HARDWARE
You can flip open Ericsson's I 888 World phone in Hong Kong, Berlin, or San Francisco and call a taxi. Or you can slap it down next to your laptop and download a Web page - the I 888 has a built-in modem that gives clean data connections, and its infrared port lets you beam the bits to and from your laptop without cables, dongles, or PC cards.
What makes the I 888 work worldwide is GSM (Global System for Mobile communication), the digital telephone standard that's popular in Europe, Hong Kong, and Australia and is slowly being deployed in the US. Two built-in radios let the phone handle Europe's 900-MHz systems as well as the 1,900-MHz US ones. The I 888 also comes with a multivoltage charger and four different power cords, so you never need to fumble with adapters.
To use this Ericsson as a dialup device, just set the phone on a table so its infrared port is a few inches from your PC's. Your laptop will soon purr, indicating it's found the phone. Now use it like a regular modem. But be warned: While 9,600 bps is fine for checking mail or hitting a few Web pages, it's frustratingly slow if you have to download large attachments.
The I 888's slim, standard NiMH battery delivers almost 3 hours of talk time in the US - a lifesaver when you're downloading a huge mail file. (Talk times are longer in Europe; the US version uses more energy on a higher frequency.) In fact, the phone, with a battery life longer than that of any other Ericsson I've used, runs for days. An optional thicker battery delivers about 6 hours of talk in the US, or 120 hours of standby. The I 888 is about the same size and weight as the Nokia 6100 series, but it has a flip to keep you from making calls accidentally.
Problems with this 6.3-ounce unit include a stubby antenna that doesn't retract and a plastic surface that easily scratches. The sound quality is impressive, but Ericsson's interface needs work. The biggest trouble is with GSM itself: This phone is great for globe-trotters, but make sure there's GSM coverage near home in the States. I got my I 888 from Omnipoint, which has excellent coverage in New England, but there won't be any GSM coverage in outlying hamlets like Chicago until sometime next year.
I 888 World: $299. Ericsson: (800) 374 2776, www.ericsson.com.
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