Need recs - I want new pocket PC with phone

[emtopp]

Hi All -

I'm hoping someone can help me brainstorm...I have an HP iPaq Pocket PC from 3 years ago that is finally dying...I love it and want to use this as an excuse to get a new one :wink:

BUT now I would want it to double as my cell phone, of course. But here's how little I know - I have just learned today that Smartphones are not the same thing as Pocket PCs! Duh. I didn't know that they have a different operating system.

So I'm looking for a recommendation. Does what I'm looking for even exist yet? I want a Pocket PC with cell phone capabilities.

Requirements:
1. It should look more like a phone that a Pocket PC with a card sticking out of the top (hey, I'm a girl)
2. The phone must be tri-band (American living in Germany)
3. And it must accept SIM cards (be a GSM phone)

Does this exist in 2004? Or won't that happen until 2005?

Thanks for any thoughts - Emily

[rhmorrison]

The phone must be tri-band (American living in Germany)
WOW... and I thought I was the ONLY one!

[Janak Parekh]

So I'm looking for a recommendation. Does what I'm looking for even exist yet? I want a Pocket PC with cell phone capabilities.
Yes - you sound like you're looking for a Pocket PC Phone. They look like crosses between phones and PDAs. There's sometimes an antenna sticking out, but not always. Full Pocket PC OS, with phone capabilities integrated.

The XDA II sounds perfect for you, although it's not cheap in the US. T-Mobile Germany sells the MDA II, which is the same thing with a slightly different styling, for a much cheaper price. See this page (http://www.t-mobile.de/shop/handy/1,4855,2963-_1441-0-,00.html) -- they're selling it for 499 Euro, presumably with a contract?

--janak

[Jon Westfall]

I'd agree with Janak and recommend the MDA II - it can do everything you need, but does look a bit more like a pocket pc than a phone. The original MDA had a antenna (that not many liked) but it did look slightly more like a phone. Still, for features, pay more and enjoy the MDA II.

Jon.

[emtopp]

Great guys, thanks! I can even buy one without a SIMlock on eBay Germany for 649EUR (scary!). But now I know what I'm looking for :-)

Has anyone actually used one of these things? My only close experience s with my husband's old Treo (the flip up one) and the reception/sound is horrible here and in the US. He wants to give it to me but I hate it!

Bob - you are lucky to live in the South of Germany where there are actual Americans, quit whining. I live in the North where we're as scarce as...well stuff (it's late here, I'm tired)

Who else can recommend something?

Thanks, Em

[Janak Parekh]

Has anyone actually used one of these things? My only close experience s with my husband's old Treo (the flip up one) and the reception/sound is horrible here and in the US. He wants to give it to me but I hate it!
I haven't had experience with the new one (even more expensive here unlocked), but all the reports I've read have been extremely positive (good reception, good sound quality, etc.) As for the Treo, how do you know it's triband? I thought most of them were dual-band at best...

--janak

[emtopp]

Janak -

I guess I don't know for sure it was a tri-band, but I think I assumed this because it worked both in the U.S. and here in Germany? Don't dual-band ones normally only work either here OR there?

Em

[Janak Parekh]

I guess I don't know for sure it was a tri-band, but I think I assumed this because it worked both in the U.S. and here in Germany? Don't dual-band ones normally only work either here OR there?
Well, there are three GSM Treos: the 180, 270, and 600. The 180 was B&W and 900/1900; the 270 was color and also 900/1900; and the 600 is color and is quadband (800/900/1800/1900). I presume you're talking about either the 180 or the 270. They work in both the US and Germany because they support one of the two bands of each country. However, you don't get optimal performance.

I'm just saying this because I thought you didn't want one, and perhaps that would be an "excuse". :razzing:

--janak

[emtopp]

Well that IS something - I didn't know that tri-band was better than dual band for performance reasons, thanks! 8)

[Janak Parekh]

Well that IS something - I didn't know that tri-band was better than dual band for performance reasons, thanks! 8)
You're welcome.

The irony is, the XDA II isn't the optimal US GSM phone. If you have T-Mobile in the US, it's OK -- T-Mobile uses only 1900. But for Cingular, AT&T, etc. having a phone with an 800 band will ultimately prove to be very useful. But right now, it's the best choice out there amongst Pocket PC Phones. 8)

--janak

[emtopp]

That's a whole 'nother topic I'm re-researching (having last done so in April of last year when I moved to Germany) - the issue of a prepaid SIM card I can use when I'm in the U.S. I don't plan to move back to the U.S. for about 5 more years and I'm sure by then I can get another new phone :twisted:

But currently I visit for two weeks every 3 months or so. And the last I looked, there were no U.S. carriers who offered a prepaid card that didn't expire every 90 days or so, thus cancelling your phone number (you'd have to re-subscribe and get a new one each time).

So right now in the U.S. I use a Trac Phone that has a one-year contract with regional coverage only and no SIM card. How frustrating! But at least I have a U.S. phone number! :D

[Janak Parekh]

Yes -- prepaid SIMs are horribly broken here. Broken broken broken. You'd think the US carriers would want "free money", right? :|

--janak

[emtopp]

Idiots. All of them. :roll:

Question - Do you think Microsoft Smartphones will ever come with a touchscreen and stylus? I love those little phones and I really don't mind the tiny screen, but I can't deal with the button menu thing. I'm hoping that is the next thing to come and I can just wait it out...

The funniest thing is that I'm a Mac User at heart and my husband wants to replace my Dell laptop with an iBook (just for a challenge for him, he knows nothing about Macs), but I viciously rejected this wonderful idea because I'm addicted to my iPaq and don't want to deal with the intermediary software for syncing between the two platforms! :twisted:

Won't even give it up for a Palm which is Mac-compatible - sick!

[Janak Parekh]

Question - Do you think Microsoft Smartphones will ever come with a touchscreen and stylus?
Certainly not for the foreseeable future. This was a specific design decision that they made for "average" people.

The funniest thing is that I'm a Mac User at heart and my husband wants to replace my Dell laptop with an iBook (just for a challenge for him, he knows nothing about Macs), but I viciously rejected this wonderful idea because I'm addicted to my iPaq and don't want to deal with the intermediary software for syncing between the two platforms! :twisted:
It's not that bad. There's Missing Sync (http://www.markspace.com/pocketpc.html) that is supposed to work very well.

--janak

[emtopp]

Hmmmmmmm...verrrrrrrrrrry interesting.

This is the one that I found: http://www.pocketmac.net/

[Janak Parekh]

Right. Those are the two. Missing Sync was better for the while, but PocketMac was recently updated.

--janak

[csterns]

Emtopp - I just acquired a MDA II and I LOVE IT. I have MS voice command and I am having a ball. Just press one button and tell who to call and what location (home, work or mobile) and it does the rest. I even have it programed to call my pager, interrupt the call, punch in my access code and play the first message all with a push of a button and one command.

Here's a great forum http://www.pocketpcpassion.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=47

if you should have a questions. Like here they are very helpful and informative. Happy phoning.

[emtopp]

Excellent - thanks Chris!! Who is your carrier in the U.S., if I can ask?

Emily