As usual, I agonized over this particular consumer decision for several months. I have an old and busted Sony Ericsson T616 that's almost 3 years old at this point. I didn't feel like switching carriers so chose among the Cingular phones available.

I really liked the Nokia E62 but turns out because Cingular classifies it as a PDA, you can only get the "PDA Connect" unlimited data plan for $45/month which is kind of ridiculous. I also was interested in the Sony Ericsson W810i and maybe the Motorola SLVR L7 but they both are just regular non-smart phones.

So I went and figured out which phones of theirs qualify for the "Smartphone Connect" unlimited data plan for $20/month. I ended up with the HTC Star Trek, which Cingular rebadges as the Cingular 3125. It's a thin Razr-style clamshell phone that runs Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone Edition, so a lot more functionality.





I went thru Letstalk.com to get the best discounts and whatnot, but with converting from AT&T to Cingular some of the rebates have to be done as mail-in rather than instant if you start out already having a Cingular phone. It was $169 and a $50 rebate will bring it down to $119. I have the basic Cingular Nation 450 w/ Rollover plan for $40/month and added the Smartphone Connect unlimited data plan for another $20/month so I'm still not paying too much.

Report to follow once the phone gets here on Wednesday...

 

good choice. i was also looking at that phone when i was looking for a new phone. decided to stay with nokia tho h:

 

nice choice. im kind of against buying "cingular" phones. i think i might soon though

 

Yeah I was a bit weary of it myself, but in my looking around it seems that HTC is a good company and they're pretty well-liked in reviews of their phones branded as whatever carrier or other company. We shall see....

 

i want a new phone, but i'm not sure which one i want.

 

looks nice.

 

i want the cingular 8125

 

Well, looks like it'll have to wait til thursday. I checked the order status this afternoon, and it said "additional customer contact required." I called in, they needed me to re-verify my billing zip code and last 4 digits of SSN. Ok fine. Checked it like an hour later, still said the same thing. Called in again, the rep this time saw no mention in the file of me having called in to verify the information, so I gave it to them again. Now the website is showing they're submitting the plan change and upgrade request to Cingular, which if they hadn't lollygagged with today would be done already and my phone would be shipped out. Oh well, I just want it to get to me by the end of the week cuz I'm leaving on a weeklong trip on saturday.

 

i'm not that crazy about flip phones.. but it looks nice. i'm still rockin' my motorola 120c.. :lmao:

 

EVDO > Edge