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| terribly out of date mobile phone - an old | | | | |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