Making the switch...

[bmstrong]

New user migrating from HoFo. I've got on my person, as I type, a Nokia 6600, iPod 20 GB & Nano. I'm month to month on T-mobile but I'm not really tied to it, so Cingular is an option. I've about had it with the multiple device thing.

The Jam looks very attractive, scans the 2003 SE OS. Is it worth the jump into it when it's dead?

What would you recommend for someone who wants to merge everything into one device?

Thanks,

Brian

[GSmith]

With a CF Flash card, you can get 4GB for about US$200-US$250. SD Cards only go up to 2G (for about US$140). Microdrives (which go into a CF slot) are a little cheaper and will soon get to 8GB-10GB.

You won't be able to replace your iPOD 20GB, but you MAY be able to replace your iPod nano (duplicating functionality, not size).

You can get a Windows Mobile Phone Edition, but I don't think one exists (Smartphone or Pocket PC) that takes a CF card, so if you want a single device you are stuck with a current maximum of 2G cards.

Which device and cellulcar network you choose will depend on your data requirements and what you want to do. You'll be able to do a lot more with a Windows Mobile device rather than a Nokia 6600, but you haven't said what you *want* to do, so it's not clear whether the price tag is worth it. If you just want a media player and PIM functionality, get an Audiovox 5600 (small older Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition). It takes (difficult to exchange) miniSD cards that top out at 1GB (for about US$70).

If you want the latest gadgetry with GPS, WM5, integrated thumbboard, UTMS, SDIO slot, you may want to get the HTC Universal (branded with various other names depending on the carrier). To get a CF slot (which allows you more memory than an SD) you'll need to get a Windows Mobile Pocket PC (which you can use with your Nokia 6600 bluetooth and GPRS connection). But in that case, you haven't really reduced it to one device.

It all depends on what you want to do. You'll be able to replace the functionality of your 6600, and you can get close to the nano in memory capacity (1GB miniSD Card on some Smartphone devices; 2GB SD card on other devices; or 4GB CF card on dedicated Pocket PC devices) but you won't be able to replace your iPod's 20GB of memory nor will you (I think) beat the size of the nano+6600 and still get 4GB of memory with any current Windows Mobile device.

A lot random advice, but maybe it's useful to get you started thinking about this device space.