Smartphone for international travel?

I've browsed through the messages here but I'm still uncertain as to what I
should buy. I'd like to move from a regular voice-only phone to something
that I can use for email and web browsing. I'm on Cingular in the US (I'll
change if necessary) and have a tri-band GSM phone (Samsung x497) but I
sometimes travel to countries that don't use one of those frequencies (most
recently Iran and Iraq Kurdistan region). So now I'd like to get something
for all my needs (yeah, right, the perfect device!<g>) but I can't keep up
with the alphabet soup of acronyms, compatibility/incompatibility issues
and apparent misinformation I'm getting.

Here's what I'd like to have:

At home in the US:
* Quality voice
* Email. I prefer just downloading headers and then checking only messages
I want to see rather than everything going into my phone. Too much spam.
And this is just for checking for important messages; the rest can wait
until I'm on a real computer.
* Web browsing.
* Cellular modem for laptop (i.e., connect laptop to Internet through
phone; I'm sure there's some acronym for this I've forgotten).
* Notes from my PC, note-taking to go to my PC.

For travel I need the same plus:
* Quad-band GSM (do I need anything else to stay connected everywhere?)
* Unlocked (is it true some phones can't be unlocked?)
* Wi-fi
* VoIP. I figure between quad GSM and Skype I can stay connected -- GSM for
local, Skype for international over Wi-Fi in a hotel lobby, etc. Am I
missing something or is this as simple as it sounds (HA!)?

I've looked at a few phones and here's where I think I am on features:
* QWERTY keyboard although I will read email far more than typing them.
Still, I'm tending toward a full QWERTY keyboard despite the larger size.
* Convenient to carry and hold. I probably won't use Bluetooth but will
use a corded headset; I use one on a wireless at home all day and it's
fine. Holding a phone up for long is bad enough and I wouldn't like
holding a PDA up much at all. I'd prefer to keep it in my pocket, not a
holster, so thin is in.
* Good screen for web pages, etc. Blackberry Pearl is impressive for its
size but I'm not sure the little screen wouldn't get to be a pain. OTOH,
the screen on the Nokia E61 is beautiful, and enough for my purposes.
Tablet PC is too much.
* I often carry a laptop but would be able to leave it at home much of the
time if I had a phone that would suffice (I know it's not a replacement but
would be fine much of the time).
* Camera is not necessary (I usually have a pro camera kit with me). I
don't mind having it just in case -- anything's possible -- but it's not
going to change my choice either way.
* Whiz bang multimedia is not necessary. This is for data and
connectivity, not entertainment (books are my multimedia format of choice).
* OTOH, I guess I could load reading material onto the phone for those
times I'm in a boring meeting and don't want to pull out a real book (I use
the laptop for that now).
* Transfer contact list between phone and PC. I don't use Outlook (I use
Eudora) but could if I really need to (I'd probably still use Eudora but
sync with Outlook as necessary).
* Transfer notes both ways easily (I just keep them in .txt files on my PC;
again can accomodate another system if necessary but not desirable).
* My usual schedule is just notes in a text file. I don't need something
to organize my life. Well, maybe I do (says my wife) but if it hasn't
happened by now it's not going to.
* I'm all Windows on the PCs but don't mind learning and using something
else (I've been a programmer for 40 years and have gone through a few
transitions since the Big Blue mainframe days).
* Third-party apps are good.

Every store has the perfect solution for me. Funny thing is they're never
the same solution. And none seem to actually be perfect. I think.

Phones I've visited:
* Blackberry Pearl: Very nice but I think I'd need to have thumb reduction
surgery. Humans are not meant to type on keyboards with three letters on
each key.
* Treo (various): OK but the thickness seems to bother me more than the
height and width.
* Moto Q: I like it. One store told me it's a bad quality phone.
Interesting coincidence that that was a Cingular store and they don't sell
it. But Verizon does and they're not GSM so will it work for me? Then
there's the Samsung "Q Killer" that's out in Europe (forgot the model but I
think you know what I mean).
* Nokia E61: If this does all I want I'm ready to buy it. Thin enough to
feel comfortable and a killer screen. Battery life seems good. What's not
to like? (that is not a rhetorical question)

I know there are a lot more models that I haven't seen yet.

Can I buy something in Europe or elsewhere and expect it to work here in
the US? I'm going through Paris on the way to north Africa in March and
could buy something there but I've been warned that what I buy there might
not work here for one reason or another (yes, it's the Cingular guy that
told me that).

With all my requirements figure out you'd think I could make a decision but
I think it'll take me another year to survey the models and learn the
alphabet-soup of connectivity acronyms, at which point it'll all have
changed and I'll have to start over.

TIA.

Mike Simmons

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› See More: Smartphone for international travel?

Not sure you will find one device to meet all those needs. Some may come
close though. Such as the treo 750, cingular 8525.




--
mrcamp

On Thu, 8 Feb 2007 23:46:28 +0000, mrcamp wrote:

> Not sure you will find one device to meet all those needs. Some may come
> close though. Such as the treo 750, cingular 8525.

Thanks. I've looked briefly at the Treo but will also check the 8525
(haven't seen it yet).

Mike Simmons