What's the best BT phone carrier for UX?

[peterb123]

The BT on my old-school Motorola Timeport died :(, And my contract with Verizon is just about up :D.

Soooo... I am beginning to shop around for a new phone and a new service.

Can I get some recommendations?

I sent an email to Verixon asking if they were going to have any BT phones that would also have access to their wireless highspeed broadband, and this is the email I got back:

------------------

Thank you for contacting the Verizon Wireless website.

We are happy to address your question.

Verizon Wireless is constantly improving the services, features, and
wireless phones we offer to our customers for their communication needs.

At present, there are several wireless phones being tested for
functionality and reliability with our network. Verizon Wireless will not offer
a product or service unless it meets the high standards our customers
have come to expect. Currently, we are unable to provide information
regarding which equipment is being considered or approximate release
dates, as this may raise expectations that may not be met.

At this time, we do not have Bluetooth capable phones that incorporate
broadband data access. We apologize for any inconvenience that you may
have experienced as a result of this issue. To view available
equipment, please click on the "Products" tab at the top of our
www.verizonwireless.com homepage, and then choose "Phones" from the drop down menu.

Additionally, if you would like to receive e-mail updates regarding new
products and services, please click on "E-mail Updates" from the
"Support" tab located at the top of our www.verizonwireless.com homepage.

We appreciate your business. Please contact us at our website for any
of your future needs. Again, thank you for using Verizon Wireless
products and services.

Sincerely,

David
Verizon Wireless
Customer Service

-----------------

Has anyone heard of a carrier that plans to release a BT phone which will access a wireless broadband service?

I'd hate to buy a new phone and sign a contract right before an option like this presented itself.

Oh, and don't forget that I would like a recommendation for a BT phone and service that I can get today.

Thanks,
Peter

[salesrep]

Everyone will have their own experiences with different carriers, but here's mine:

I've had AT&T Wireless for the last year since March 04. . .now Cingular. My phone is the Siemens S56--great because BT and no camera. I never had any problems with the phone or service for the last year with my T3, but then a month ago when I got my ux50, I had much difficulty getting the same functions set up on the pair (ux50/s56.)

Cingular Wireless had an AMAZING PDA help desk that handled the setup for different PDAs as far as e-mail settings, SMS, and GPRS internet. I did spend hours on the phone before I got in touch with the right people who had the training AND the personal knowledge to get me through it, but I was ultimately successful.

Good luck!

[snook_cs]

Everyone will have their own experiences with different carriers, but here's mine:

I've had AT&T Wireless for the last year since March 04. . .now Cingular. My phone is the Siemens S56--great because BT and no camera. I never had any problems with the phone or service for the last year with my T3, but then a month ago when I got my ux50, I had much difficulty getting the same functions set up on the pair (ux50/s56.)

Cingular Wireless had an AMAZING PDA help desk that handled the setup for different PDAs as far as e-mail settings, SMS, and GPRS internet. I did spend hours on the phone before I got in touch with the right people who had the training AND the personal knowledge to get me through it, but I was ultimately successful.

Good luck!



salesrep,

1) what kinds of speeds are you getting with ATT/Cingular?

2) Do you pay anything extra for a data plan?








.
.
.

[crazy_smeggie]

I use T-Mobile and I'm happy enough with them not to switch carriers. The speed is decent, it's not Wi-Fi mind you, but decent and I pay $19/mo for unlimited Internet connectivity. Sweet.


SMEGGIE :D

[salesrep]

Snook_cs:

Hard to say what speeds I get on a bluetooth wireless connection--the equipment doesn't really tell you. I used to think it wasn't bad on my T3, but now with wifi I see the light. However, in the absence of wifi, it does get the job done.

I think I pay $20/month for 8MB data, which I used to think was a good deal before hearing about Smeggie's plan. The unlimited data plan from AT&T/cingular runs about $40/month maybe?

The new game with the ux50 is now knowing who has free wifi available, and I've been using the jiwire channel on Avantgo to locate them.

[KEVIN88GT]

smeggie what do you mean when you say "decent"...I dont have that plan so I do this thing called ACCESS4FREE (using the phone via BT as a "modem") and it's BRUTALLY slow (v600 shows "9.6k")....forget about browsing...i can only instant message people.

[exNewt]

Agree with "crazy_smeggie"
(although I certainly hope his screen name is not referring to anything related to "Tyson's Glands") :eek:

I use T-Mobile's plan, it works ALMOST everywhere; states I've been to where it worked: (example: for each state think major population areas like San Fran and Los Angeles for CA)

CA, MA, CT, NJ, OH (not Marietta OH), NY, PA, TX, AZ, NM, CO, NC (not Asheville NC), MI, WI, MN, NH, RI, (state's so small I think I was picking up towers in MA or CT), VA, UT, AL, AR (not Waldron AR), FL, DE, IL, MA

Plus the people at T-Mobile Tech Support actually SPOKE ENGLISH and even more amazing they actually KNEW THE PARAMETERS TO SET UP A BLUETOOTH/PALM GPRS DATA CONNECTION THAT WORKED ON THE 1ST TRY!

[crazy_smeggie]

smeggie what do you mean when you say "decent"...I dont have that plan so I do this thing called ACCESS4FREE (using the phone via BT as a "modem") and it's BRUTALLY slow (v600 shows "9.6k")....forget about browsing...i can only instant message people.

The speed with Wi-Fi is as fast as you could want it to be. The speed with Bluetooth is naturally slower but it is "decent" enough to enable me to check the Exchange Server work email via Netfront, check my other email via Agendus Mail, check the 1src forums via Netfront (http://www.1src.com/mobile) or update my Quick News feeds from anywhere.

You have to be realistic about the speed, or lack thereof, of Bluetooth/GPRS. Once you are ok with the speed, you will feel lucky that you can update at all.


SMEGGIE :D