I’ve been looking for a new cell phone over the last month or so. My current phone, the T616, has Bluetooth and syncs well with my MacBook via iSync. It turns out I can even use it as a Bluetooth modem for my computer! Why I didn’t learn about that several years ago when I bought the phone is beyond me. A few holes in functionality have popped up though, especially with the move to SF and the new job:

  • Google Maps: exploring SF is great, but it’d be nice to be able to look up where things are without having to cart my laptop around and finding a Starbucks (yes, I’ve done that)
  • Email: sometimes (like yesterday) when I’m expecting an email (which, incidentally, never came!) it’d be nice to know that I’ll know when it comes and I don’t have to keep wondering whether it’s been sent. also communicating quick things to my co-workers (answers to Ruby questions, perhaps?)

Some other nice-to-haves come to mind:

  • Real web browsing, with a decent browser
  • SSH access to various things

I don’t have a data plan at the moment, so there’s going to be an increased cost to all of this. That hasn’t been the biggest problem though. Here’s a rundown of the phones I’ve been considering:

Nokia E61/2

Nokia E62 This phone is a PDA, and it runs Symbian OS. I’d never heard of it but it seems like a great alternative to Palm OS and Windows Mobile since it’s open and has lots of developer backing. The included browser is KHTML-based, and looks quite a bit like Safari (duh). It supports push email via Blackberry Connect and even works with iSync via a plugin. The screen is awesome and the size isn’t bad, since it’s actually a hair thinner than my T616. It’s GSM and runs on Cingular. The E61 variant even has Wifi. The downside? No 3G support, so it’s stuck at EDGE speeds. $99 w/2yr contract on Cingular.


Blackberry Pearl (8100)

Blackberry Pearl This is closer to the candybar style that I’m used to, but features a scrunched QWERTY keyboard that puts two letters on one key. Maybe it’s just that I’m not used to it, but typing this way was a serious mind-tweak. I know I’m conditioned by every other cell phone to expect the three-letters-per-number setup, but I didn’t have any such problem on actual QWERTY keyboards like the N62. I think I’d get used to it after a little while. This phone is QUAD-band, like the N62, which would be great for travel abroad. The built-in browser is just a piece of WAP crap, but supposedly it supports Opera Mini, which might be better. That’s just one of the nice-to-haves though. I put Google Maps on the one at the T-Mobile store, and it was SO SLOW. Really god-awful. The included Navigation app was faster, so maybe I could get used to it. And since it’s a Blackberry it of course supports the push email thing. $199 w/2yr contract on Cingular.


T-Mobile Dash

T-Mobile Dash I include this one mainly for completeness, as I did look at it briefly. What I liked about this one is the way it fits in your hand. It’s got a good size and has a kind of rubber that makes handling it nice. I really couldn’t abide Windows Mobile though, so this one is out of the running.


Sony Ericsson Z610i

This phone looks so sexy. The external display is one of those OLED screens that you can’t see when it’s not on. Great for one of the things I love about the T616: being a watch. Unfortunately it is only sold in the UK and lacks the 850 band, which is pretty much necessary if you spend any time in the US outside of major cities. Even if it was available here I don’t know how well I’d handle the flip-phone thing. My between-the-T616s phone was a Motorola V551, a flip phone, and I found it hard to like.


Sony Ericsson M600i

Now here’s a Symbian OS phone that is 3G! Hallelujah! Except… wait a minute, it’s a touch-screen? The reviews I’ve read for this phone claim that it is not easy to operate with one hand. Also, there’s no 850 band, so no Cingular! It features the same keyboard type as the Blackberry Pearl. I’d really have to try this one out before passing judgement on it. It sounds good on paper, but who knows?


To top off the confusion, all of these phones are GSM and should work with either Cingular or T-Mobile. The problem is that nearly all the phones available on these networks are EDGE, not 3G. If I want EVDO I have to move over to a CDMA network like Verizon or Sprint. Besides having more phones available with that fast connection, the other advantage on that side of the fence is that nearly all those phones have GPS built-in. The Helio Drift that I reviewed last month had this, and it was great. Google Maps actually knew where I was! I didn’t quite appreciate how nice this feature was at the time. However, I still wouldn’t have kept the Drift because of its lack of GMail support. If it did have GMail support that might have been enough to get me to keep it, since I’d basically scratched the sync itch with a script. The problem with CDMA phones is the difficulty in swapping them around. I’d rather not buy my phones through my carrier, and I’d ideally rather not involve them at all. GSM lets me do this just by swapping SIM cards.

It seems that there is no phone/service combination on the market today that ideally suits my needs. If I were forced to pick a phone today, I’d probably pick the Blackberry Pearl with its small form factor, scroll nipple that reminds me of the Mighty Mouse, and push email capabilities. On T-Mobile it’d cost me $199 up front with a 2yr contract and $59.98/mo for unlimited calling to five people (300 anytime minutes) and unlimited internet and push email. Contrast that to Cingular with $199 up front with a 2yr contract and $79.98/mo for 450 anytime minutes and unlimited internet and push email. From what I hear, Cingular has a faster EDGE network than T-Mobile (160kbps vs. 120kbps peak). You can see why I really want to like the Sony Ericsson M600i: 3G + Symbian OS. Alas, it’s the wrong 3G. So the winner: Sony Ericsson T616.