The Unloading Zone: Hey ATT: How about giving us some REAL SmartPhones???

I've owned a mobile phone ever since cellular service was turned on in New York City in 1984. I've used dozens of phones on pretty much every major service out there. My current favorite is Cingular/att. In Dallas, where I live, they have the best coverage, the absolute best rate plans, and their customer service is great. When I travel around the country, I've yet to run into bad phone service. That's not to say that somewhere out there, they have lousy coverage, but not where I live and travel.

So I've decided to buy a SmartPhone. I checked out their website which is where all the deals are and then went to my local att store to actually touch the phones. I looked at the Black Jack which was only $99 on-line ($199 in the store). Since att is giving me an additional discount since my 2 year contract expired 6 months ago, this phone is practically free to me. It has 3G, but no WiFi and is running Windows Mobile 5.0, not 6.0.

The Blackberry Curve felt good to use.....but no WiFi AND no 3G. I quickly discovered the only WiFi phones they carried were that piece of crap iPhone (which only one person in a very crowded store asked about) and the ATT (they use all caps for this one) 8525. The iPhone I've talked enough about. It's overpriced, overhyped, and under-featured. The 8525 had pretty much everything I wanted. It did have a slide-out keyboard which I don't prefer but could live with but had Windows Mobile 5, upgradeable to Mobile 6 in the 3rd quarter. WE'RE IN THE 3rd QUARTER! And the deal-breaker was that it used a.....STYLUS!!!!!!!!

So I went to virtually visit my friends at Wireless Imports. They carry the unlocked phones they only sell in Europe. After viewing a few phones, I wanted to cry.

There was the Samsung I600 which looks almost like the Blackjack only nicer. It had Windows Mobile 6 AND Wifi! Price was $445 unlocked. The Nokia E61 with WiFi at $339 unlocked. And then there was the HTC P3450 which has a unique touch screen that lets you scroll, move objects, and do a whole lot of stuff. It also comes with WiFi, Windows Mobile 6 Professional, and the complete MS Office suite. It has stereo bluetooth and costs $489 unlocked. Sounds like a lot, but it's actually $10 LESS than the cheaper version of the iPoop.

I could go on and on.....phone after phone with the latest features AND the latest software. WHY ISN'T ATT BUYING THESE??????????? The T-Mobile Wing is actually the HTC P4350. These phones CAN be brought into the country. And EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM will work on T-Mobile (who has the worst service and most expensive rate plans in Dallas) AND Cingular/att!!!! Why can't we choose from these REALLY SmartPhones???????????

As a long-time Cingular/att customer, I'm pissed. What they offer now is substandard but I can get a great price from them (except on the iJunk). I can buy an unlocked state-of-the-art phone from Wireless Imports or on eBay but no discount. I can wait, because att treats new product releases like they were State Secrets, but why should I have to? These Super-SmartPhones are available NOW. Come on, att....Give us some REAL choices!

If you want to see these phones and more, like the new version of the Razor or the Motorola Q9, go to Wireless Imports. Their website is listed in the center column of my blog under "Website and Blogs I Like and You Should Too". So is eBay if you find a phone you like and want to comparison-shop.

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