Today I got a call from a random lady who was on my blog reading about mobile handsets, mobile VoIP, and other topics I constantly cover.

The caller was calling from Austin and is very frustrated with the state of the mobile phone industry. She told me that because she works in the energy industry, she’s very prone to electromagnetic waves and can’t use a wireless phone by holding it up to her ear. However, she feels it necessary to be in touch while on the go. Apparently when the caller uses a mobile handset, she gets headaches and her ears ring. So, she was asking for my help in choosing a mobile handset.

Image Courtesy Flickr User KhE

Thinking through the choices including Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Nokia, Apple’s iPhone, I then started talking to her about Nokia‘s line of open handsets because she said she wanted to run Fring, a mobile VoIP application. She then told me she hates telecom companies and therefore, doesn’t want to support T-Mobile or AT&T here in the United States. When I asked her how she was calling me she said “I’m on Skype”. We went on to discover that she doesn’t desire any cellular connectivity at all, just Wi-Fi.

So I started telling her about the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet. She got so excited and was ecstatic when we got off the phone knowing she could call wherever she could get Wi-Fi, along with using IM/Email/Surf the web, etc.

It turns out the N810, which is basically a very portable computer that runs a Linux and met her every need. I felt very good I was able to figure out her needs and suggest a technology and connectivity needs.