[Hidden-tech] Treo Phones... part 2

[Michael Klatsky]

I've been meaning to add my recent experience to this thread- finally
getting around to it.

I have an account with Cingular (ATT). My old phone fell in a lake and
I was looking to go to a PDA cellphone. While I wanted the pricing
that would come with a contract, but didn't want to extend my contract
(which expires in a few months), I checked out ebay.

I ended up getting an unlocked, Cingular branded Treo 680 for a
terrific price. Since my old sim card was undamaged, I simply inserted
it into the Treo, and was good to go. A few notes about my experience-
some have been written about, some not.

1)  The moment I won the Treo on ebay, I got an offer to purchase an
extended warranty from Square Trade. After researching reviews, some
bad, many good- I decided to purchase a 2 yr warranty for $30.00. If I
have a problem, and if they fall through- it's only $30.00. If they
fulfill their promise- then I have a fixed or refunded Treo.

2) Apps cost money- voice dialing, need an app. Instant messaging-
need an app. There is a huge market out there for Palm software- and a
lot of it costs money. yes- there is some open source- but most of
what I found of good quality costs some money.

3) Add $20-$40 to your current cell phone bill for the data plan. To
really use the phone (web, email, etc) fully- you'll need a data plan.

4) IF you also want to use your PDA as a MP3 player, you'll need a 2.5
mm earphone tip, not the standard 3.5 mm tip that most mp3 players
use. This may not be important to you- but if it is.....

5) Overall, my experience has been good- and I like being able to
perform some of my work duties in a pinch when not near my laptop or
desktop.

Regarding the phone itself that you were offered- if I'm not mistaken-
Verizon does not use sim cards- that will complicate things, and I
don't think you'll be able to use it on another network (but there are
those more expert than me who can answer your questions).  In my case,
I bought an unlocked Cingular Treo, for use on the Cingular network. I
do believe, however, that cell phone companies must provide you with
unlock codes under certain circumstances. You can usually find unlock
codes that you can enter yourself (depending on the phone), but if you
enter the wrong code too many times, then it can only be unlocked
using the correct equipment that most of us don't have.


Good luck and hopefully this has shed a *little* more light. The cell
phone companies in this country sure don't make things easy.

M


On 11/1/07, DAVID F. FARKAS <david at farkas.com> wrote:
>    ** The author of this post was a Good Dobee.
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>
>
>
>  Thank you all for your information about Treos.
>
>  A buddy of mine just offered me a Sprint Treo 650 phone. I'm on Verizon.
> I've heard that the phone can be 'unlocked' and work then on any system.
> When I ask Verizon tech support they say no, it has to have their 'software'
> to operate on their network.
>
>  And the real answer is?
>
>  If unlocking works, does anyone know someone who is good at at. I've heard
> it has to be 'done right.'
>
>  As always, thanx for sharing your wealth of knowledge. Hidden Tech ROX!
> <yeah... he has a 12-year old>
>
>  Blissings,
>  David
>
>
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-- 


Sincerely,

Michael Klatsky --- TnR Global, LLC
http://www.tnrglobal.com
PO Box 550, Greenfield, MA 01302
michaelk at tnrglobal.com