HTC/T-Mobile/SX56 PPC Phone Edition in Canada

[Marcus]

OK so is there any easy way to get one of these in Canada without having to get an unlock code form T-Mobile?

Rogers had a press release on Feb 8, 2003 saying they would have them in a few weeks but still no sign and customer support doesn't seem to even know about them.

Any ideas?

Too bad HP decided not to continue with the iPAQ 5600 Phone edition....

Thanks, Mark

[Jason Dunn]

No, there's no easy way of getting one, short of going the eBay route to find an unlocked phone. Best to wait for the "official" release if you want support from Rogers.

[Birdman]

I was waiting and reading and waiting and reading and in the end I bought off someone I found on the PPCPassion boards. Very happy I took the plunge.
I got it unlocked here in Toronto and it was not a big deal.

[rubberdemon]

I'm in the same boat as Birdman (we had very similar experiences) and also bought one off someone on the PPC Passion Forum. I got it unlocked and got a Fido SIM and it was also no big deal. In fact the whole experience was almost as simple as getting one through a regular carrier would have been. I'm extremely happy with mine.

The only risk we take doing this is that there's no support if it breaks, but after a year you're usually in the same boat with a cellphone anyway. Also you can get one used online for about half of what Rogers will charge you for a new one. You can PM me if you want more info, or have a look on Pdaphonehome.com for a FAQ I wrote about doing this in Canada.

[Marcus]

Thanks for the info. I will check out the FAQ and contact you if I have any questions. Although I may just bite my nails a little longer and wait for the samsung i700.

Mark

[Birdman]

True, one major disadvantage of buying the unit from someone in the US and then getting it unlocked is no support, but this can be mitigated, if you are lucky enought to buy an XDA that is still under warranty and buy one from a helpful vendor.
I recently purchased my T-Mobile branded XDA from someone in the US. I got it unlocked through the help of someone in Toronto (more on that later) and after about 3 weeks of use, I had a major problem. After removing the headphone from the headphone jack, I was faced with the dreaded no sound from the external speaker problem. I was unfortunately only too well versed in this problem having sufferred the same issue with my ipaq 3650. I learnt that what happens is that some 'switch' or connection in the headphone jack still thinks the headphones are in so it does not activate the external speaker. All sounds can still be heard through the headphones, but nothing through the speaker.
The only way I got my ipaq fixed was by sending it back to Compaq for a warranty repair. When I bought my XDA, I made sure that the unit still had some time left under its 1 year T-Mobile warranty. I sent an email to the guy I bought it from and told him of the problem. He graciously agreed to contact T-Mobile who without question, agreed to swap it under warranty. While the whole procedure took about 2 weeks of back and forth shipping and cost me some additional shipping charges, I sent the unit back to the vendor, he sent it back to T-Mobile for the new replacement unit. He shipped me the new unit, and I am now back in business.

I spent lots of time initially trying to figure out how I could get whatever unit I ended up buying unlocked. I finally came across someone in my local PPCUsers group that knew someone that would unlock it so it worked out perfectly. But now that I was getting a replacement unit, I realized I would now need the new unit unlocked and I was wary about troubling this guy for another unlock code. I then had a brain revelation. I remember reading that T-Mobile will send you an unlock code for your phone if you are a subscriber in good standing for some period of time. I asked the vendor if he could send an email to T-Mobile asking them for the unlock code for the new XDA. He received the unit and sent off the IMEI code to T-Mobile that day. Within 24 hours they had sent him the unlock code, free of charge, which he then emailed to me. When the XDA showed up at my door, the first thing I did, after charging it, was unlocking it! Worked great.

So while it is true, we get no support (and this is particularly true with respect to any assistance you may need from your GSM/GPRS provider, I can't tell you how many times I heard from Rogers that they can't help me because I am using an 'unsupported device') but if the unit is still under manuf. warranty, it does take some of the sting away.

For a couple of hundred dollars, I would likely buy local for the benefit of a Canadian warranty and support. But in the case of a product that is simply not available in Canada (or, like the XDA, supposed to be available here, but who knows when), take the plunge.