I’m in the market for a new cellphone. Currently, I have a Palm Treo 700w with Verizon. I really don’t like the large size of the phone nor its use of Windows Mobile 5. Before the Treo, I was using a Sony Ericsson T68i with Cingular. It worked well enough, but the user interface was really sluggish.
RIM announced the Blackberry Pearl will be available through T-Mobile on 9/12. From what I’ve read, T-Mobile’s coverage in Santa Clara is pretty bad compared to Cingular and Verizon. Anyone reading care to disagree? One of the benefits of using T-Mobile is their (relatively) cheap unlimited data plan with their phones. T-Mobile customers can save up to $50-70/month with a Blackberry and unlimited data plan over Cingular.
I could always wait for the Apple iPhone, but I might be waiting a long time for that to appear. Then again, Apple has some announcements coming up also on 9/12 and 9/25. The rumors point to an Apple iTunes Movie Store, new iPods, and possibly a revision to Aperture.
In the meantime, I’ll ask the blogosphere what phone I should get! Some points to keep in mind:
- Small – The Treo 700w is just too big (i.e. thick) to fit in a pocket, and I’m not about to get a belt clip for my phone
- Bluetooth
- Unlimited data plan
- Keyboard – Anyone care to comment on the effectiveness of the Pearl’s two characters per key keyboard?
- No Windows Mobile 5
tow.com 
Thought it does not have a keyboard, the SE W810i has some impressive capabilities:
http://www.oreillynet.com/mac/blog/2006/07/sony_ericsson_w810i_impression.html
http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?cc=global&lc=en&ver=4001&template=pp1_1_1&zone=pp&lm=pp1&pid=10376
Looks to be avialble from online mobile vendors (not tied to Cingular for example) for ~$350 USD. That means its unlocked, unbranded and you can try out T-Mobile and/or Cingular at your leisure.
Hello!
I’ve used the BlackBerry 7100 and was very disappointed by the keyboard. If you start using two languages or special words in your e-mails, it really slows you down.
How about the T-Mobile/Danger SidekKick III? I have the II and I’m very happy with it…
Not a fan of Cingular in Santa Clara. In general, it’s okay, but there’s a very prominently spotty coverage spot around Pruneridge and Saratoga.
I recently got a Nokia N80 to play with. Very cool screen, you can actually browse the web. And you dont have to use GPRS, uses WiFi. Not bad..