Need new PDA phone by Sept with low data plan.

R

Rainy Rose

New member
I'm trying to find a new PDA phone by september with a low data plan.
The features I'm mainly looking for in a phone are:
-Large screen
-Full keyboard
-not too bulky
-Internet has to be faster than that in a sidekick
-Price of phone: Up to $250 with a new 1 year service contract
-Any carrier is fine
I'd like the Data plan to be $25 or less.
Anybody have any recommendations?
 
Unfortunately, your only option is probably Sprint. Internet for their PDA devices is $15 flat. The Mogul just came out...a guy I work with has it and loves it to death. Nice and slim, but still has the full keyboard...HTC really did a good job with it.

Most other carriers will slam you with minimum $30 for an unlimited PDA data plan.
 
^ I checked on the Sprint website and they give you only 2 options for a data plan for the mogul, one is $30 and the other is $39. Is the $15 plan an in-store special or something?
Also, would you happen to know what are some of the differences between the mogul and the ppc6700?
Thanks for your reply.
 
$30? Hmm...the sneaks must have finally changed their data pricing. That was fast; I just left them this month. That $30 plan includes unlimited messaging though.

They used to just make all of the PowerVision plans available for all phones and devices, and they start at $15 for unlimited basic data access. That must have just changed.

That's still not bad for data, but it's not as cheap as it used to be...you may want to compare with the Cingular/AT&T 8525. The Mogul is a very nice device though, and relatively slim for something with a slider keyboard.
 
The at&t 8525 is a nice phone. It's quite bulky, but thats expected of a Pocket PC phone. . The only major downside is the expensive data plans. I saw that you really didn't want to fork over a whole lot on data. But if you like the phone and use the features enough it, it might be worth it. Heres the link to the AT&T websites Data Services .

Also what about the Samsung Blackjack? Its a lot slimmer full keyboard. Really nice PDA!
 
If you have 3G in your area I'd say AT&T's 3G is the way to go.

I'd order a N75, which will make you eligible for the phone data plan (the cheapest unlimited data plan is Media Max 200 for $19.99). The N75 is also a pretty decent smartphone in its own right.

You can then get an unlocked PPC type phone like the HTC TYTN (the unlocked version of the Cingular 8525), put the SIM card in there and you are good to go with the cheaper "Non PDA" data plan.

You will wind up paying more for the unlocked phone, but less for the data plan in the long run because you are paying $19.99/month as opposed to $39.99/month for the cheapest unlimited PDA plan.
 
Thanks for all the replies,
my main problem is to find a cheap pda service, so I don't think getting the at&t 8525 is going to do it for me. I rather have an average phone and a cheaper service, then get the best pda and pay around $80 a month. Thats basically the only reason I got a sidekick. Their data plans are only $20 and it includes free msgs, ims, emails, but the sidekick is getting really boring and annoying with its slow internet.
As for the unlocking idea, it sounds really interesting and I might end up doing that. Just wondering if its possible to use the PPC-6700 I have (its for verizon) instead of purchasing a tytn, since the unlocked htc tytn is $700 or more. Also, if Cingular/ AT&T finds out I dont have the "real" PDA service, are they going to force me to change it?
 
The answer to your first question is "no." That PPC-6700 will ONLY work with Verizon...Verizon and Sprint will only activate phones on their service that they sell to their customers, so no taking a Verizon phone and using it on Sprint, for example.

As to your second question...if you're liberal about your data usage and use it a lot, then it might get their attention. A lot of people never have a problem though.

If you're absolutely intent on getting something with a QWERTY keyboard, your options are very limited, as all carriers consider anything with a QWERTY keyboard to be a PDA (except for Verizon's enV and u740...and no, you don't want either one).

Given your requirements, you are basically limited to a Motorola Q from Sprint...you can still order it with the standard $15 PowerVision unlimited internet plan.

However, Sprint's customer service sucks giant slimy toad droppings. I'd highly recommend avoiding them, especially if they don't have EVDO service in your area (if they don't, then the internet will actually be 1xRTT, which is typically slower than EDGE on T-Mobile).

If you can get away from requiring a QWERTY keyboard, then the Nokia N75 from AT&T becomes a very viable option, as unlimited internet for it is $20 (and comes with 200 SMS/MMS/IM messages) because it's not considered a PDA. If you really REALLY want a QWERTY, you can buy an add-on folding Bluetooth keyboard for around $100, and the phone is $50 from a lot of AT&T online dealers. Even if AT&T doesn't have 3G in your area, EDGE will be faster than your old T-Mobile service.

Oh, one other thing. Most carriers won't even admit to 2 year contracts existing anymore. You might be able to find one, but the phone will be more expensive.
 
Here's an idea, since you are already on T-Mobile, you can either keep the Sidekick data plan, or switch to a cheap phone and get T-Mobile Web which is like $5.99/month, which is probably the cheapest you can ever go besides no data plan at all.

Then get an unlocked phone like the Nokia E61i and swap the SIM card into it. The E61i has a full QWERTY, quadband GSM, EDGE and best of all WiFi. You would use EDGE, which is considerably slow but handy to browse simple mobile pages on the go and once you hit a WiFi hotspot you can start browsing full pages and download at decent transfer rates.

As for whether the GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile will know if you have switched into a PDA from a regular phone, I'm not sure. Perhaps if you swapped your SIM into a 3G PCMCIA card for a laptop or if you tethered a 3G phone into your PC and your bandwidth spiked they might notice, but if you go from an EDGE phone to an EDGE PDA, or a 3G phone to a 3G PDA it will pretty much have the same bandwidth limitations so there is probably no way they can notice.
 
Back
Top