Confused and Bitter

[ethancaine]

Okay, so I got a question...

What in the world is going on with all this wireless crap?!?! Seriously, I understand 802.xx, I got the GPS stuff (geocachers unite!), and I'm not even close to lost on all the latest 500 different ways to store 20Gb of data a plastic chip the size of a grain of rice that will fit into every appliance I've ever owned...

But seriously, what's with all these different ways of downloading practically worthless information onto my device? And email that delivers itself to my phone... what the heck is that? Is there anyone out there that can give me a link to a site that will explain all this to me?

Truth be told, I'm just confused and bitter; I'm eight to twelve months from reinvesting into the whole telephone/pda process. I want a basic cell phone with bluetooth and maybe that instant email junk (but I don't need a full pda as I have my Axim). My wife doesn't care about bluetooth, but she does like the idea of the instant email and loves her camera phone and would like to be able to sync her calendar with our Outlook file.

From all that I've read and at least partially understood, every company has a different protocol, different features, and different plans on pricing. Heck, some merged companies are having troubles keeping with their partners designs... How is it possible to comparison shop when all the companies are trying their hardest to make the process as apples and oranges as possible?

What happened to the days when you walked up to a booth in the mall, signed a forever-long contract, and walked away with the same crappy service and non-existant options everyone else had?

[surur]

WM 5.0 is going to provide the answer to many of your problems. It basically turns the phone company into just another data pipe provider, like your DSL or cable provider, and you will be able to get your push e-mail straight from the company exchange server.

Most of the incompatibility problems are caused by phone companies trying to make money by hook or by crook, using lock-ins and unnecessary walled gardens. Things will become much simplified soon.

Surur

[Paragon]

What happened to the days when you walked up to a booth in the mall, signed a forever-long contract, and walked away with the same crappy service and non-existant options everyone else had?

To my knowledge that service is still very much alive and well. :devilboy:

Dave

[ADBrown]

The simplest explanation that I can muster for cellular data:

T-Mobile - GSM for voice, GPRS for data, speeds up to 3.7 KBytes/second, $20 a month for unlimited use

Cingular - GSM for voice, GPRS and EDGE for data, speeds up to 20 KBytes/second if you have an EDGE capable phone. $20 a month for unlimited data on a phone (and a PocketPC or laptop tethered by Bluetooth)

Verizon - CDMA for voice, 1xRTT for data, speeds up to 12 KBytes/second, $80 a month for unlimited use, or you can use your minutes. Only one Bluetooth phone available, and nor a very good one.

Sprint - CDMA for voice, 1xRTT for data, speeds up to 15 KBytes/second, $15 a month for unlimited use on a phone, no Bluetooth phones available

My advice would be to go with T-Mobile or Cingular. The CDMA providers are way too restrictive, and have almost no Bluetooth options. Either of the GSM providers will have plenty of Bluetooth phones for you to choose from.

For choosing actual phones, try out this site:

http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/finder.php

[ethancaine]

My advice would be to go with T-Mobile or Cingular. The CDMA providers are way too restrictive, and have almost no Bluetooth options. Either of the GSM providers will have plenty of Bluetooth phones for you to choose from.

For choosing actual phones, try out this site:

http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/finder.php

That's awesome... thank you so much for the link... I can check phones and (holy cow) click the name of any options or technologies I am unfamiliar with and get an explanation! How I didn't find this before is beyond me.

Again, my wife and I thank you.

[Janak Parekh]

Phone Scoop is a great site. :D

One tip: the main criterion you need to keep in mind is that you should go with a carrier that has good coverage in your area. The best featureset is useless if your phone doesn't get coverage, and all carriers have their good and bad spots.

--janak

[ADBrown]

Here's a detailed map of Cingular's coverage of the islands:

http://onlinestore1.cingular.com/images/Maps/Western/REG_GSM_HI.gif

You can find T-Mobile's coverage map (requires Flash) here:

http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/national_popup.asp