Changing To A Pocket PC Before Your Carrier Contract Is Up?

[LouMessina]

I am currently under a year into a two-year contract with Cingular. I am using a Motorola RAZR V3, which I do not find adequate for my needs and I'm not pleased with its performance.

I would like to switch to a Windows-based quad-band Pocket PC. However, whenever I try to access the selection of phones on the Cingular site, I get a message that my contract is not up yet.

1) Are there a decent amount of bluetooth/quad-band pocket PCs to comfortably make a selection?

2) If so, are any capable of playing ample videos, such as TV downloads, on a good size screen (This is the item I have the least hope for);

3) Is it possible to purchase a new phone while still under contract?

4) Must the phone be purchased from my carrier, or can I purchase it from a retailer;

5) If I have to pay my way out of my Cingular contract (which I have no problem doing), can anyone recommend a carrier appropriate for a New York-based individual who travels internationally?

Thanks for your help.

:helpme:

Lou Messina
East Coast Muscle
http://EastCoastMuscle.com

[Sven Johannsen]

1) Are there a decent amount of bluetooth/quad-band pocket PCs to comfortably make a selection?
Kind of. There are a good number around, and more to come. My view is that many of the currently available models are just versions of the same few HTC units. If you are looking for a PPC Phone, and understand that means touch screen, the three decent offerings (IMHO) are the K-Jam and it's variants, the Palm Treo 700w, and HPs Phones. The Moto Q isn't on the list because it is a Smartphone, not a PPC.

2) If so, are any capable of playing ample videos, such as TV downloads, on a good size screen (This is the item I have the least hope for); Good sized screen is a personal thing. The K-Jam is decent sized for me, but not for real extended viewing. Recorded 30 min TV OK, 2 hr movie, not so fun. The ability to play videos is there in all of them. the ability to store the files depends on the memory you add. 1-2G flash cards are pretty cheap and 4G are available for some units. The biggest hindrance to PPC as a media player is battery life. If you are going to be watching movies on the transatlantic flight on the device that is going to be your phone and calendar when you get there, you might look into assorted auxiliary power options.

3) Is it possible to purchase a new phone while still under contract? This is America, you can buy anything you want;) The catch is you still have the contract, which means you are still obligated to pay Cingular. What they mean when they note your contract isn't up, is the typical every two year trade-up most carriers allow at minimal cost. More below.

4) Must the phone be purchased from my carrier, or can I purchase it from a retailer;With a GSM phone/contract, you can buy any GSM phone/PPC you want and even put your current SIM in it. The phones you buy at a carrier typically are SIM locked to that carrier. That means you (Cingular) and your friend with T-Mobile couldn't swap SIMs for a week to try each other's hardware. Either of you could put your SIM in my un-locked, unbranded, I-Mate JAM and try it for a week with your own number and own network. Locked phones can be unlocked and most of the time the carrier will even do it for you. So no, you do not have to buy from your carrier, but in the US most retailers are associated with carriers and won't sell without a contract with one of them.

5) If I have to pay my way out of my Cingular contract (which I have no problem doing), can anyone recommend a carrier appropriate for a New York-based individual who travels internationally?
Can't help too much there, but you already know you need a quad band phone. Make sure the 4 bands cover what interests you. There are 4 bands that work well US and Europe, and others that work well US and Middle East. Where do you normally go? I can say my US T-Mobile worked fine in Belguim, Netherlands, Germany...at $1 a minute. But you might have noticed T-Mobile does have some presence in Europe ;)

The advantage of an unlocked GSM phone though is you can pick up a pre-paid SIM when you get somewhere, and slap it in the phone for reasonable local call rates. A PPC with the ability to run SKYPE can also be used to save some money using VoIP when overseas, assuming you can find a hotspot.

Hope that helps. I'm sure it created more questions. Just ask. There is never a shortage of opinions here :wink:

[LouMessina]

I referred to a Pocket PC because my understanding is they have more features than a Smartphone, eg: writing Word documents. (Am I correct in that?) I got sick of my Motorola RAZR V3 which only makes calls, has a phone book, and a calendar. That's barely better than just using pay phones.

I wasn't aware there are more than four bands available. The reviews I've read in the New York Times and cNet generally have referred to phones as being tri-band, or if they're quad-band, they're also labeled as international phones. I generally travel throughout Europe.

Is there someplace you recommend I use as a starting point for research? I was going to use the Windows Mobile website, and pick a quad-band Pocket PC that overlaps with my carrier. Is that too simplistic? Is the difference between a Pocket PC and a Smartphone significant?

Are you saying I can tell Cingular I want a new phone, and there might just be a penaly charge? It would be my option to buy from them or a retailer? I was under the impression I was locked into the RAZR V3 until the contract expiration.

What's an "HTC unit?" I assume "K-Jam" is a cell phone manufacturer?

(The only thing I know for sure, is I don't want something like a big Blackberry. I don't know if I can walk around the streets looking like I was talking into a toast-r-oven!) However, I get the impression from your message that Pocket PCs are all like that?

Thanks again Sven.

Lou Messina
East Coast Muscle
http://EastCoastMuscle.com

[Nurhisham Hussein]

KJam is iMate's variant of the HTC Wizard - HTC is THE manufacturer for Windows Mobile devices. Even if it says Dell, or HP on the front, chances are it was made by HTC.

[Sven Johannsen]

You likely won't have a 'quad band' issue but note that there are more than 4 bands used around the world. Mostly when you hear about them it is 850, 900, 1800, 1900. My iMate Jasjar (aka HTC Universal) is 900, 1800, 1900, 2100. The loss of 850 I believe limits me in some older ATT areas. The phone brochure lists 3G (high speed data), but it does it on the 2100 band. I believe the implementations in the US are/will be at 1900. I need to move to Bahrain to get 3G. Not a big deal to me. It does fine on Cingular and T-Mobile for voice and has GPRS so I can get data. it also sports WiFi, so I can get high speed data, but not everywhere.

You can go to Cingular and buy a new phone, and put your current SIM in it. You might want to work this through customer service on the phone. It seems their stores aren't given as much flexibility. You might ask about adding a line on a family plan. It's cost you $10 a month more, but you'ld get a second number, and typically get the phone at the subsidized price.

Yes pocket pcs tend to be bigger, and there are some blackberries now that aren't to big. The biggest difference between PPCs and Smartphones, is the touch screen on PPCs. That also translates into fewer included applications for the SP, but not all that many. Biggest shortfall is the office document support. You can get stuff that reads them, but not yet stuff that edits them. I'd guess that a good number of PPC phone users get a BT headset fairly quickly to combat the brick at the ear issue.

For seeing what's out there http://www.pocketpcmag.com/ has a good overview. If you can get hold of the print copy at a Barnes and Noble, or Borders, they have a great roundup.

While some don't have a problem doing so, I have a real problem making recommendations. I have 5 assorted PPCphones/SPs. Everyone has it's strengths and weaknesses, and each would probably suit some individual better than the others. If you told me I only keep one, I would first argue with you, but if I had to I'd keep my K-Jam (Cingular 8125, T-Mobile MDA). It suits me best. I use the heck out of the PPC functions, and use the web capability which makes the bigger screen (than a smartphone) important. The full keyboard makes internet use much more convenient. I'm really not much of a phone user.

I guess if you think about having a PPC and a phone, which one would be in your hand most of the time and which one in your pocket. If the phone stays in your pocket, lean towards a PPC Phone Edition, if the phone is glued to your hand, consider a Smartphone.

P.S. I had a glance at the site you linked. If you look anything like that, you could hold a toaster oven up to your ear and no-one would notice. Even if they did, they darn sure wouldn't say anything. 8O