vB Easy Archive - Cingular 8525 w/Family Talk Plan, Help Me Choose 2nd Phone

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Cingular 8525 w/Family Talk Plan, Help Me Choose 2nd Phone
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Posted by: hwhiteco

The wife and I are considering contracting 2 PDA/Smartphones, choosing the Cingular 8525 as our primary device, adding a Family Talk voice plan (shared minutes on 2 phones), along with the PDA Connect Unlimited data plan for the primary line (data on 1 phone only), and will be using AOL as our primary email account. Our dilemma is deciding on what device to select for the 2nd phone. I’m leaning towards opting for another 8525 as the 2nd phone. Mainly since it is the only current Cingular based device available with Wi-Fi & 3G, along with the fact of the 8525 also appears to be a feature rich phone.

From what I was able to scour from the forums, in addition to sharing the voice minutes, utilizing the 8525 as the 2nd phone without a dedicated data plan would provide me with standalone Hotspot data access on Phone 2 when in a Wi-Fi zone, while the primary 8525 would be able to access any one of the GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, or Wi-Fi connections, when available. This paying for a data plan on 1 phone scenario would potentially have both phones being data capable, on different networks, or the two phones on Wi-Fi, as long as the appropriate signals were in range. Does anyone know if the T-Mobile’s hotspots are on a secure network, or would the 8525 be able to access them also? At any rate, if I were to go with the two 8525 phones, the fact of them being identical would also afford me the added convenience of sharing/swapping some of the current and future components and accessories. By the way, does anyone have any recommendations on a Holder/Pouch or Belt Clip for the 8525 and where to obtain it?

On the flip side of the coin, I’d also consider pairing the 8525 with a BlackJack, Palm Treo 750, Palm Treo 680, or any other compatible Cingular based device that anyone may suggest. However, the Blackberry units would probably be ruled out, as I believe they would require a separate, individual “Blackberry” plan to access data on their devices.

Are all the SIM cards in the current Cingular based phones interchangeable whether or not they’re 3G capable? For example, if I removed the SIM card with the Data Plan from the 8525 & installed it in either of the Palm Treos, the BlackJack, or any other data capable phone in the current Cingular lineup & configured those device settings properly, would they inherit the data reception feature while maintaining their voice functionality? Assuming this were true, then I take it that the converse would also apply, meaning if I were to install a “non-data plan” SIM card into the 8525, would it lose it’s 3G, Edge, etc capabilities while retaining it’s Wi-Fi ability, correct?

A few consequences I perceive that may or may not occur as a result of pairing a different (non 8525) phone with the 8525 would include the following;

1) Price variation, 2) Inferior specs and/or lack of features, 3) Size disparity, lighter & more compact, one hand operation or heavy & more cumbersome, two handed operation, 4) Screen differences, dimensions, touch, stylus, brightness colors, clarity, 5) Keyboard, layout, feel, 6) Dissimilar OS’s, such as Windows Mobile 5.0 & Palm OS, with unlike browsers, and processors. 7) Palm Treo phones come loaded with Bluetooth v1.2 & USB v1.1 vs. Bluetooth v2.0 & USB v2.0 on the other phones, 8) Superior “user friendly” features/qualities, 9) Potential of supporting additional protocols, 10) Enhanced compatibility of device &/or APN with your personal email ISP account or other programs, such as providing the capability of Direct Push, Express Mail, MediaNet, etc), 11) Increased availability of 3rd party software to a particular unit or OS. (Anyone have any recommendations on their favorite software apps for the 8525 or other devices?), 12) Inability to share/swap parts & accessories, thereby requiring the duplication of some accessories, and eliminating the troubleshooting aid of swapping out questionable components. Undoubtedly, additional ramifications exist that I’ve overlooked, but these are just some that come to mind right now. Perhaps some of you can enlighten me on additional areas of concern that I may need to be made aware of.

In closing, I must apologize about the lengthy & rambling post, but besides my inquiry being a little out of the ordinary, I’ve already consumed a great deal of time searching the forums with limited success, and I now find myself in a bit of a time crunch in nailing this down. As a newbie and first time PDA user, I could certainly use all the help I can get, especially when taking the time & money factor into account. In the end, I’ll probably be married to these phones for a minimum of 2 years as I don’t see the 30 day trial/return feature as being too viable of an option due to the somewhat steep learning curve of such devices. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I sincerely appreciate it, and would be grateful for hearing replies from as many as possible of you well seasoned techies and expert users.

Best regards,