New Sprint Bluetooth Phone?

I am a T-Mobile subscriber who has used bluetooth for their hands-free
and GPRS Internet for years. T-Mobile offers cool features, but
horrible coverage.

I visited the Sprint store yesterday. The sales associate hinted that
they would begin offering a new phone with bluetooth in a couple of
weeks. Does anybody know what it will be?

Can anyone attest to the data rates in Houston? The phone as an
Internet gateway is required.

Thank you.

sbrusch@gmail.com wrote:
> I am a T-Mobile subscriber who has used bluetooth for their hands-free
> and GPRS Internet for years. T-Mobile offers cool features, but
> horrible coverage.
>
> I visited the Sprint store yesterday. The sales associate hinted that
> they would begin offering a new phone with bluetooth in a couple of
> weeks. Does anybody know what it will be?

Sprint currently offers the LG PM-325 with bluetooth, and it does have a
DUN profile on it. The Treo 650 also has bluetooth, but while it does
not yet have an official DUN profile, it can be modified to do so.

> Can anyone attest to the data rates in Houston?

My experience is that it's way faster than GPRS on T-Mobile.

> The phone as an
> Internet gateway is required.

To be honest, if you're going to use the phone a lot as a net
connectivity device, then you might want to look elsehwere unless you
specifically want to attach a laptop/PDA data plan to your account (at
roughly $70/$80 a month). Tethering is pecifically prohibited by the
TOS in using the $15 unlimited Vision packs. Some HAVE gotten away with
it by keeping their usage very low, but if you intend to do it on a
regular basis, then expect to get called on it.

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<sbrusch@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1111942771.997078.195060@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> I visited the Sprint store yesterday. The sales associate hinted that
> they would begin offering a new phone with bluetooth in a couple of
> weeks. Does anybody know what it will be?

The LG PM-325 has been on the web all this month that I know of at:
<http://www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/PhonesAccessories/AllPhones.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1459267&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_SCID=ECOMM&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_PCode=None&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_cartState=group&bmUID=1111948827202&navTemplateName=ALL_PHONES_TEMPLATE&navTemplateText=All%20PCS%20Phones>

> Can anyone attest to the data rates in Houston? The phone as an
> Internet gateway is required.

As of last month, my Sprint distributor provided an official notice that the
cell phone handset may be used as a modem >as long as the connection is
Bluetooth<. You will need to add the Internet service which is ~$15/mon for
unlimited cell phone Vision, but check at the time of purchase.

In the DFW area, transmission rates are still at 144Kbs, but with
compression, transfer rates go as 408Kbs (your mileage may vary).

<sbrusch@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1111942771.997078.195060@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>I am a T-Mobile subscriber >
> I visited the Sprint store yesterday.
>Can anyone attest to the data rates in Houston?

I'm in Houston and tried T-Mobile's iPaq 6315 and it was painfully slow
datawise, so I returned it. Got Sprint's Treo 650 and it's much faster. Not
real fast, mind you, but certainly acceptable given the $15/mo rate. I also
demoed Verizon's Windows-based XV6600 with EVDO in the store and it was much
faster than Sprint, but at around $50/mo, not worth triple the price.

Zen Cohen wrote:

> I'm in Houston and tried T-Mobile's iPaq 6315 and it was painfully slow
> datawise, so I returned it. Got Sprint's Treo 650 and it's much faster. Not
> real fast, mind you, but certainly acceptable given the $15/mo rate. I also
> demoed Verizon's Windows-based XV6600 with EVDO in the store and it was much
> faster than Sprint

well of course, EV-DO is about 3x faster than 1xRTT, which Sprint currently uses...


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In article <d27c6a$etp$1@ratbert.glorb.com>, sjsobol@JustThe.net says...
> well of course, EV-DO is about 3x faster than 1xRTT, which Sprint currently uses...

There's another gotcha, though. Verizon's TOS says that Internet usage
uses minutes on your plan. Not so Sprint PCS. That's true of Verizon's
1x RTT service as well as (if we take their TOS at face value) EV-DO.

--
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O/Siris
-+-
A thing moderately good
is not so good as it ought to be.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue,
but moderation in principle is always a vice.
+Thomas Paine, "The Rights of Man", 1792+

On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 02:29:08 -0600, O/Siris wrote:

> In article <d27c6a$etp$1@ratbert.glorb.com>, sjsobol@JustThe.net says...
>> well of course, EV-DO is about 3x faster than 1xRTT, which Sprint currently uses...
>
> There's another gotcha, though. Verizon's TOS says that Internet usage
> uses minutes on your plan. Not so Sprint PCS. That's true of Verizon's
> 1x RTT service as well as (if we take their TOS at face value) EV-DO.

Also keep in mind they are up front about it's minute usage and using it
with a laptop. Plus they do include it free with the America's Choice
plans if I recall, it has been awhile since I last set it up for someone.

Either way it isn't a gotcha like sprintpcs pulled where they openly sold
vision back in 2002 specifically allowing laptop usage just to secretly
say limited usage in December and in January 2003 to deny it completely.
Kind of upsetting since it was the main reason I got vision.

O/Siris wrote:
> In article <d27c6a$etp$1@ratbert.glorb.com>, sjsobol@JustThe.net says...
>
>>well of course, EV-DO is about 3x faster than 1xRTT, which Sprint currently uses...
>
>
> There's another gotcha, though. Verizon's TOS says that Internet usage
> uses minutes on your plan.

They have per-kb and unlimited plans too, though.


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JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"