Wi-Fi networks are archipelagoes of access which may prevent ease of handheld use: Stephen Wildstrom states the differences between using Wi-Fi-connected handhelds and those that employ the phone network with a kind of clarity that's often missing. Wi-Fi is fast, but spotty: an archipelago, he calls it, with islands scattered around. He points out the annoyances in roaming, and having to enter or join and pay many networks for continuous access. Cell-based service is superior for seamlessness and consistent pricing, but it's slow.
Which is why it is a shame that Palm doesn't have a device with BOTH WiFi and Blue Tooth to get you to a cell based network.
Another point is that wide open access points make things painless. It is only the hassles of accessing the pay systems that make the WiFi connections painful. Thankfully, there are a number of wide-open WEP free access points out there.
John
Man, John, you hit the nail on the head. I'd have to be crazy to buy a WiFi-only handheld, given that so few of the places I regularly travel have WiFi at all-- much less for free. Sure, corporate campuses where I work have it, but that's not much help. By the time I get there, it's time to deploy ye olde laptop and get real work done. When there's no coverage at major airports (ATL, MDW, CVG come to mind), and relatively little in hotels and other travel-oriented spots, the utility of a, say, Tungsten-C is much diminished compared to a Bluetooth-capable PDA and a GPRS or 1xRTT phone. I wish it weren't so, and one day perhaps it won't be.