I have to wonder that even if you were to put the phone from ALLTEL and put it on VZW, would you still be able to get the GPRS and high speed connection features?

Also, I don't know the merit of the comment, but I was told by a SprintPCS store manager about month ago that they would not be carrying this phone.

I would love it if somebody had any firm news to the contrary.

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Sorry, these phones will NEVER do GPRS.

What you WILL get is CDMA 1xRTT, which tops out at about 144kbps (ISDN speeds), as opposed to the GPRS which hits about 9k6bps (umm, 1982 modem speed). 3G is dependant upon the carrier though. Verizon and Sprint do it (in selected markets), but Alltel is a little behind in a majority of their markets - but should be there in 2Q03 (for the most part).

CDMA will approach broadband speed (1.5Mbps) next year, while GPRS via EDGE will start to hit 380kbps (DSL).

Sorry for the rant. I still love the fact that GSM is a global standard (even if on different frequencies), but I REALLY LOVE the capabilities for increased wireless bandwidth the CDMA delivers now, and promises for the future.

C|Net used to have a great explanation of the different technologies, but have taken the pages down. You can still get to them if you google on "speed 1XRTT GPRS".

CDMA 1XRTT capability relies on two things - a cellphone with the right hardware to handle it, and a carrier (VZW, Sprint, Alltel) who supports it.

The 7135 is physically the same hardware on the VZW, Sprint, and Alltel networks. Software releases, might vary slightly, but the basic handset is the same (its like having a PC running Windows 2000 vs a PC running Winows XP - the hardware might be the same, but its the software - in this case firmware on the cellphone side of the device - that gives them different capabilities). Having said that, PalmOS 4.1 is the same and will run the same software.

The other side of the equation is the carrier. They all do (or have committed to doing) 1xRTT in their respective markets. Some areas will get it sooner than others, as it is not simply a matter of flicking a switch and suddenly the network is 1xRTT capable.

Whether a phone purchased from somewhere other than the carrier itself will be activated on a particular carriers network is not a technical decision, but a business one. It can be done, but it is up to the whim of the operator if it will be done.

Token

(I gotta get a life - 9:00pm on a Saturday night and I am on chat boards, editting papers online for my wife, and dreaming of the 7135 ...)

GPRS is not 9.6kbps, that is the current TDMA/GSM speeds. GPRS is capable of around the same speeds as 1xRTT.

Yep. Your right. Sort of (love a good argument).

9k6 is the speed of a single channel on a GSM network. Are the current US carrier agregating the channels in a 3+1 type arrangment to give 3x9k6 download (or 28k8 - still half the speed of the v.90 modem) and 9k6 upload?

1xRTT promises 144k out of the box.

Which would you prefer to be connected to the net on?

Other differences are in the way "push notification" occurs - ie the "always on" aspect of the network. A 1xRTT connection maintains a connection, while GPRS requires a SMS wakeup type kludge.

As much as I love GSM/GPRS, I am afraid I have become a CDMA fanboy