More promise than reality

I loved the phone, an Ericsson T68 with a lot of neat features such as built-in organizer software, voice-activated dialing capabilities and wireless connectivity to other gadgets. The mMode service is faster than current wireless Web services, but its content was too similar to what's already out there to justify the expense.

The $199.99 T68 is one of the phones that will handle AT&T Wireless' new mMode service, which offers higher speeds for Internet access and other data.

It promises a theoretical 56 to 115 kilobits per second, which is faster than the dialup speeds you get when you use your computer to connect to the Web over conventional phone lines. In reality, data speeds in our test were about the same as dialup. Before you consider this as a replacement for your hard-wired modem, keep in mind that extensive use becomes quite expensive.

You pay only for the data; you don't use your alloted wireless minutes for the time you're online. But 20 megabytes of data, which isn't much, costs $59.99 a month, in addition to your regular voice plan. AT&T freely admits this service is aimed at business users rather than home users.

AT&T recently overhauled its Wireless Access Protocol service to create what it has dubbed mMode. It's supposed to be similar to iMode in Japan, a wildly successful mobile service that offers high-end technology such as streaming video.

But that's not what we initially get with mMode. The mMode service that's available today is a text-based version of what I can get on my desktop computer from sites such as Yahoo, the New York Times and CNN. And it can be expensive if you use it as a wireless modem for your PC or handheld organizer. If it's going to be a roaring success here, the content has to be compelling. Today, it just isn't.

On a final note, I chew through about 600 to 700 minutes of airtime a month, often find myself out of town and make a lot of long-distance calls. My bill ranges from $60 to $120 a month on my existing AT&T service. Switching to the T68, which uses the GSM cell network that's common in Europe and Asia, would cost me an extra 50 percent or more a month. And that doesn't include mMode.

The service, where available, is reliable and the T68 is a winner. I'm hooked on the convenience of mobile data for occasional use, and the promise of mMode is intriguing. But it's more promise than reality right now. I'm sticking with my Nokia 8260.

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