where else would a docomo phone work anyway? lol. im definately missing something here.

this is so plain, boring, and definately ripped off from samsungs designs.

cingular's logo is not a "splat". his name is Jack. you know, like the jacks kids used to play with before they had cell phones and mp3 players...

rofl! thats exactly what i was thinking! lol! Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution Evolution... Which would basically be evolution squared, which is just EDGE2. So why not just call it EDGE2? lol

in all fairness, im basing this on http://www.nokia.co.uk/A4353372 which could change for the US. but lately nokia has just been bringing the phones over here without any additional network support.

i cant believe that there is no 850/1900 hsdpa support. thats the whole reason i didnt buy a n80 or n95. and i wont buy any more nokias until they wake up and realize there are other hsdpa bands in use.

n80 and n95... look at how much $ they lost just from me not buying those. and how many other people didnt buy them for the same reason? obviously these phones are for tech-savy people. and obviously tech-savy people want 3g... no matter what continent they are on.

i have had 9290s and 9500s for years now. and i loved them. but it was time for 3g. and nokia is not delivering with the n or e series in north america. very disappointing.

all of the 9xxx's should have been huge hits. but nokia failed on advertising them properly and getting them placed with carriers properly. now it looks like they'll be doing the same + not even equipping the radios properly.

this really is just a nokia 9600. i dont know why they dont call it that. it actually sounds much better i think.

the sidekick should have been toast. communicators were out way before and are far superior. but since nokia cant get their act together with these devices, the sidekick and other pdas will continue to capture the $.

its a real shame because it looks like nokia listened to a lot of user gripes. the hinges look stronger (probably the #1 reason for breakage with previous models), the keyboard is backlit, and there is now a flash. just to name a few. BUT WHO THE HELL THOUGHT IT WOULD BE SMART TO MOVE DOWN THE TAB AND SHIFT BUTTONS FOR SOME SORT OF PROFILE KEY???

I really really want this phone. But without 850/1900 3g, ill opt for an HTC 8525. what good is a video conference camera for me if i dont even have 3g? (dont even get me started on people trying to do it over edge)

ok everyone, its time to stop with the childish name calling and just discuss facts. feel free to disagree with my statements, but do so in a mature manner.

1) CONTENT PURCHASING

correct me if im wrong, but "iphone" relates to "ipod", right? the whole purpose of it is that it is an "ipod phone", right?

maybe im not seeing this the same as everyone else, but right away that spells ui problems. not necessarily as far as the phones interface, but what about the content purchasing platform?

vzw phones are very strict about working only with content purchased directly through vzw's get it now/vcast service or whatever its called. (correct me if im wrong on this or if this has changed) but i have never ever successfully mms or bluetooth or cabled a song from my computer or cell phone to a vzw phone.

(side note: yet with gsm phones it is easy as pie to email, mms, cable, or bluetooth/obex any mp3 or sound or video file from a phone or pc to another gsm phone.)

there is an immediate conflict of interests. vzw wants people to purchase content exclusively from their service, whereas apple wants it purchased from itunes. im more likely to believe any sharing of profits was probably related to content purchasing through some consolidated store, which seems more likely, rather than related to voice service mrc's.

2) CURRENT PARTNERSHIPS

as i mentioned above, vzw phones only download content from the vzw service. in contrast, cingular has had a working partnership with apple since the very first itunes-hybrid phone was released in the us, the ROKR. it makes much more sense to me that apple would release an iphone with a carrier that they have always had itunes phones with (ROKR, RAZR w/itunes, SLVR L7, etc).

Cingular is a lot more open to allowing outside content purchases with music, as it also has agreements with napster, yahoo music, emusic, etc...

3) GLOBAL STANDARD

GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications. We can argue all day about which is better and which has better coverage. But at the end of the day, the global standard is GSM, and therefore it has the most subscribers. Theres no arguing that.

Lets say you were going to sign an exclusive contract for your brand new type of scissors. There are two main competitors, Left-handers-r-us and Right-hand-man, which would you sign your deal with? Obviously the one that has the largest customer base. its so obvious im not even going to say it. if you really cant figure it out please press ALT and F4 at the same time to see the answer. lol.

im not sure if the exclusive deal is worldwide, but if it is not then apple could easy market the phone with other GSM providers in over 200 countries. why choose cdma with only a handful of countries? And who is to say after the exclusive deal is over that they cant simply swap in a cdma radio? are there not gsm and cdma palm phones? come on now people.

4) DEMOGRAPHICS

i wont get too far into this because i cannot cite any sources to show facts. but i believe cingular was initially intended to be a "hip" brand with a "hip" image (think the orange mascot "Jack"). this marketing is certainly more in line with the type of audience that uses ipods.

also, gsm users are probably more into the lastest technology than cdma users. cdma phones are really locked into however the carrier wants them. although gsm phones can also be subsidy locked, theyre originally based upon open standards. (and can easily be unlocked too). gsm phones are easy to import/export/share/borrow/whatever you want. its much easier to import the lastest greatest gsm phone and just pop in your sim than trying to import a cdma phone.

5. TECHNOLOGY

since gsm has more of a user base, its only natural that gsm providers get newer technology phones first. cingular had the first itunes phone (rokr), the first razr in '04, tmobile was the first with uma, gsm is the first with actual tv tuners, first with simultaneous voice and data, first with visual voicemail, etc.

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with all this in mind, it just seems like such a basic decision to go with cingular. is it really just me, or is it a no-brainer?

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ok i changed my mind. i do want to get into the whole "which is better" stuff.
so as far as the comparison arguements from this thread go...

CDMA can actually handle more simultaneous voice calls, but Cingular has more towers than any other carrier in the US. so do you need better coverage near your home/work, or more towers in more places? if your home/work gets good signal with cdma and thats where you need it, go with cdma. if you need more towers on the road or you move around a lot, go with cingular.

CDMA does have a much larger current broadband footprint. HSDPA will be faster, though. and it will allow for simultaneous voice and data (ie. video conference cell phone calls, showing someone pictures on their screen as you describe them, sending someone a file while you explain it, etc). if you need an "is everywhere right now" and stable broadband connection, go with cdma. if you are lucky enough to be in a hsdpa area and you want the fastest or want the latest in technology, go with GSM.

CDMA is only in a handful of countries. GSM is in over 200 countries. Do you ever even leave the country? If not, this doesn't even matter and you can consider CDMA. If you travel abroad frequently, you will definately want to consider a quadband GSM phone.

CDMA 3G services are more uniform throughout, though. GSM 3G is not the same in the US as other countries. Keep in mind if your 3G is 1900 or 2100, and which frequency 3G is on where you are going.

CDMA is pretty much standard. With GSM, you have to keep in mind that 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 are used and note which your phone supports.

If you are happy with the selection of phones from carriers, check out CDMA. if you would like to be able to import from other countries or direct from manufacturers, you may want to consider GSM.


anyhoo... i have cingular so i get an iphone and you guys dont! na na na na na! haha im jk. i dont buy from itunes because its a pain in the butt to try to use your songs in anything but an ipod. which ironically is contrary to the idea of standardization that started GSM. plus id much rather have a real smartphone. if nokia is listening, please make a HSDPA communicator! 9600 please? with video calling? please!!!

goodnight all.

yes, I also want the N80 now! ...wow, more demand for it than i thought. N80! N80! N80! :P