| When I decided that I needed to replace my | | | | Way too pricey for me and it doesn't even have |
| terribly out of date mobile phone - an old Nextel | | | | Wifi. |
| i1000plus - my thoughts eventually wandered | | | | Cingular's best price on a PocketPC phone wasn't |
| toward a pda phone. For those that know me this | | | | much better. I could get an HP iPAQ hw6510 for |
| probably seemed like a no brainer. I have a long | | | | $400.00. Again, no wifi. This is a real sticking point |
| history of pda dependence going back years to a | | | | for me. I don't see any reason why a device |
| Palm 3X. | | | | designed for communication would leave out this |
| However, I already had a pda that I was quite | | | | major specification. Being able to connect to an |
| happy with. For the last year and a half I had | | | | 802.11b/g wireless network when it is available is |
| used my HP iPAQ 2215 for everything from a | | | | a necessity. |
| PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), an e-book reader, | | | | Okay, back to the drawing board, maybe I can |
| an MP3 player, a photo wallet, an alarm clock, a | | | | try this from a different angle - Ebay. |
| mobile web browser(utilizing a compact flash wifi | | | | Looking up "Pocket PC phone" on Ebay gets you |
| card), among many other things. Trying to cram a | | | | quite a lot of hits with a good assortment of |
| phone in to all of this seemed overwhelming, but | | | | newer and older Pocket PC phones. At this point |
| curiosity - and my need for a new gadget - got | | | | I'm thinking that I could get something maybe |
| the better of me. My search was twofold - look | | | | slightly used that would meet all of my |
| for a new mobile phone and a new provider. With | | | | requirements. This would also give me a good |
| my current cellular provider I didn't get any | | | | cross section of exactly what is out there and |
| reception in my home so I needed to find a | | | | what features are available in this type of gadget. |
| carrier that did. | | | | After going through quite a lot of auction |
| Through various unscientific means such as my | | | | descriptions and cross referencing manufacturer |
| own opinion polls of friends and work associates in | | | | web sites I had set my sites on a particular |
| conjunction with some internet research I whittled | | | | phone, the Siemens SX66. This particular phone |
| my way down to either Cingular or Verizon. Both | | | | pda combo had been offered by Cingular until |
| tended to get high marks from the users I polled | | | | recently and it no longer showed on their website. |
| and the from internet research. With this part of | | | | It seemed to fit my wish list: a fast 400mhz |
| the equation worked out I went online to see | | | | xscale processor, wifi, Bluetooth, SDIO slot and it |
| what kind of phones each had to offer. I was | | | | had a slide out keyboard for text input. So, I |
| willing to go with a 2 year commitment in the | | | | watched a few auctions and kept an eye on the |
| hopes of getting a better deal on phone and plan | | | | prices. |
| pricing. In addition I wanted to get a group plan | | | | But, sometimes you just have to get off of the |
| where my wife and I could share minutes. | | | | internet and hit the brick and mortar. I went to |
| So, now I'm looking on each company's | | | | my local Verizon and Cingular stores and talked to |
| respective websites for their state of the art | | | | the sales reps about what plans I was looking for. |
| Pocket PC phones. I'm not talking about the | | | | I wasn't impressed with my long wait at the |
| Smart phones - these are the phones with | | | | Verizon Wireless store or the pushy salesman |
| Pocket PC software jammed into a tiny little | | | | that I got. He seemed to think he knew just |
| screen that isn't even a touch screen - that just | | | | what I needed and kept showing me phones and |
| wouldn't satisfy my needs. I'm talking about the | | | | plans that I just wasn't interested in. |
| full blown, "why are you talking into your | | | | I had a different experience at the Cingular store. |
| calculator?" Pocket PC phones - the uber-geek, | | | | The sales rep showed me a map of the cell |
| pocket protector included kind of micro computer | | | | coverage around my home, he talked to me |
| powerhouse. After all, I'm married now and I'm | | | | about the plans that I had seen on the website |
| really not worried about public opinion or | | | | and when I mentioned to him that I had been |
| impressing anyone with my sleek, stylish, sexy | | | | looking at a Siemens SX66 Pocket PC phone on |
| new cell phone. | | | | Ebay he went into the back of the store and |
| I'm hoping to spend around $300.00. I figure I can | | | | came out with the last SX66 that they had. I |
| sell my iPAQ 2215 on eBAY for $200.00 and | | | | signed on to a 2 year deal with Cingular that night |
| $100.00 for a new phone seems like a pretty | | | | with a heck of a good deal on a Pocket PC phone |
| good deal. | | | | that had all the specifications that I had been |
| So, what I find is one heck of a price tag. Verizon | | | | looking for. |
| has the much talked about Treo 700. This is the | | | | And you know what? I can even talk on my |
| first Treo with the Pocket PC operating system - | | | | Siemens SX66 sitting in my living room. |
| Windows Mobile 5.0. This comes in at $500.00. | | | | |