Why can't Sprint get phones like this?

[rkmeister]

Here is a new phone from T-Mobile that does everything I'm looking for in a phone, but is currently only made for T-Mobile. Sprint reps have no idea when a similar product will be available.

New HP iPac PDA with wireless, bluetooth, camera, SD slot . . . . (http://www.t-mobile.com/products/images.asp?phoneid=228503&class=pda)

[mcurtiss1970]

the smartarse in me will say because it's GSM :hee:

the realist in me will say "someday soon"

[Touchless21]

I have to agree that i would get that phone if it was available for Sprint. It has built in Wi-Fi which makes me want it hands down. Forget Bluetooth. I'm around Wireless networks so much that Wi-Fi capability would come in handy. Not only that but its not the size of a football. It's actually smaller than the treo600 barely which is the other thing that would make me buy it.

[SpineDoc]

Because you can't scratch the finish off with your fingernail! Otherwise why would Sprint want it?

[morningstar1844]

That is kinda cool phone; I played around with it the night while taking a bath. The wifi is a ok. I did not try the the bluetooth. Returned the phone because they do not have service in Pecos, TX and they will not allow their sim card to roam on the Cingular network. So I didn't try the phone out too much. I could use the phone a mile from my house. But the pocket pc operating system is more difficult than Palm's I have a lot of Palms (now the Treo and I have decided to buy the new Treo 650 for Cingular and proably the 650 for my Sprint account. They really did their homework on that phone with the exception of wifi.

I have to agree that i would get that phone if it was available for Sprint. It has built in Wi-Fi which makes me want it hands down. Forget Bluetooth. I'm around Wireless networks so much that Wi-Fi capability would come in handy. Not only that but its not the size of a football. It's actually smaller than the treo600 barely which is the other thing that would make me buy it.

[qbc]

Here is a new phone from T-Mobile that does everything I'm looking for in a phone, but is currently only made for T-Mobile. Sprint reps have no idea when a similar product will be available.

New HP iPac PDA with wireless, bluetooth, camera, SD slot . . . . (http://www.t-mobile.com/products/images.asp?phoneid=228503&class=pda)


They do it's called the 2032 but it's a little bit bigger.

[dstrauss]

....Not only that but its not the size of a football. It's actually smaller than the treo600 barely which is the other thing that would make me buy it.

Not so. It's substantially longer and wider (about same thickness). Not dissing it (very interesting design) but I just can't see myself holding it up to my ear in public (I was embarrased by the old Treo 300 for the same reason). The Treo 600 at least is acceptable in that regard. ;)

[gameboy213]

Yeah I was really looking forward to this device..... but it is bigger than the 600 I think.... I don't like Palm but that pda/phone is much better or will be with the 650. Now the Daxian is a whole different story though!

[Touchless21]

Not so. It's substantially longer and wider (about same thickness). Not dissing it (very interesting design) but I just can't see myself holding it up to my ear in public (I was embarrased by the old Treo 300 for the same reason). The Treo 600 at least is acceptable in that regard. ;)

If you go by the volume, its just as small, but overall we're both right, you more than me.

[Sprint4Now]

It would have been really cool if they would have taken a page from Danger with their sidekick and made it so the keyboard was attached and just rotated from a position above the screen to the active position. It would also have provided partial screen protection.

[d2tw4all]

The G1000 is a direct comparison to this phone, though it's bigger of course because the keyboard isn't detachable. I just talked my brother into buying the HP unit and played with it, it's a nice unit but kinda slow, the proc is less than 200 mhz and isn't an Intel PXA, it's designed for battery life instead of performance. The wifi and bluetooth work well enough but I don't really care about Bluetooth and my G1000 works just fine with a Socket Wifi SDIO card. The G1000 has been out for well over a year and has better performance than the HP device and many of it's features, it shows how ahead of the game Sprint was. Just wait for the Daxian to come out either this month or next on Sprint, it's not much bigger than that HP unit but has an integrated keyboard that is revealed by sliding up the screen, plus it's got the more powerful processor...
Tom

[d2tw4all]

It would have been really cool if they would have taken a page from Danger with their sidekick and made it so the keyboard was attached and just rotated from a position above the screen to the active position. It would also have provided partial screen protection.

The new Daxian unit is very similar, the screen slides UP to reveal the keyboard!
Tom

[Cisco Jim]

Not so. It's substantially longer and wider (about same thickness). Not dissing it (very interesting design) but I just can't see myself holding it up to my ear in public (I was embarrased by the old Treo 300 for the same reason). The Treo 600 at least is acceptable in that regard. ;)

If its got bluetooth - why would you hold it to your ear at all ?

Jim

[dstrauss]

If its got bluetooth - why would you hold it to your ear at all ?

Jim

Well, I can't see myself carrying (much less wearing) the bluetooth headphone at all times. I just don't look good as the communications officer on Star Trek. :hee:

[dbett]

I had a chance to use this phone as a loaner from T-Mobile who is trying to sell us a business plan.

I admit it is pretty cool. The Wi-Fi connection is great.

But only as long as you are connecting to an open access point. It was very flaky with any encryption - especially with Shared (versus Open) network authentication. Now I had it before it was even released, so maybe new drivers will be released, but as is, the Wi-Fi was very hit or miss.

But regardless, it sucks as a phone - unless you are using it with a headset. It is uncomfortable to hold and talk on and the screen automatically gets oily from (at least my) face. And, unless you keep the keyboard thingy attached (which makes it huge), there is no number pad so you have to use the on screen dial pad.

The camera is ok in bright light. In normal indoor conditions, the pictures are pretty grainy and dark.

Finally, the wireless internet access was close to useless. It may be that the GSM network in Baltimore is poor, but it would take forever to load anything even when it was showing ok to good signal strength.

I am much happier with my new Samsung i500.

[Xmeromotu]

The problem is that T-Mobile has Catherine Zeta-Jones instead of a good network.

[wxboss]

The problem is that T-Mobile has Catherine Zeta-Jones instead of a good network.

If I had a choice, I'd pick Catherine any day ;)

[mcurtiss1970]

Well, I can't see myself carrying (much less wearing) the bluetooth headphone at all times. I just don't look good as the communications officer on Star Trek. :hee:

this one looks relatively normal :hee:

http://www.expansys-usa.com/product.asp?code=108421

[chillywilly]

Thank, dbett for your post on the HP GSM phone from T-Mobile.

It sounds like a great Pocket PC but the phone needs work.

I'm happy waiting for other phones at this time. For now, I limp my LG 5350 along.

[dbett]

Well I just played with the new T-Mobile exclusive Blackberry 7100t. (http://www.getmoreblackberry.com/?slot=1&loc=b6hm&name=7100t_ComingSoon&t=5&WT.mc_n=7100T_Prereg_Bus6to99&WT.mc_t=OnsiteAd) Damn, those T-Mobile salesfolks are pushy. ;)

Great form factor. Other than the unprotected screen, I liked it. Seems pretty usable as a phone.

Didn't have a chance to play with the keyboard, but it looked promising - QWERTY style but with each button serving two letters. Would take some getting used to, but may be pretty quick once you get used to it.

Still has the old styl Blackberry scroll wheel and back button.

Anyway, as I was half listening to the T-Mobile sales rep give her spiel, I fired up the browser and tried to load up the CNN site that was listed on the bookmark page. GOD IT WAS SLOW. And that was with full signal strength.

Hey but at least it connected eventually (which the HP I previously played with usually didn't).

But still, GSM is close to useless.

I'll take a CDMA network any day.

[chillywilly]

But still, GSM is close to useless.

I'll take a CDMA network any day.
Have to agree with you here. The last GSM phone I played with was via T-Mobile and useless. I'd take Verizon over T-Mobile. Maybe it's because I still have a bad taste for VoiceStream and their crappy service over the years in various parts of the west (Phoenix didn't have any for 2 years back in the late 90's).

I'm holding out for one of 3 phones: the i600, the i550 and the Treo 650.

[dstrauss]

this one looks relatively normal :hee:

http://www.expansys-usa.com/product.asp?code=108421

Beam me up Scottie! :hee:

[dbett]

Have to agree with you here. The last GSM phone I played with was via T-Mobile and useless. I'd take Verizon over T-Mobile. Maybe it's because I still have a bad taste for VoiceStream and their crappy service over the years in various parts of the west (Phoenix didn't have any for 2 years back in the late 90's).

I'm holding out for one of 3 phones: the i600, the i550 and the Treo 650.

The other thing that Verizon has going for them is the new broadband network they have released in Washington, Vegas and San Diego. It is being officially expanded this month to 12 more cities (the sales guy said he couldn't tell me where). But, he showed me that one is Baltimore - by firing up his laptop. It's up and running on a trial basis right now in Baltimore. And it is amazingly fast.

Pretty sure work is going to go with Verizon (that's my recommendation) and we will then buy about 8 high speed pc data cards to use as loaners for people who are traveling and to have as backups in the office if (when) our T1 line is down. Those data cards are nice since they are backward compatible with the regular CDMA network - so they work all over, albeit at the slower speed.

[chillywilly]

I had heard about the Verizon broadband network.... ads on some web sites i've visited lately. It looks cool and I like the concept.

Wonder if the EV network that Sprint is building will do something similar. Haven't read much about it.

[mcurtiss1970]

Have to agree with you here. The last GSM phone I played with was via T-Mobile and useless. I'd take Verizon over T-Mobile. Maybe it's because I still have a bad taste for VoiceStream and their crappy service over the years in various parts of the west (Phoenix didn't have any for 2 years back in the late 90's).

I'm holding out for one of 3 phones: the i600, the i550 and the Treo 650.

as far as i know, TMobile is like the Sprint network in that its only one one channel (1900) and thus has very bad building penetration. It's also a lot smaller in coverage area.

Cingular uses both 850 and 1900 so has much more coverage and better bulding penetration.

so GSM isn't all that bad, and definitely not useless. just gotta pick the right flavor.

[dbett]

as far as i know, TMobile is like the Sprint network in that its only one one channel (1900) and thus has very bad building penetration. It's also a lot smaller in coverage area.

Cingular uses both 850 and 1900 so has much more coverage and better bulding penetration.

so GSM isn't all that bad, and definitely not useless. just gotta pick the right flavor.

Well the experience in my building is that the Sprint signal reaches into the interior bathroom (hey, it's easier carrying in the i500 than a newspaper :D ). The T-Mobile signal didn't even come close.

And even putting aside penetration issues, CDMA has an pretty significant speed advantage over GSM.

Not to mention the ability of CDMA phones to maintain multiple tower connections at one time - thereby avoiding total signal drops when you lose a single tower connection. T-Mobile's GSM phones only connect to a single tower at a time. This is based on the Verizon tech's explanation - so take it for what it's worth.

[mcurtiss1970]

Well the experience in my building is that the Sprint signal reaches into the interior bathroom (hey, it's easier carrying in the i500 than a newspaper :D ). The T-Mobile signal didn't even come close.

And even putting aside penetration issues, CDMA has an pretty significant speed advantage over GSM.

Not to mention the ability of CDMA phones to maintain multiple tower connections at one time - thereby avoiding total signal drops when you lose a single tower connection. T-Mobile's GSM phones only connect to a single tower at a time. This is based on the Verizon tech's explanation - so take it for what it's worth.


yeah, my main point was that TMobile in the US, at this moment, is probably not the best case to show the superiority of CDMA over GSM.

[chillywilly]

so GSM isn't all that bad, and definitely not useless. just gotta pick the right flavor.
Yeah, it's only useless when there is NO coverage, which is what I expereicned some years ago in Phoenix.

Multiple bands helps coverage a lot. Probably why Verizon has better coverage in some areas than others... but you pay for it.

[d2tw4all]

The new broadband technology is EVDO and BOTH Sprint and Verizon are in the process of upgrading their towers to it, but Verizon is in the lead at this point. That said, Sprint is actively upgrading to EVDO so it's not a question of if but instead when the high speed wireless will come online. Also, none of the current handsets will support the new technology, I believe including the ones just set to be released. I saw somewhere that the Daxian unit MAY have EVDO support or at least be upgraded to support it, so one more reason to get that unit, other than that I know of no other handsets that will support the new high speed technology...
Tom

[chillywilly]

The new broadband technology is EVDO and BOTH Sprint and Verizon are in the process of upgrading their towers to it, but Verizon is in the lead at this point.

Thanks for the info on the EVDO network. Sounds like another reason to keep upgrading phones. I'm sure it will be good once it's in place, but not really excited about another phone upgrade.

Still eyeing the Treo 650 and the Samsung i550. I'll have to go take a look at the i600 when my store gets it. For $650, it's not in the immediate future.

[playshrink]

The G1000 is a direct comparison to this phone, though it's bigger of course because the keyboard isn't detachable. I just talked my brother into buying the HP unit and played with it, it's a nice unit but kinda slow, the proc is less than 200 mhz and isn't an Intel PXA, it's designed for battery life instead of performance. The wifi and bluetooth work well enough but I don't really care about Bluetooth and my G1000 works just fine with a Socket Wifi SDIO card. The G1000 has been out for well over a year and has better performance than the HP device and many of it's features, it shows how ahead of the game Sprint was. Just wait for the Daxian to come out either this month or next on Sprint, it's not much bigger than that HP unit but has an integrated keyboard that is revealed by sliding up the screen, plus it's got the more powerful processor...
Tom
I have a Hitachi G1000- problem is Hitachi and sprint won't update it to windows 2003 and have discontinued the model- if something goes wrong as mine did you get a refurbished one- I went through two refurbished models before I got one that works- the T-Mobil Ipaq is faster, slicker , and smaller- I called Sprint as if that makes a difference, and complained as I don't think they presently are keeping up with their PDA market, even though they did at first.

[Gareth]

The new broadband technology is EVDO and BOTH Sprint and Verizon are in the process of upgrading their towers to it, but Verizon is in the lead at this point. That said, Sprint is actively upgrading to EVDO so it's not a question of if but instead when the high speed wireless will come online. Also, none of the current handsets will support the new technology, I believe including the ones just set to be released. I saw somewhere that the Daxian unit MAY have EVDO support or at least be upgraded to support it, so one more reason to get that unit, other than that I know of no other handsets that will support the new high speed technology...
Tom

It's my understanding that while Verizon will be using EVDO (Evolution Data Only) Sprint has opted to wait and use the lastest standard EVDV (Evoluation Data and Voice). EVDV also has a faster download pipe than EVDO.

[Tekara]

It's my understanding that while Verizon will be using EVDO (Evolution Data Only) Sprint has opted to wait and use the lastest standard EVDV (Evoluation Data and Voice). EVDV also has a faster download pipe than EVDO.



Sprint (NYSE: FON), the leader in wireless data, today unveiled plans to meet customers’ demands for faster wireless data speeds and expand the possibilities of anywhere, anytime wireless access to information and entertainment by deploying EV-DO (Evolution Data Optimized) technology across its PCS network.

Pretty definitive answer there.