SMT 5600 tied to Cingular only?

[Dlogan]

There are 3 of us at work, all on the same shared plan with Cingular. I have the 5600, another has the MPx220, and the other is just a phone. The MPx220 must be replaced and he wants a 5600. We are not eligible for a free upgrade with Cingular and would have to pay a rediculously high price for a new 5600.

Questions:

Is there anywhere you can buy a 5600 at a decent price? The only thing I can find would require a new agreement.

Is Cingular the only carrier with the 5600?

I would not have a problem moving to another carrier if I could stay with the same phone.

[Mike Temporale]

You can always grab a 5600 off ebay - the price should be a little nicer from there. Also, the i-mate SP3 is the same device as the 5600 but unlocked and rebranded as i-mate.

However, before you go out and buy anything, you should contact Cingular. A large number of people have reported that Cingular swapped out their MPx220 for a 5600 after complaints about problems with the Moto device. Just do a search of these forums and I'm sure you'll find a ton of posts about it.

[Dlogan]

I beleive I was one of the first ones (about 4 or 5 months ago) to post that Cingular swapped my malfunctioning MPx220 for a 5600. That's how I ended up with one and I love it. I recently tried the same thing for my co-worker, but Cingular says no way. They are simply swapping 220's for 200's (crap for crap).

Which carrier is the i-mate SP3 with? If it's non-Cingular then I could make the switch without any hassles.

[Mike Temporale]

i-mate isn't with any carriers. They just sell the phones, unlocked. You can find i-mate stuff on Expansys.

[Dlogan]

All this time I've been seeing folks refer to a phone as "unlocked" and never knew what they were talking about. So, if I buy an I-mate, how do I get service? Simply slap in a sim card from any old carrier?

[Sven Johannsen]

All this time I've been seeing folks refer to a phone as "unlocked" and never knew what they were talking about. So, if I buy an I-mate, how do I get service? Simply slap in a sim card from any old carrier?

Exactly. And yes the carriers will sell you a SIM if you walk in with a phone to put it in, or just use the one you have.

[sigmamason]

Make sure that the SP3 has 850 and 1900 mhz or you might experience a slight drop in coverage.
Best bet is to grab a 5600 off ebay that is for Cingular. Some of the ones that are being sold on ebay are the ATT branded version. You can get it unlocked for less than $50, do a google search for unlocking a 5600.

[ARW]

All this time I've been seeing folks refer to a phone as "unlocked" and never knew what they were talking about. So, if I buy an I-mate, how do I get service? Simply slap in a sim card from any old carrier?

Exactly. And yes the carriers will sell you a SIM if you walk in with a phone to put it in, or just use the one you have.

So if I walk into Cingular with a compatible phone and want just service and a SIM, but no phone, will the note my account so that I'm eligible for a subsidized phone six months from now, when perhaps something newer and or more interesting comes out? Or do I lose the option for a subsidized phone?

Thanks

[Sven Johannsen]

So if I walk into Cingular with a compatible phone and want just service and a SIM, but no phone, will the note my account so that I'm eligible for a subsidized phone six months from now, when perhaps something newer and or more interesting comes out? Or do I lose the option for a subsidized phone?

Thanks

Generally you won't need to do a contract if you just want the service. The contract is what makes up for the phone subsidy. In six months, they'll normally be happy to provide you a phone, with a 2 yr contract. If they give you are hard time, say fine, cancel my service, I'm going with T-Mobile.

[ARW]

If I get the service without a contract to I lose out on something? I think with Vzw if you go without a contract you lose things like unlimited nights and weekends. Going to be switching to Cingular very soon so interested in how this would work out.

[Sven Johannsen]

If I get the service without a contract to I lose out on something? I think with Vzw if you go without a contract you lose things like unlimited nights and weekends. Going to be switching to Cingular very soon so interested in how this would work out.

Go talk to the Cingular folks. I'm not a slaseman for any service. They are better equipped to answer what they normally do, and what they can do. They have some leeway, and they are interested in new customers.