1. What PDA and/or mobile phone do you use today? NONE

2. Are you locked into a mobile carrier (i.e. Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, etc.), or do you prefer a particular carrier? Do you know if one carrier has better coverage in places that you need to be? (PLEASE SEE THE CARRIER NOTE BELOW) VERIZON

3. Where are you based? Do you stay in one place or travel a lot? Do you travel internationally... how much and where? Do you intend to use your PDAPhone there? TRAVEL IN CHICAGO, PRIMARILY.

4. Do have a preference of Palm, Pocket PC, Symbian, Smartphone OS, Blackberry, etc.? INTERESTED IN MS MOBILE 6 or better.

5. Are you likely to run it the way it came out of the box, or do you intend to load a whole lot of extra applications and stuff on it? Do you know of anything now that you will need to run? Will run it like it is out of the box, but tweak it along the way.

6. How important is wireless data access, and for what would you use it? (i.e. Web browsing, VPN, Remote termnial Access, Instant messaging, etc)? My Company doesn't support connections to the Exchange Server. I push outlook email to Gmail and then check it there. Responding to it shows I am using gmail, which stinks. If there was a better way, I am all for it!

7. Will you need to view Microsoft Office documents on the PDAPhone? Will you need to edit them? View and edit.

8. Will you need access to an email system?
a)Is it corporate (Exchange, Groupwise,Lotus, Other?) What Version? Do you want email wirelessly or do you want to do it in the office with a sync cable/cradle? Can you get your Corporate email configured for mobile access or do you need to run a desktop redirector?
b)Is it Pop3/Imap? Who is the service provider? Will use gmail and yahoo. If there was a better way to get my Outlook mail, I would do it. No access to the exchange server and leaving my computer on is not an option to "push."

9. Do you do SMS messaging a lot (telephone to telephone messaging)? No.

10. Do you want to use a GPS with the PDAPhone for mapping and navigation? No.

11. What is your size preference.. very close to the smallest cellphone, or you don’t care.. function over size? Prefer function, but size is important.

12. How will you carry it... pocket, belt, purse, etc.? Prefer pocket, but would use belt if I had to.

13. Do you prefer a particular form factor… flip-phone, candy bar, etc? Prefer flip, but candy bar will likely be what I need...

14. Do you prefer a QWERTY keyboard, numeric dial-pad, or stylus? Prefer Qwerty...

15. Do you want to play a lot of video games on the PDAPhone? What kinds - puzzles, strategy, action adventure, etc.? No.

16. Do you want to listen to music on the PDAPhone? What kind... mp3, streamed, etc.?No.

17. Do you want a camera on the PDAPhone? Yes.

18. Do you have any other hardware you intend to use with the PDAPhone? Do you intend to use any Bluetooth devices? What types of devices? Yes. Parrot handsfree in my car.


19. What kind of battery life do you need?(Always near a charger, battery life is not an issue or Need the battery to last several days) How many hours do you expect to spend talking on the phone? How many hours of data?(Web browsing, push email, VPN, IM etc) Need good battery life.

20. What are your budget limits (PDAPhones range in price from below $100 for older used models to nearly $1000 for high end models without a carrier subisidy)? Something under $500. Prefer under $300.


I am a current Verizon user. Adding data is $29/month. In my plan, I am not yet eligible to upgrade. So, extending my contract one year gives me the Verizon XV6800 for $399. The XV6900 is $349 and the Samsung SCH-i760 is $429.

Can I buy a phone on Ebay and add it and still have insurance coverage through Verizon? What do I need to look out for?

I like the XV6900, but I see it doesn't have a slide out keyboard. I don't like I-tap --- I want a keyboard. Even if it was part of the touchscreen, that would be fine. Does the 6900 offer that?

Any options out there for me to get my corporate Outlook email other than an exchange server or "push" from my laptop? I use outlook and PUSH it to gmail. Responding to gmail shows users I am not using outlook. I can't have that -- headers and message must look like it came from outlook.

Thanks in advance for your help!