Travel Technology - You pick my new Business Phone

I am in the middle of no where and I rarely get updates on phones and when I am traveling I don't really want to sit there and learn about 200 new phones.... so you folks can pick my new phone for me...

I have a Nokia E61i... I'm not liking symbian to much.... I have large documents that I am having hard time searching and there is not much I like to use the phone for... Excel File for example is 7,000 lines long (I know I'm asking a lot here) and I travel to Pacific Islands, Manila, Thailand, China, USA etc... and I need a business phone and or blackberry... Have sim's for every country I travel to.

USE... excel... Word... Expenses... Email (aol, gmail, and another pop system), web site etc... Need GSM 900 minimum as home only has GSM 900 so has to be a QUAD band GSM phone. And I NEED a keyboard, I text a lot but I am old and need the little keypad to enter things.

Would purchase out of Thailand and would get the generic software add ons out of there too or download from asia the software.

Am not against BlackBerry but never used it, no idea if I could use it in the pacific islands as many do not work out this way. Camera is helpful but not necessary. MP3 is helpful but rarely use as have MP3 player I like. DO not really want the apple iphone. Dual Sim would be nice since I travel to different countries a lot and have one universal sim but not necessary.

Secondly... if an all in one business phone does not have dual sim... what dual sim phone is good... many generic dual sim's out of asia you can pick up and use dual sim's but any well known that people recommend... Would not mind carrying a business phone and a dual sim phone at same time.

I do have a tiny portable laptop that can fit in fanny pack but find I really use my phone for notes, comments, excel files, work issues etc... often.

Do you need to edit docs on the phone or just view them? If you want to edit you're looking at a WinMo phone as the best option. For viewing your options are wider. I like my BB8830, but I do not know if they have any quad-band models out there. The Nokia 9300 has a great keyboard but I do not think there is a quadband version of it, either.

Yup... gotta edit big time and on the go... a fast search function through a lot of products and data with switching between calculator and excel (spreadsheet) is often a plus....

HTC Touch Pro sounds like it'll fit your needs just fine.



I am in the middle of no where and I rarely get updates on phones and when I am traveling I don't really want to sit there and learn about 200 new phones.... so you folks can pick my new phone for me...

I have a Nokia E61i... I'm not liking symbian to much.... I have large documents that I am having hard time searching and there is not much I like to use the phone for... Excel File for example is 7,000 lines long (I know I'm asking a lot here) and I travel to Pacific Islands, Manila, Thailand, China, USA etc... and I need a business phone and or blackberry... Have sim's for every country I travel to.

USE... excel... Word... Expenses... Email (aol, gmail, and another pop system), web site etc... Need GSM 900 minimum as home only has GSM 900 so has to be a QUAD band GSM phone. And I NEED a keyboard, I text a lot but I am old and need the little keypad to enter things.

Would purchase out of Thailand and would get the generic software add ons out of there too or download from asia the software.

Am not against BlackBerry but never used it, no idea if I could use it in the pacific islands as many do not work out this way. Camera is helpful but not necessary. MP3 is helpful but rarely use as have MP3 player I like. DO not really want the apple iphone. Dual Sim would be nice since I travel to different countries a lot and have one universal sim but not necessary.

Secondly... if an all in one business phone does not have dual sim... what dual sim phone is good... many generic dual sim's out of asia you can pick up and use dual sim's but any well known that people recommend... Would not mind carrying a business phone and a dual sim phone at same time.

I do have a tiny portable laptop that can fit in fanny pack but find I really use my phone for notes, comments, excel files, work issues etc... often.

HTC Touch Pro sounds like it'll fit your needs just fine.

Looks good but I've always been leery of slides or flips... Treo's and Nokia and full sized items I've always had since the early phones as the early flips always ended up breaking on me. Built solid?? Spec's look good. But 1 grand for a phone... 500 fine... but a grand... this should drive my car for me at this level hahahhahaha... seriously will take a close look at it, thanks.. I even know where a licensed dealer is in BKK.

Looks good but I've always been leery of slides or flips... Treo's and Nokia and full sized items I've always had since the early phones as the early flips always ended up breaking on me. Built solid?? Spec's look good. But 1 grand for a phone... 500 fine... but a grand... this should drive my car for me at this level hahahhahaha... seriously will take a close look at it, thanks.. I even know where a licensed dealer is in BKK.

It is JUST out, and should also be outon AT&T soon (which will get the price down a lot). HTC have been making sliders for years, and they have perfected the mechanism. I've opened and closed my current HTC 1000's of times, and it's still rock solid.

Another option would be the SonyEricsson Xperia X1; best specs on the market (till the next one comes along). FWIW; the X1 is also made by HTC.

OR; you could try and find yourself an HTC Advantage:

http://www.htc.com/uk/product.aspx?id=8440

Plenty of options out there :)

Plenty of options out there :)

Such the reason to ask the questions... have you ever walked into the phone markets in asia??? 100 million phones and everyone says their phones are the best.... Too many issues so need your inputs...

Have you considered getting yourself a small notebook like the Asus Eee or Acer Aspire One?

I've reached a point where my phone simply no longer does what I always need. No amount of power in a phone will help you when you are editing 7000 lines of Excel. A small netbook will cost about $400, then another $400 for a good phone with tethering abilities, and you have a much more powerful combination.

Have you considered getting yourself a small notebook like the Asus Eee or Acer Aspire One?

I've reached a point where my phone simply no longer does what I always need. No amount of power in a phone will help you when you are editing 7000 lines of Excel. A small netbook will cost about $400, then another $400 for a good phone with tethering abilities, and you have a much more powerful combination.

I do have one, I stated above I do have a tiny one that can fit in a waist bag unfortunately I have found myself a few times without the com and only the phone :rolleyes: the nokia and with symbian is limited in secondary applications and I just don't feel the e61i is powerful enough... Did play with the new 71 recently and it was better but not perfect.

All GSM Blackberries are quad-band.

I do have one, I stated above I do have a tiny one that can fit in a waist bag unfortunately I have found myself a few times without the com and only the phone :rolleyes: the nokia and with symbian is limited in secondary applications and I just don't feel the e61i is powerful enough... Did play with the new 71 recently and it was better but not perfect.

OK, then your only real alternatives are the devices I listed :(

Personally, I'd lean towards the Touch Pro or the X1, but you'd need to shop around to find them for under $750... (the X1 won't be out for another month or so).

Are there any new Nokias coming that might suit? I read of some new 'multimedia' models, so might some E- or N-series business models be coming, too?

Why not a UPMC then?

esp if there is editing needed for Excel.

for phones, I'd stick with the E71 from Nokia since that is what the OP knows

OK, then your only real alternatives are the devices I listed :(

Personally, I'd lean towards the Touch Pro or the X1, but you'd need to shop around to find them for under $750... (the X1 won't be out for another month or so).

My budget it is 35,000 baht which if the exchange keeps going in my direction favorably then that's over 1,000 USD so this is not an issue. It just say it better drive my car for me.... Purchase would be end of Nov out of Thailand... so the issue date is not a concern.

But anything else out there that has all the business functions I need... I could care little the camera's and other things....

Looks good but I've always been leery of slides or flips... Treo's and Nokia and full sized items I've always had since the early phones as the early flips always ended up breaking on me. Built solid?? Spec's look good. But 1 grand for a phone... 500 fine... but a grand... this should drive my car for me at this level hahahhahaha... seriously will take a close look at it, thanks.. I even know where a licensed dealer is in BKK.

You could always try the HTC Touch Diamond, esentially a touch pro w/o sliding Keyboard.

Or you could go really crazy with an HTC Advantage.

http://www.htc.com/www/product.aspx?id=474

Scott, is the Xperia really coming out next month? I've been waiting for it for quite some time now!

I say go with the BlackBerry Bold. It'll probably match all your needs.

http://www.blackberry.com/blackberrybold/

I've been using it since it came out and It's such a nice way to organize everything. It should pretty much work wherever you get signal because it'll just roam on the data network of whichever carrier you connect to.

I say go with the BlackBerry Bold. It'll probably match all your needs.

http://www.blackberry.com/blackberrybold/

I've been using it since it came out and It's such a nice way to organize everything. It should pretty much work wherever you get signal because it'll just roam on the data network of whichever carrier you connect to.
A few problems I think may come up with the BBerry. I may be wrong and will happily be corrected:

1) When you swap out the SIM the data connection may not work with the 'new' provider.
2) You'll want to get an unlimited data plan with your provider. Ours is about $100/month. But then when you swap out the SIM I'm not sure that is going to be useful.
3) Can you edit documents on the Bold?

1. There are two data connections here. There's the carrier-based one, which is tied to the SIM. So you'll need a Blackberry data plan for each SIM you have. Then, there's the Blackberry data, which is tied to the Blackberry's PIN and routed through RIM's servers. Each time you switch SIMs, you'll need to de-register the Blackberry PIN from that carrier's Blackberry service, and register it with the new carrier's. This is usually done on a website through your carrier. The Berry is really not designed with swapping SIMs in mind. You will also need to re-send the Blackberry's service books (programming info) each time you do this, also from the carrier's Blackberry website.

2. You pay a lot. T-Mobile USA lets you have unlimited Blackberry data as a $20/month add on to any voice plan. Though I know that's ridiculously cheap compared to every other Blackberry carrier I know of.

3. I believe that OS version 4.5 (included with the Bold) allows you to edit Word and Powerpoint docs. YOu can buy another version of Documents To Go to do Excel and such, I think.

In the end, I love the Blackberry. They are also quad-band GSM so they work anywhere. But for the OP's needs, it might not be the best solution - unless he just wants to keep it with one SIM, and have a backup "normal" phone that he can swap SIMs in and out of.

i have a touch pro. you can use them as a mobile modem with the supplied usb cable you use for syncing the phone. perhaps the OP would be able to use this with his netbook for data network working on the move?

i got this phone to dispense with carting the laptop around when i anticipated only small input needs, but take it if there is more work to do. the data modem function allows most economical use of the phone/data package and is one less device than a dongle to carry.

i have no knowledge of the OP's usage on his side of the planet, or how the networks work there!

used in the UK, with an unlimited high speed data package i get the mobile internet etc. the Touch Pro keyboard is IMHO a little small for lots of data input, but when linked to the netbook using the phone as the modem should be the best of both worlds i would have thought.

A few problems I think may come up with the BBerry. I may be wrong and will happily be corrected:

1) When you swap out the SIM the data connection may not work with the 'new' provider.
2) You'll want to get an unlimited data plan with your provider. Ours is about $100/month. But then when you swap out the SIM I'm not sure that is going to be useful.
3) Can you edit documents on the Bold?

I think the bold should fit your needs. I am pretty sure you can edit ms docs on it but I am not sure about the data availability when you switch sims.

If nothing else, have your phone set up to tether and then you can use your ultra portable to edit your docs...

2. You pay a lot. T-Mobile USA lets you have unlimited Blackberry data as a $20/month add on to any voice plan. Though I know that's ridiculously cheap compared to every other Blackberry carrier I know of.

I'm talking unlimited data while roaming int'l. You can get that for $20/month on T-Mobile USA?