours on the phone gabbing to friends. I expect to spend hours in the library and in class; therefore, I want to be able to have a compact solution to take notes, check email, and text message friends and family without disturbing classmates. With a PocketPC PDA, I can keep track of all my assignments and my schedule with Pocket Outlook, I can take notes with Pocket Word that easily integrates with regular Word, and I can keep huge PDF files at hand with the expanded memory on my SD card. With the phone portion of my Thera, I can send text messages easily without picking annoyingly at tiny cell phone keys, I can check email as they come, and I can look up references quickly using Pocket Internet Explorer. For those who have already been blessed with a JD, the document creation capabilities of the PocketPC make this a clear advantage over the current standard: the Blackberry. Even the new 5810 with an integrated phone does not compare to the Audiovox Thera.

The First Peripheral

The one thing I missed about my iPAQ was not the iPAQ, but the Stowaway Keyboard that I attached to it. Graffiti is no way to compose lengthy law school outlines, or immensely insightful hardware reviews for great websites like pdaED.com for that matter. I need a keyboard, and the week I picked at the miniature popup keyboard further convinced me of this fact. I managed to peck out a few short essays, but it is by no means a thorough input solution. Even though there is some indication that a compatible keyboard will soon be available for the Toshiba e510 (Toshiba manufactures the Audiovox PDAs), I needed a better option today. Enter the Pocketop Wireless Universal Keyboard (marketed in the US by Micro Innovations). Using the IR port for any handheld running Palm OS, PocketPC 2000 or 2002 (except those with MIPS), the Universal Keyboard connects wirelessly to your PDA and turns it into a mobile computing solution. With the Thera it's like having a tiny two-piece terminal. Since the infrared port for the Thera is along the right side, I did have to find software that allows for landscape viewing. Once that was easily installed, with the included drivers with the Universal Keyboard I've been able to type up a storm. This article was written using my new wireless mobile workstation.

The wireless keyboard's keys are much smaller than the Stowaway's, so typing does take a little getting used to. Those with larger fingers will definitely incur greater typing error. In addition, the supplied stand does not match the Audiovox layout, so it's pretty much useless. I've resorted to simply placing the two on my desk and typing. (I've become so used to beaming and wireless technology that the sight of text magically appearing on my PDA without any visible connection is no longer a miracle.)

The Bottom Line

With a new two-year contract with Verizon Wireless the Audiovox Thera costs $800. The Micro Innovations Universal Keyboard is another $99, and the JS Landscape software is $9.90. Is $1000 a little steep for the average in-debt student to spend for bleeding-edge technology and a big wow-factor? You bet. However, consider that my iPAQ was $500, the Stowaway was $99, my Timeport 270c was $150, the Bluetooth Connectivity Kit was $200 and the custom-made leather Bluetooth/CF card slipper case from Whitney was another $200, and the cost is comparable. Minus the headache of setting up a Bluetooth Piconet and the pain of juggling a bunch of devices, and I'd say the Thera package was a well-spent Grand.

Now if they can just figure out how to make recharging wireless, that would be a miracle.