C500 suitable 4 Ebay via Abidia or go elsewhere?

[Guest diginomics]

No need to tell anyone about the success of Ebay but it seems that very few people are "ebaying" from their mobiles and/or smartphones. Certainly searches on Google reveal very little feedback on the subject. Referring back to some earlier topic comments of the P900/910 "opera" browser v. C500 I am a little worried about committing to the C500. I am not convinced anything works on Ebay! By "works" I mean PERFORMS.

Abidia offers a dedicated Ebay mobile browser software but as I have said there is no feedback on its performance. This makes me suspicious because with the millions using Ebay, the lack of feedback available is surely saying something negative? Abidia lists the SPV100 and SPV200 as being compatible but no news yet on the C500. They did not bother to reply to my email on this a couple of weeks ago. Is anyone currently using the C500 for ebaying via Abidia with success?

Although I have had a Palm Tungsten T PDA for a while, I eventually had to give up plans to use it to bid on Ebay. Not only does my old Orange phone not have Bluetooth but the Bluetooth drivers to connect with new phone models seem to have no importance to the "Palm" company. Which means like most Palm users wanting connectivity, going over to HP's IPAQs seems the only safe way out of the Palm disaster.

In the earlier comments on the P900 etc I would share a technical preference for a PDA + small Bluetooth phone. I am not sure about stepping into the smartphone arena for a number of reasons. My Samsung A300 is perfect in terms of size and for being clamshell. Despite numerous emails to Orange executive there are no plans for a Bluetooth clamshell without camera. The PDA + small Bluetooth phone does not require a camera, and indeed if the option of a clamshell without camera existed I would prefer that even over the miracles of the C500.

The arguments over cameras are evolving and SPRINT in the USA announced recently a plan to re-issue various phones without them. I enjoy photography and I am at the moment moving more into telephoto lenses and SLR digitals than quality digital point and shoot. However I prefer to elect to carry the right photographic equipment when a need is foreseen etc. However I still could put up with carrying a camera in my phone if it was a trade-off for another want: namely mobile bidding on Ebay. So the C500 might still be for me.

In December 2003 I did not even upgrade at the end of my year's contract but just keep on paying my monthly bill without signing anything. There was simply nothing I wanted and I am still not sure I want anything enough to take on a new 12 month commitment. I am now considering upgrading to the C500 but I am reluctant without information on how well I can use it on Ebay. I have no cause to wish to surf the Internet while mobile for any other reason than Ebay. Nor to collect or send email. Perhaps the facility to post to a weblog might be the only new desired feature in owning a smartphone. However only a desired expansion in my use of Ebay demands any type of mobile Internet connection that I am prepared to pay more for. Any relatively experienced Ebay bidder knows that even a 21 inch computer screen and broadband can be too little too late when bidding against a skilled opponent. I know that there are third party sites that will bid at the last minute for you, but I want to keep the choice on the end of my own human fingertips.

I was thus quite excited some time ago when I heard about the Opera browser bringing advances for Smartphones and the Symbian operating system. Therefore I am hoping that the C500, because of the nature of the catch-up game, has evolved so it is good enough for Ebay. Yet I am beginning to doubt it because in the thread where the PDA + small Bluetooth phone was recommended, so too was the Opera browser mentioned in a positive light. This echoed my previous conclusions many months ago. Namely to use a combination of PDA + clamshell or go for Opera on Symbian? So does this comment contain a hint of confession that for Internet surfing (Ebay or not) the Opera Symbian browser beats the C500?

In using Ebay mobile, the trade-off would seem first on screen size. Can the smartphone screen size and resolution of the C500 really compete with a PDA when using Ebay? Next there is the software. Will Abidia work with the C500 at present or is there an upgrade to be kept waiting for? Is Abidia the best option? Bidding in Ebay comes down to depend on a response time measured in seconds rather than minutes. Is Ebay easier on Opera + P910 for instance? Is the C500 so good that it is OK to use it directly on Ebay with just a normal browser without the need for Abidia? That would certainly save an expensive purchase. Is 3G or even eventually Wimax a better solution worth waiting for in the case of Ebay? Unless the C500 can help me be effective in buying second hand computer components off Ebay, where competition is tight, I am not prepared to "upgrade" my handy clamshell.

I suspect, because as I have already said there is so little feedback on Google about any successes of others using Ebay from smartphones or PDAs, that nothing really yet satisfies the market. I would like to think the C500 might because it is maybe just small enough to beat the "PDA + clamshell Bluetooth mobile" combination as an alternative arrangement. Handheld mobile Ebay would appear to me to offer the promise of a killer application to the mobile commerce market. Yet until I can read about this application of mobile commerce being successfully mastered by others, I suspect none of the gadgets available yet really fit the bill. Buying or selling on Ebay is a practical skill and as such these market forces will not tolerate hype over successful trading. Mobile commerce has no chance of materializing from the imagination until it can come at least to grips with Ebay.

Cameras, digital agendas/diaries and bulky pockets will not draw me into the smartphone world by themselves. If I cannot be assured that the quality of my Ebay experience will migrate effectively to placing bids on my C500 then I might stick with my faithful Samsung A300. Or until Orange can sell me any upgrade to my current clamshell with Bluetooth but without the spy camera! Then I can shop for a new PDA with built-in wi-fi!