New cellphone and provider and which ones to pick?
Jenn and I are trying to decide if we should combine wireless accounts and get new phones. But it's a complicated issue: Go with her Sprint or my Cingular or something else? What phones since there aren't really any that match our desires?
On calling plans what we'd need is equally affordable everywhere. The extras I'm looking for look like they'd run as follows per month:
Sprint Cingular Tmobile
Unlimited web: $10 $20 $6
100 SMS: $5 $6 $5
MMS: incl $3 incl
We're being forced into a move somewhat because Jenn's cellphone has finally given up the ghost (it's been on the verge for a long time). Luckily she's got a second line/phone and also was paying for insurance. But it turns out the insurance was accidentally on the second phone. Sprint wasn't much help and her two year contract isn't up until the end of December (and they don't prorate the penalty which is large). At this point Sprint would not give her any discounts on a new phone, but if we wait they would. The main thing that would keep us with Sprint is their reasonably priced all inclusive data/messaging plans, compared to Cingular. The also have a better international calling plan than I have on my home phone for calling my sister in Germany.
I've been increasingly unhappy with ATT/Cingular. My phone has horrible internet connectivity (mostly software/ATT issues I'd say) and even the voice connectivity is degrading. Supposedly this is because I am originally an ATT customer. I don't understand how ATT services can be being turned off. Isn't it all just on a GSM transport which Cingular still has? How would a Cingular GSM phone be any different than an ATT one for either data or voice? At any rate this churn doesn't make me want to continue to be a customer of theirs. There aren't any real reasons for me to stick with them other than to not buy a new phone.
We'd both like a combined phone and PDA, with a preference towards PalmOS based devices. But the Treo is expensive and fragile looking. I don't think it would hold up to my usage and given the wear and tear on Jenn's current phone it wouldn't be a good way to go. The Samsung clamshell Palm phone might work.
Also a phone that is easily connected to a PC via USB would be nice. And preferrably without a custom protocol, but just as a USB Mass Storage Device.
But then I'd really like to have a camera phone still. Upgrading to at least a VGA quality phone would be the main thing that would get me to upgrade, after the hope that my voice/data service would be better with a new phone/account. I'm assuming intercarrier MMS is fairly resolved these days. Jenn and I weren't really able to send pictures to each other in the past.
Push to talk and GPS would be nifty features.
Choices choices choices. We're obviously not the target consumer or we'd find exactly what we want in the market much easier.
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