US Availability? Rumors? Speculation?

[Jeff_Baker]

Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts/speculation/rumors on when Smartphones will be available in the US and by which carriers?

[Jason Dunn]

I've heard rumours of this fall, if that's vague enough for you. :wink:

[robcorn]

Ok, where's the Samsung I-600 that was approved for Verizon way back in August, 2002? Jason, surely with all of your contacts you should be able to give us a little info, even if you are under ND.... 8)

[mghannigan]

It's almost impossible to find any info on the I600 online. The most recent sighting seems to have been at TechEd.

An even better (or worse, depending on your perspective) is when will CDMA SmartPhones come out? There was a 6 month lag or so before Verizon and Sprint got PPC2002 Phone Ed. out after T-Mobile and AT&T.

[rbrome]

The SCH-i600 is on Verizon's roadmap. I suspect part of the delay may be in adding support for their BREW-based application download and billing infrastructure (like they did for Palm OS apps on the Kyocera 7135).

The Tanager is on AT&T's roadmap.

T-Mobile and Sprint are distinct possibilities, although nothing has surfaced yet that I would call firm.

Cingular might be a possibility only because they have been very aggressive on new handsets lately. If they did decide to offer one, they would do it quickly, although of course that would be at the expense of extensive testing and infrastructure support.

In general, I get the distinct feeling that a lot of players in the industry (carriers and manufacturers alike) are waiting on the 2003 version. It makes sense, because the big thing about smartphones in general is the applications. The developer community is crucial to the success of the platform and the phones themselves. All of these carriers will have their own developer programs to support these devices. There's no point in building that up now when .NET CF for Smartphones is right around the corner...

[thetruth]

I'm eager to see the i600 hit the streets of CDMA. However, I've always wondered if Verizon is reluctant because of the compact .NET Frameworks. Will smartphones and the easy of .NET development kill the GetItNow network? I suppose my real question is, where does .NET and Smartphone technology fit into Verizon's GIN network? I can write a .NET games/app, port it to my phone, and not pay Verizon a penny. I would understand their reluctance to release a Smartphone if this is indeed the case(that is, their is no $ in it for them at the application level). Enbracing Smartphones will be important for Verizon, but I wonder if they will suck all the $ they can out of GetItNow before doing so. Could this be the reason for a delay? Let me know if I'm missing the boat here....

-Brent

[medic119]

All I want to know is WHEN!!! I have been waiting for 3 years for them to hit the US!!

[ARW]

I'm eager to see the i600 hit the streets of CDMA. However, I've always wondered if Verizon is relucant because of....

-Brent

Good questions/points. I would take the position that GIN is for low end phones, and that perhaps Verizon is interested in adding it to higher end phones, but that it isn't really competing with anything that a WinCE developer would create. After all, VZW has been selling Kyocera Palm phones, the Thera and now the i700, which would compare to the i600 in terms of software development/sales.

Hopefully someday VZW and the rest of the wireless carriers will come to the conclusion that they are just the pipe, more along the lines of PCs. The GSM providers seem to be a step closer to this, so once they've built up their networks in NA then VZW will have to change or suffer the consequences.

[rbrome]

I'm eager to see the i600 hit the streets of CDMA. However, I've always wondered if Verizon is reluctant because of the compact .NET Frameworks. Will smartphones and the easy of .NET development kill the GetItNow network? I suppose my real question is, where does .NET and Smartphone technology fit into Verizon's GIN network? I can write a .NET games/app, port it to my phone, and not pay Verizon a penny. I would understand their reluctance to release a Smartphone if this is indeed the case(that is, their is no $ in it for them at the application level). Enbracing Smartphones will be important for Verizon, but I wonder if they will suck all the $ they can out of GetItNow before doing so. Could this be the reason for a delay? Let me know if I'm missing the boat here....

-Brent

One of the key "features" Microsoft built into the OS from day one is the carrier option for an "application lock". It can prevent you from installing your own apps - you could only install (digitally signed) apps that you buy and download from Verizon. Orange did this when they launched the SPV. Of course then people figured out how to crack the lock, but presumably Verizon would offer the updated version that is not vulnerable to that crack.

Another thing: BREW (the technology behind Get It Now) is more than just an API / type of application like .NET CF. Part of it is also a whole back-end infrastructure for downloading and billing ANY type of application or content. Verizon already adapted it for Palm OS applications on the Kyocera 7135, and they could just as easily adapt it for Smartphone applications, including .NET CF, and other types of content such as themes. Combined with Microsoft's app-locking technology, you could be required to buy all apps and content from Verizon, just like Verizon's existing Get It Now (BREW) phones.

I'm not saying this is definitely how Verizon is planning to do it, but given their history, I'd say there's a good chance it will be something along those lines.

[mcsouth]

whoa, whoa, whoa...........are you saying that if I wait to buy a smartphone from T-Mobile, IF they ever finally offer one, that I won't be able to install the apps that I want? If this is the case, then that is definitely a BIG negative for me to purchase a phone through a local vendor - I'd rather purchase one from abroad, assuming that it wouldnt have the same limitation.......or would it? What is the point of a smartphone if you can't put the apps on it that YOU want, and not what Verizon or some other carrier decides they are willing to offer?

Am I totally missing something here?........ :?

[Myke]

the orange spv & spvx are app locked, the smart amazing phone (spvx) from the philipenes is app unlocked. I'm guesing if more than one provider in the US comes out with a smartphone (AT&T and T-Mobile), then they will compete and both app unlock their units.

In any case, if the phone is app locked, you can easily app unlock it with a procedure. I live in california, ive had the Orange SPV (from the UK) and the SMART SPVX (from the Philipenes)

Best phone ive ever seen.

[Spongebob]

Cingular was going to use a smart phone, but apparently there was something wrong with the software so they decided not to. NOw they will be going with the Symbian Smart phone I believe. That isnt to say they arent going to use a MS product at some time.
I wouldnt mind seeing one and seeing if it is worth purchasing, or if it will fit my needs. Price will be a big deal for me as well.
I know carriers like to lock phones to their service. This discourages folks from hopping from carrier to carrier. I always believe there is someone that can brake whatever code they put on there. The code breakers or "windtalkers", :lol: are always around, so the carriers will always have theirs updated to meet the continued challenge;)

[mcsouth]

I was in my local T-Mobile store yesterday, since the SIM card in my Nokia decided to die, and I got talking to some of the folks there about smartphones, etc.

Okay, so one guy had HEARD of the MS smartphone/Orange SPV - everyone else looked at me like I was a freak! When I asked when T-Mobile might actually offer such a thing, the response was basically a "no word from head office, nothing on the horizon" thing. The one guy that had heard of the MS smartphone actually was encouraging me to buy one from overseas, because he didn't figure we would see T-Mobile offer one anytime soon.

Of course, the O2 phone was on display, but there was nothing about Windows Mobile 2003, and NOBODY had heard about it. No one knew anything about an updated version of the O2 either, so bottom line, it doesn't look like I'll be getting my latest techno-fix from T-Mobile. Of course, these were just the local salespersons - who knows what corporate is planning...........

[trachy]

I hope someone gets their act together soon, becuase I'm really close to jumping ship to the Kyocera.

[ARW]

I hope someone gets their act together soon, becuase I'm really close to jumping ship to the Kyocera.

I'm close as well. I keep trying to be patient, but every arrival date that gets posted comes and goes and now the most reputable voices are claiming end of the year. If I do go with the 7135 it will be at least 2 years before my next opportunity for a new phone. I suppose in that time maybe Microsoft and Verizon will be able to come up with something, though I'm not confident given the glacial pace they're setting getting the i600 out.

To be fair, Microsoft is now a large slow moving fully matured company and as such probably isn't capable of the speed with which they could operate at 10 years ago. And that, in conjunction with Verizon's reputation as the most lethargic handset deployer should explain why we're still waiting. Doesn't mean I like it however.

Perhaps Microsoft needs to spin off their mobile division just as 3Com did with Palm.