For reasons more practical than technical, I wish to stay with a GSM carrier. According to the GSM association, 78% of the world's 2 billion plus mobile phone subscribers use GSM phones. This incredible market penetration means that if you travel at all, having a US carrier which uses the GSM standard can save you some significant grief. GSM's system is less spectrum efficient than the most popular system in the US, CDMA, but even that is changing in the near future.
That "near future" aspect is part of the problem. Virtually all of the current Cingular system is a second generation system, but this will be changing rapidly as they roll out 3G equipment and would result in the obsolescence of the phones they are currently marketing in my area long before I'd be able justify buying another handset.
My original intent was to wait until 3G rolls out here and then buy new equipment. My fiduciary duties as the FIBoD (see below) will be requiring me to bring the daughter's service under the umbrella of our family account. That will force me to a new Cingular contract and, at least for the wife, new equipment locked to a Cingular SIM. My current Nokia is easily unlockable, and has been, so I could stay with my present handset and just pop in a new SIM. The five years that I've had it though, have rendered it long obsolete, and I would dearly like to upgrade to a 3G handset that I'd likely be able to keep for another five years.
I've looked at what I want in a phone:
- quad band GSM for maximum portability
- true 3G UMTS/HSPDA capability with fallback to EDGE/GPRS
- Bluetooth connectivity
- IR connectivity
- good color display
- smartphone capability; i.e., email, IM, SMS, etc., and progammabilty
- reasonable camera
I can even tell you which model I think would nicely meet my needs; the HTC MTeoR. Only one problem, it's not offered here yet, and likely not to be for at least six months. It is currently available in Europe. I could order one from the grey-market, but since I do intend to stay with Cingular, would REALLY like to have one subsidized by them (and which could be unlocked later). Six hundred bucks is just a bit much for me though, even to get something this sweet. If you're interested in a full review of the MTeoR, go here. (note that this is not safe for work)It amazes me that the country that invented the cell phone can't get a decent handset at the cutting edge of the tech, but that's the reality. By the time something comes here, most of the world would think it's already obsolete, and our networks are a joke. Sad. Simply Sad.
