Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Communications

Is ATT's ogo A Worthy Purchase? 48

Posted by timothy from the if-the-service-cost-less-it-sure-would-be dept.
PhosterPharms writes "The ATT Wireless ogo is a new device on the market which allows unlimited instant messaging, e-mail, and SMS for a $99 purchase, $20 activation, and $15-24 a month service fee depending on options. The idea of having access to my e-mail and AIM no matter where I am is very alluring, but the only review I can find seems somewhat negative. The ATT Forums seem mixed. Does anyone have any experience with the ogo or any suggestions for alternatives? I don't need another cell phone, just a cheap e-mail and IM client - the $300-400 that service providers want for Sidekicks and Blackberries (Plus $40 a month) seem a bit too much."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Is ATT's ogo A Worthy Purchase? More

Is ATT's ogo A Worthy Purchase?

Comments Filter:
  • it is $25-29 a month, and you also get a web browser, and it has MANY positive reviews, which this dosent. The sidekick also has the ability to be a phone for $10 more a month.

    • Even better is they can screw you over at any point, and have a history of doing so.

      I don't know if AT&T can pull the same stunts with this ogo, but I'd make damn sure where I stand before forking money over for a device or committing to a service.

      • I know AT&T Wireless was looking into carrying the Sidekick 2. I got to play with one pre-release over in the marketing building. But for whatever reason, they decided to go another direction.
      • It's funny, ATT Wireless had the option to carry the sidekick, but some stupid marketing folks thought it would be a bad idea. I'm not sure if it was because of the OGO, or afraid of pissing off Blackberry. But the Sidekick is one slick little device.

        Myself, Im using an UMTS Motorola A845, mostly for USB tethered for my laptop. When I want SSH, why settle for anything less than Putty or Konsole. :)

      • Ironically, your second link mentioned that Danger didn't want to let Mac users sync.

        It's ironic because Woz is on their advisory board...

  • 2/5 (Score:3, Informative)

    by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Monday November 15, 2004 @11:03PM (#10826506) Homepage
    I don't know much about it either. But it was in the newest issue of PC Magazine (which I just happened to get today in the mail). You can read the review here [pcmag.com].

    They don't seem too happy either. "The T-Mobile Sidekick II does everything the Ogo does but much better, and it doubles as your phone." and "The Ogo is fairly unique [...]. But we wish the device's shortcomings weren't so glaring."

    • Re:2/5 (Score:3, Informative)

      by BrookHarty ( 9119 )
      Yes, and reading the article maybe you missed a few things.

      1. Its the cheapest all purpose IM with Email/SMS on the market.
      2. Cingular+ATT merged, you have the largest SMS coverage in the USA.
      3. It's a IM only device, which means its in Data mode all the time. Compare 30+ hours of data mode Sidekicks 4 hours of data time.
      4. PC Magazine states its PERFECT for IM, but not great for Email. Its marketed as an IM device with Email too. So, think of getting email also, not that Email sux0rs.
      5. Bluetooth is turn
      • "1. Its the cheapest all purpose IM with Email/SMS on the market."

        My $30 Nokia 3590 has SMS, email, and IM.

        "2. Cingular+ATT merged, you have the largest SMS coverage in the USA."

        Nice try. Cingular/ATT are nowhere near having a single network - it will be months if not years before the networks are effectively one. Not to mention the fact that their combined GSM/GPRS coverage area *still* won't be as big as Verizon's CDMA2000/1xRTT coverage area.

        "3. It's a IM only device, which means its in Data mode all
        • My $30 Nokia 3590 has SMS, email, and IM

          Youre not really comparing the 3590 to the SKII or OGO are you? Otay, yes your thumbboardless is cheaper... Aha.

          As for your comments on GSM/GPRS, you don't know how it works do you. We enabled full roaming already, and yes, with both network it is bigger than Verizon. But hey, if you want to use "Future", we have UMTS which is the standard. And those GSM phones work more places in the world than Verizon. Verizon has to get "World phones" that work in the UK. You ca
          • I forgot one last thing, SKII wont work on Verizon... So where you going with your comments?
          • "We enabled full roaming already, and yes, with both network it is bigger than Verizon. "

            Not according to your coverage map, and not according to my experience. I have a Verizon phone with 1XRTT and was surfing in Northern Wyoming while my T-Mobile phone and my friend's AT&T Wireless phones had *no service*.

            This was about 2 weeks ago, and it wasn't a spot incident. The experience was consistant - AT&T/T-Mobile provided no coverage while Verizon provided 1xRTT.

            Go drive up I-25 into Montana. You ca
        • Nice try. Cingular/ATT are nowhere near having a single network - it will be months if not years before the networks are effectively one. Not to mention the fact that their combined GSM/GPRS coverage area *still* won't be as big as Verizon's CDMA2000/1xRTT coverage area.

          Don't forget the fact that Verizon can also roam onto Sprint's coverage area (which (IIRC) is also 1xRTT). Sprint's your best bet if you do a lot of web stuff, as they're $15 for unlimited (they'll supposedly bitch and ask if you're using
          • Don't forget the fact that Verizon can also roam onto Sprint's coverage area

            If you want to pay out the nose. The ATT/Cingular roaming is free of charge. I have been roaming between the two networks for the last couple months and have not seen any mention of it on my bill (all of the roaming was inside my local coverage area, just roaming to the stronger tower). From a customer perspective I have to say that this has been one very smooth transition so far with nothing but improved service quality.
            • Well, I'm on Sprint, and have the $5/mo unlimited (up to 50% of your total used minutes (including N&W and M2M)) roaming. I was just mentioning that Verizon could roam onto Sprint. Vice-versa also works ;-)

              Also, a little rant about AT&T roaming... AT&T told us that their nationwide plan came with free roaming, and told us to refer to the local coverage maps (the national coverage map was down). Well, we decide to check the bill for shits and giggles, and find a crapload of roaming charges - som
          • $65/mo for 500 minutes + unlimited nights/weekends (starting at 7PM)... unlimited SMS, unlimited picture/video mail... unlimited (within an invisible/unwritten "reasonable use" limit) for data... did I mention that the data speeds you get are over 100/100kbps for download/upload when you plug the cable into your PC? There's Mac and PC drivers easily available too (no linux yet)... And those speeds are not just in metro areas like Verizon's mobile office stuff... I get them wherever I have Sprint signal.

            I
            • Yes, we've had the 50% bitching once.

              FWIW, you CAN roam without that package, you just don't want to, or you'll get raped. As for ring tones and games, you can find those elsewhere.

              As for the use limits - they DO exist, and Sprint supposedly has them set at 30MB. This is the point at which they ask you whether you're using a data cable, and if you answer yes, they will disable your Vision service. However, people testing them got up to 1GB before they were asked anything.

              The worst part: my phone had been
      • Nokia 3300 is what I use.

        alphabetic keyboard, E-mail, IM, SMS, phone, MP3, voice recorder, wireless web, and J2ME.

        And it comes with a stereo handsfree kit (for the MP3 player, obviously, but it works for phone calls too)

        $50 with a contract at the time I got it (simultaneously Cingular was offering $0 with a contract)

        Complaints: the screen is 128x128. The O/S is kind of clunky (Series 40). It's only running J2ME MIDP 1.0 (with some extensions to access the MP3 playing circuitry and send SMS messages).

  • not worth the purchase. (Score:3)

    by ForestGrump ( 644805 ) on Monday November 15, 2004 @11:15PM (#10826579) Homepage Journal
    god damned, i'll admit im an aim junkie but everywhere you go?

    Well i'm not here to judge other slashdotters. so here is my advice and what to do.

    firstly, the cost (100) was what i paid for my dell axim x5 basic. spent snother 70 for a wireless nic and 20 for a 256 sd card. total 200 bucks. (but no activation and monthly fee)

    how do i get my aim anywhere fix? setup imfowarding to your phone.
    http://mymobile.aol.com/portal/im/index.ht ml

    My phone provider allows 300 messqges a month for me. (really old plan before they realized people would pay for sms...which is stipd becaue it takes up *no network resource* compared to phone calls)

    anyway. im fowarding allows me to reply via sms, or i can burn a min or 2 by calling them back.

    Email? If I'm not in my apt, im probably on campus. campus wirelss (see wlan nic) keeps me in touch if i want to check with webmail (but i dont care for email. if its anything important, i'd get a call/aim anyway.) There is a pocketpc aim client by aol.

    I've heard of using gprs data through phones with the pdas. basically setup a bluetooth/cable/ir connection with the phone and do data that way. don't know much about it though (sorry). i don't do gprs because i don't want to pay an extra 36/year for basic "web and internet" services.

    I say get a pocket pc/palm kinda thing. Its a one time cost, no activation, no monthly fee.

    Grump.
    • i'll admit im an aim junkie but everywhere you go?

      I've used SMS-to-AIM logon and a builtin AIM client on two different cell-phone service providers for one reason: if I need to contact someone, the IM service includes presence, so I can see the easiest way to talk to them. I don't lose an entire minute of calltime just talking to an answering machine. Besides, AIM is cheaper on my plan than calling (prepaid, 4 SMSs = 1 minute airtime, calling rounds up to the whole minute), and there's no degrading of sou
    • edit: i didn't think of it at the time, but I got the axim for 100 because it was 1. refurb and 2. dell was discontinuing the model at the time.

      One nice perk of the axim is the ability to play back video. So I have re-encoded some tv eps and put them on the SD card. Speaker sucks, but thats why god invented headphones.

      I also got a high capacity battery (2.5x standard batt) so I can get away with charging it once a week (just keep it in my bag to use when on campus)

  • Probably not, compared to the other options (Score:5, Interesting)

    by willfe ( 6537 ) <willfe@gmail.com> on Monday November 15, 2004 @11:53PM (#10826811) Homepage

    I did read your whole question, so sorry for recommending what you said you're not eager to do anyway :)

    You're paying $120-ish to get started, then $20 a month for service. Except it's mail, IM, and web only. No phone, SSH, other apps, expandability, etc.

    Take a couple hundred dollars ($300 or so, I think), grab some rebates from amazon.com, and get a Treo 600 (or preorder a 650). It's a cell phone, that also runs PalmOS. It supports two-way SMS chat, web browser, IM clients galore (many of them free), IRC clients, mail clients (including POP3 and IMAP), SSH clients, etc. You can be on a phone call (with a headset or just on the normal stuff, or speakerphone) and still get into the other apps and do other things (phone and data are mutually exclusive, but you can play games, mess with the PDA apps, load cached browser pages, etc., while on a call).

    You're paying more, yes (service starts at $50 a month), but you get a hell of a lot more, too. I think that's at least 300 national minutes on peak, unlimited off-peak and weekends, and data in unmetered. Using the same cable the beast comes with (though they make smaller/more portable ones that both charge and sync via USB -- even handier on the road), you can attach the phone to your desktop or notebook and get internet access at about 4x dialup speeds with better latency.

    Add that you can throw in memory cards to increase storage room, use all its PDA stuff, add software (lots of it free, the rest pretty cheap), and it adds up to a *very* handy device. Use something like Trillian, which proxies your IM messages (on lots of different networks), you can maintain a constant online presence without having to have the client open all the time, etc.

    Essentially it's worth the money. I had a Treo 300 for a year and a half (until a number of personal issues destroyed my ability to, um, pay any bills :) and loved it. The Treos are infinitely hackable, amazingly flexible, do lots and lots of stuff, and they're one of the few examples of really spiffy technology that actually works right and can help make life easier. Oh yeah, the 600 and 650 have one of those goofy cameras built in too.

    So, um, yeah, my input may not be entirely helpful if you're really limited by budget, but if you can afford it, you will officially like the Treos if you give them a shot. I miss mine and intensely wish I still had mine in service or had a 600 :)

  • I'll buy it. (Score:3, Funny)

    by AtariAmarok ( 451306 ) on Tuesday November 16, 2004 @12:03AM (#10826861)
    It would be cool to have full rights to that blue death star logo. Wonder why they are selling it off?

  • Ehh... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Gangis ( 310282 ) on Tuesday November 16, 2004 @12:35AM (#10827006) Journal
    Some people may think that it'd appeal to deaf users like me, but from reading up on it, I think the Sidekick II (which I own) is a much better choice. Granted, you pay more (Although if you go here [harriscomm.com] you can purchase the Sidekick II for $139.99 instead of the $479.99 retail price.) but you have the ability to do telnet/SSH (REALLY useful!), upload homebrew games and programs.

    The Ogo, on the other hand, seems to be an entirely closed system. If I was really strapped for cash, I would consider that but overall the Sidekick II is a much better choice for the geek on the go.

    • Re:Ehh... (Score:3, Informative)

      by BrookHarty ( 9119 )
      Ya, Tmobile side kick is great, but not everything is rosey. The keyboard is smaller than the OGO, its heavier. And a monthly contract will 2x-3x the cost of OGO a month if you just use IM.

      OGO also has bluetooth, turned off now, but ATT wireless said they would turn it on at a later date. Not sure why, prob new devices.

      But yes, SSH is a must for a true mobile client.
      • "The keyboard is smaller than the OGO,"

        It may be, but the SK/SKII has *the most usable* thumbkeyboard of any device I've ever used. The OGO demo units had a very poor feel to the keyboard.

        "And a monthly contract will 2x-3x the cost of OGO a month if you just use IM."

        The OGO is $18 a month. The Sidekick Data plan is $29.99 a month if you don't have voice service.

        Keep in mind, the Sidekick II also has:

        - A phone
        - A web browser
        - SSH
        - Network sync, including sync to Outlook

        The OGO apppears to be a very lim
        • I'd argue with the OGO having a worse keyboard, its actually bigger and easier to use.

          Sidekick is limited to Tmobile, which limits your roaming areas. Cingular (And aquired ATT Wireless) has the largest roaming (no charge) network in the USA. ;)

          SSH isnt free for the Sidekick, so no, dont go there. ;)

          Wait, you just said dont pay for phone for price, but then you include phone for features. Make up your mind.

          Also, the Ogo has a bigger screen, more colors (4K),longer battery life, every IM, and a cheapest
          • Actually, a few points:

            You can install the terminal client for free, the source code is included in the SDK. You can simply compile it and upload it to the SKII. That's what I did. :D

            T-Mobile has a pretty good coverage, when I had my Color Sidekick, I flew from Orlando, FL to Boston, MA and was still online. (I know, I know... Nobody recognized it as a phone though, and it was a newer plane that wouldn't have been affected by GSM/GPRS signals, anyway...) They offer national roaming (US/Canada) and free in
  • ...and tell them you're holding out for unlimited VOIP, too. ;-)
  • From the brief look at the website it seems that they emphasize that email only works with select providers. So does that mean it won't work with MY POP3 or are they just covering their ass when so Joe Schmoe can't complain it doesn't access his corporate Exchange server?

  • Ogo (Score:1)

    by prabha ( 538549 )
    The Hack value for Ogo is very interesting to me.

    You can easily implement a Windows/Linux chat program which uses one of Ogo supported IM protocol(AIM/Yahoo/MSN).
    Later you can add this user to Ogo, which sends RSS news feeds(eg:reuters, stock quotes)in clear text to Ogo on demand or even based on some kind of menu selection.

    Imagine checking slashdot feeds on Ogo ;-)
  • My coworker and I each bought one about a month ago. For the price of the device I've been pretty happy. The Activation was a little troublesome, but what do you expect from ATTWS.

    Why I like it... Well first off I work in court rooms, and 80% of the time you can't bring in phones.. that rules out use of a sidekick, treo6X0 or even something like the Nokia 6820 (did I get that right?). And about 100% of the time, you can't bring in cameras, so that rules out most new devices. For a while I was using
  • I was somewhat interested in this product until I saw the Motorola a630 [motorola.com] which seems to be everything an ogo is, but with a phone and a camera thrown in as well. Now if they'd just release the damned things....
  • It's a condition of mental divergence. I find myself on the planet Ogo [imdb.com], part of an intellectual elite, preparing to subjugate the barbarian hordes on Pluto. But even though this is a totally convincing reality for me in every way, nevertheless Ogo is actually a construct of my psyche. I am mentally divergent, in that I am escaping certain unnamed realities that plague my life here. When I stop going there, I will be well.

    Are you also divergent, friend?
  • Just saw this product (don't remember where from), but the details are EXTREMELY sketchy. It's being sold exclusively through Target (apparently online only).

    http://www.zipitwireless.com [zipitwireless.com]

    I ordered mine today so we'll see what it actually is. It's supposed to use WiFi to connect to multiple IM services with no service fees. I'm not sure if it's via proxy or direct, and what kind of support it will have for non-open hotspots. I've also heard rumors that it will eventually get a firmware update to stre

Slashdot Top Deals

Suggest you just sit there and wait till life gets easier.

Close