Can't wait? If you currently live in one of a dozen or so cities where Metricom's Ricochet service is available, you can get a taste of what's to come by slipping a Ricochet modem card into the i700's PC slot and transmitting wirelessly at up to 128kbps­ no cellphone required. When 2.5G service becomes available, you'll be able to send and receive pictures worldwide. In the meantime pop a conventional modem card into the i700, connect to a dinky old phone line, and try these:

• Surf the Internet. A simple set-up menu prompts you to input all the information (using the i700's on-screen keyboard) you'd normally need for either a dial-up or dedicated connection to the Internet. Then a few taps on the touch screen gets you on line where you can access sites, scroll, use links, go back and forth, reload pages, establish bookmarks, and more.

• Send images by email. Sending and receiving regular text emails is easy, but you can also attach images using the i700's Quick Send feature. Depending on your need for quality or speed, photos can be resized without affecting the original which remains in pristine condition. Fifteen choices of resolution and compression can be chosen– even an itty-bitty 64 x 40 pixels which will transmit in the blink of an eye. You can also receive images as email attachments and store them on your memory card.
  
  
• Upload images to a Web site. Here's where it gets interesting. You can designate a folder on your web site into which the images will land once they're uploaded. Then, anyone in the world can view them just minutes after you've taken them. For example, using the i700's automatic HTML feature, you can upload photos to a "Hot News" folder while they're still smokin.' Templates are supplied for displaying your images in a number of creative formats or you can design your own.
  
  
• Transmit images to a fax. Shoot a picture of a document in Text mode and it can be rolling out of a distant fax machine in seconds. Go ahead" scribble a note or draw a diagram on a built-in, electronic cover sheet that heads each message. Make a mistake? Just erase it. You can also choose just the right thickness of your "pen point" to suit your personality or mood du jour.
  
  
• Transfer images to your computer. If your computer or office server is on line, you can send your photos to a designated folder from wherever you are; the images will simply transfer from the i700 into the folder automatically, just as if you were copying them from an external drive. All you need is a modem at the computer end and you can transmit images directly and securely to your home or office.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The i700 can do a multitude of other tasks, not the least of which is to let you assemble, edit, and display dynamite multimedia presentations complete with stills, movies, and sound that are easily viewable on its large monitor, a computer screen or any TV. You can also use your computer with its bigger monitor and keyboard to adjust the camera's settings, make data backups, transfer files and images, and shoot pictures.

The i700 is an amazing device that transcends the imagination and will handle any mission you assign it with aplomb. You're also guaranteed to garner the same kinds of admiring (and envious) glances usually reserved for 007 as you nonchalantly put it through its paces. And that alone may be the best reason to buy one.

Go to the next page for more information and specifications on the RDC i700.

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