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I want a new phone. My aging Palm Treo 700p is acceptable, but I'm growing tired of some of its limitations.

I want a smartphone, there's no doubt about that. I want to be able to access my email from my phone, and general internet connectivity is also something I'll use. I don't want to carry a phone and a separate internet appliance if I can avoid it. I don't particularly need a camera, but I'm sure I'll use it if it's provided.

The biggest wishlist item I have for a phone is WiFi capability. Being able to check my email over my phone's cellular connection is acceptable, but as WiFi gets more and more ubiquitous, I'd prefer to use it if possible. I'd love a phone that supports unlicensed mobile access, such that I could use a WiFi connection to place and receive calls when available without consuming cellular minutes, as well as to roam between WiFi and cellular.

I am, however, more than a little picky, and the restrictions I place on selecting a new phone severely limit my options. First, I refuse to purchase any device running Windows Mobile. I would prefer a Palm-powered device, but there are no WiFi-capable Palm-powered cell phones, only PDAs. I'm open to all other non-Windows mobile operating systems. Second, I would prefer to stay on my current provider (Sprint), so that my family can continue to benefit from the plan to which we're all subscribed. (This alone is what most limits the selection of devices available to me: Sprint doesn't offer a phone that gives me what I want.) Yes, I know Sprint stinks. Frankly, I am of the opinion that all cellular providers stink.

My boss has a Blackberry Curve, which has WiFi and UMA. It looks like it offers almost everything I would want, except that I would be required to switch to either AT&T or T-Mobile. And, although it provides WiFi internet access, I'm not sure how well of a general-purpose web device it is: I admit, the iPhone has me wanting YouTube on my phone.

Speaking of which, I previously detailed my complaints against the iPhone. The iPhone is very close to what I would like from a smartphone, save that it doesn't support UMA. I could live with that limitation, I think. The largest impediment to me pursuing an iPhone is the iTunes Music Store lock-in. I do not want to be required to use ITMS to manage my phone. I don't want to be locked in to anything, if I can help it.

I'm keeping an eye on the openmoko products, though they're (still) too immature for a user like me. I'm also hopeful that Google's Android project liberates phones in more meaningful ways.

As I mentioned above, I would prefer not to have a cellphone and an internet device. I've been growing frustrated with the limitations in the Nokia 770 I acquired, and have been casually exploring the Nokia 800 and 810 models. I don't really want to carry around two devices, and unfortunately WiFi isn't quite as ubiquitous as I would like, so I do want to be able to fall back to cellular data access when needed.

I suspect I'll end up with a Palm Treo 755p, one step up from where I am now. Carina has one, and she likes it well enough. It's the familiar old Palm, and even though it doesn't do WiFi the transition to using it will be almost negligible.

  • Owen
    January 22nd, 2008 at 9:50pm
    You don't offer any specific reasons for not wanting a Windows Mobile device, which is unusual for you. I can think of many reasons not to want one, but I'm curious what yours are in specific. I think you have stumbled onto the great cell phone mystery: Why is there no phone that is completely pleasing to consumers? There is always something lacking. Whatever happened to the "convergence device" we were all promised years ago? Forget hovercars, I want a small form-factor phone with a decent camera, user-serviceable software, high-speed cell network, wifi, bluetooth, gps, a decent screen for video playback, a regular jack for headphones/headset, a good amount of internal storage, a processor and battery that make it run smoothly all day, and a no-lock-in policy for carrier or PC software interface. Seems simple, and many phones have most of these, but none have all. Curious. Maybe I should just aim for a computer the size of a phone.
  • skippy
    January 22nd, 2008 at 10:10pm
    Owen: I don't want a Windows Mobile device because I choose not to support the Windows platform with my dollars (or subsidized dollars, as is often the case with cellphone "purchases"). I intentionally choose to use GNU/Linux because I prefer what it offers me. I don't want to get locked into Microsoft's hegemony any more than I do Apple's. I can live without a GPS and a camera. I consider both of those as convenient add-ons which I would use if they're there, but they don't contribute to my purchasing decision. I don't have GPS now, and I rarely take photos with my Treo. The same goes for built-in storage. I'm okay with a device with limited internal storage, as long as it supports external storage options via standard consumer memory cards (SD, CF, etc). I hear you loud and clear on the full-size audio jack! What's up with the tiny little jacks that most cellphones provide?
  • skippy
    January 22nd, 2008 at 10:17pm
    The Open Handset Alliance claims that they are "committed to commercially deploy handsets and services using the Android Platform in the second half of 2008." Maybe I should just wait it out with my Treo 700p for another six months...
  • pat
    January 22nd, 2008 at 11:01pm
    I would hold out. Even though I can get a 755p for $199, my 650 still works great, has great battery life and works with gmail just fine. My wifes 650 looks like new, mine looks like somebody took sandpaper to it.
  • dave
    January 23rd, 2008 at 2:21am
    Nokia's entire N series is pretty rockin'. I've got a N80 and I really like it. It runs an operating system on which I can install and run anything I want ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_60 ). I had Google Maps on my phone with the highly touted "My Location" feature months before the same thing was released for the iPhone at MacWorld last week. I've also got GMail, an MMORPG, podcasts, and Opera Mini just to name a few. The newer N95 makes an iPhone look like a complete chump (excepting the lack of a touchscreen). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_Nseries
  • Giga
    January 23rd, 2008 at 4:46pm
    I still liked my Danger Hiptop for instant messaging, websurfing, and emailing. I never upgraded from the Color Version 1, but I miss the full (standard!) qwerty keyboard and the GUI felt so much more intuitive than either Windows Mobile or Blackberry. I've heard that on carriers other than T-Mobile, the device was quite flexible and a wide range of software was available. I was never able to confirm this since everyone I knew who had one was on T-Mobile (locked down), or worked for Danger (full access).
  • John Biggs
    January 31st, 2008 at 8:17pm
    you're going to have to go GSM if you want, UMA, scott. Only T-Mobile supports it now. I'd suggest an N95 if you can live without a keyboard. Otherwise, look at some of the other Nokias. Palm is hitting a rough patch and there's no telling where they'll be in the next year. The Blackberry Curve is really nice as well.
  • skippy dot net
    December 30th, 2008

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