Cell phone suggestion?

[SavannahLion]

Since someone else asked here, I thought I'd give it a shot.

I've got a Motorola A630 that's finally died. About half the keys work and none of them are keys I actually need. I think what did it in was when I dropped the phone when it was folded open. Oh well. Right now, I'm with T-Mobile and I've got a really good plan with them, I'll consider switching if the phone is compelling enough.

My requirements is Bluetooth and full QWERTY keypad. Proper connectivity to a PC would be nice too.

Interestingly, T-Mobile doesn't really let you search for phones specifically for QWERTY keypads.

Every time I go to the stores or call T-Mobile, they always try to shove off a Blackberry or Blackberry clone on me. Nice as they are, AT&T's plans for the BB's are a bit too expensive for my tastes and the clones just don't seem to feel right for me.

Anyone got any suggestions?

[ahofle]

"Maddox" feels strongly about the Nokia E70 (warning, kinda NSFW):

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=iphone

  

[patrickl]

I have a T-Mobile Ameo (HTC Athena) and T-Mobile MDA Pro (HTC Universal).

The Ameo is like a tiny laptop. it has a 5" screen 8GB disk and you can hook it up to a TV or PC monitor. The MDA pro is (was) a bit more practical. Since they didn't come with a proper successor for the MDA pro (I was waiting for the HTC Omni) I decided to go with the Ameo when my contract was up for renewal.

A smartphone that comes closer to what you had would be the MDA vario III (HTC Kaiser). Here is a demo (in German)

[SavannahLion]

I just called T-Mobile and they told me I qualify for an upgrade, "discount,"  which is supposed to knock off $100 off the price of any phone as long as I sign on for a 2 year extension on my contract. Um... M'Kay. So I'm online, looking at phones and nearly every phone has a $100 discount if you sign on for a two year contract, even if I'm not a customer to start with.

So I ask the rep' what, exactly, does the upgrade get me? I'm told the upgrade is the $100 discount.

Does this make sense to anyone else? If I'm not a customer, I get the $100 discount for signing on for two years. If I am an existing customer, I get the $100 discount if I sign on for an additional two years....

This is an upgrade? 

Oh, and in passing, it was mentioned that there is an $18 upgrade fee. When I pressured the rep' for more details, the issue was sidestepped and kept going back to the $100 discount. So if I'm not an existing customer, it works out to be a true $100 discount less taxes and if I am a customer it works out to be an $82 discount less taxes. 

Wow... what a good way to take care of your customers there.

BTW, after beating around the bush for thirty minutes, it turns out the MDA is discontinued and the Wing is offered instead.

[polaris]

im on my second vario and i really like them.

when up against not getting a good deal to renew i tend to try to cancel saying im taking my no to a different company, when you get to the department that gives you the code you need to transfer , i find they offer more to keep you as a customer.

[patrickl]

Does this make sense to anyone else? If I'm not a customer, I get the $100 discount for signing on for two years. If I am an existing customer, I get the $100 discount if I sign on for an additional two years....

Well they give the same discount for a new customer as they do for an upgrade yes. Why not?

A $100 discount sounds pathetic though. Escpecially for a 2 year contract. The discount (in Europe at least) depends on the contract length and the plan. I got a 400 euro discount on my Ameo.

BTW, after beating around the bush for thirty minutes, it turns out the MDA is discontinued and the Wing is offered instead.

Yeah sorry, guess I wasn't very clear. The MDA pro was discontinued probably almost a year ago.

I think the Wing is a smaller version of the Vario. Sounds ok too.

[SavannahLion]

Does this make sense to anyone else? If I'm not a customer, I get the $100 discount for signing on for two years. If I am an existing customer, I get the $100 discount if I sign on for an additional two years....

Well they give the same discount for a new customer as they do for an upgrade yes. Why not?

A $100 discount sounds pathetic though. Escpecially for a 2 year contract. The discount (in Europe at least) depends on the contract length and the plan. I got a 400 euro discount on my Ameo.

That works out to be around $580 US. Yippee 

I've been told that U.S. cell phones and the service plans are waay behind the rest of the world.

[patrickl]

Does this make sense to anyone else? If I'm not a customer, I get the $100 discount for signing on for two years. If I am an existing customer, I get the $100 discount if I sign on for an additional two years....

Well they give the same discount for a new customer as they do for an upgrade yes. Why not?

A $100 discount sounds pathetic though. Especially for a 2 year contract. The discount (in Europe at least) depends on the contract length and the plan. I got a 400 euro discount on my Ameo.

That works out to be around $580 US. Yippee 

I've been told that U.S. cell phones and the service plans are waay behind the rest of the world.

I guess I have a reasonably expensive plan though. I pay 30 euro a month for 250 minutes free. I also have a unlimited mobile internet data plan for 8 euro a month. that didn't weigh in with the discount though. Although I got 50% off of that too.

Actually checking the offer it was a 454 euro discount on a 2 year deal on the phone and 50% of the phone bill for the first 12 months (so that's another 180 euro discount). Later I realized I should have gone for a 1 year deal. For a one year deal I would get a 300 euro discount on the phone and 50% off the phone billfor 6 months. So if I had done that twice I would have gotten 600 euro discount over 2 years and also 50% off for 12 months.

[tommy]

My requirements is..

Something that can withstand dropping many times during it's life.