Knowing HP I'd expect them to be aiming for $699 unconnected and $499 connected.

My question on this subject has a few components. My wife travels to Europe several times a year and is about to accept a new job that will also send her to Japan, Hong Kong and mainland China. She is currently a Sprint customer but isn't locked in with any type of contract.

She is tired of having to carry her Sony Clie as well as a phone and would like to find a global phone that would also be her PDA.

Her other needs will be to receive email wherever she travels.

She would also like Bluetooth and possibly WiFi in her new phone.

As for the phone having a web browser, that would be nice but not mandatory.

We live in NYC and Verizon simply has the best reception here, hands down. The problem is that Verizon is limited as to what they offer in global phone-PDA combination. If she is forced to, she would switch to any carrier, but would prefer Verizon because of their performance here in NYC where she still will be using the phone 95% of the time.

So what product and carrier would you recommend for her?

As they say in AMS, "that is not possible." Unfortunately, the system used in Japan is incompatible with basically anything else. You'll just have to scratch that off. There are phones you can rent while in Japan (no reason you coulnd't buy one either, I guess) that will take the SIM card from your GSM phone and allow it to work there for calls but I wouldn't hold out much hope for things like data and email working.

Let's talk about Europe, China, and Hong Kong. You'l have to go with a GSM device because there is no CDMA here (or there, to speak of). That leaves out Verizon (someone will be along shortly to exclaim, "but...they have a new Frankenphone with GSM and CDMA coming out!". That may be the case but it is a basic phone and will not do the other stuff your wife wants). I had such a great experience with T-Mobile when I lived in the US that I would recommend them, though I don't know much about the current state of US networks.

The Treo 650 more-or-less qualifies. It works pretty much everywhere in the world except Japan, supports high-speed data, comes with a mail client and web browser. The downside is that the wifi hack is just that...a very clunky hack, and has serious usability implications. The BenQ P50 has everything you want going for it, but isn't out yet and is going to cost ONE MILLION DOLLARS when they do get it to market, it seems. This new HP thing looks very cool and has the added plus that it comes with the Goodlink email software, which is similar to Blackberry. Very nice.

Other options would be the MDA, XGAIII, and maybe even the Motorola A630. While the last isn't a PDA, it's a quadband GSM phone with built-in email client and a full QWERTY keyboard in a very small package.

I, too, am thinking about ditching CDMA, but $329? Was it a specific coupon? A targerted offer? If you could post details, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

She could stick with VZ in NY and just get the same Treo 650 or similar product overseas. Then you can copy the data back and forth as needed. Sign up with the best carrier that serves the country you will spend the most time in. Many of these regions have special roaming deals that might make sense. Try Vodaphone for instance. They may even have a special deal for when you roam to Japan and have to rent a phone. If you put your say Chinese vodaphone SIM in the phone you rent in Japan, then you might get better rates than I do with an AT&T chip. As for T-Mobile USA, their chips don't work in Japan or Korea the last time I checked. T-Mobile German SIM's do work there.

What I like about the Tero 650 is that it is a quadband. It'll work in places like Morrocco or French Polynesia, where a triband would be useless.

Both networks in Morrocco are GSM900, and French Polynesia is GSM900 also.

When someone refers to a "tri-band phone" they almost always refer to a phone that does GSM900/1800/1900. Only Cingular and ATTWS were the spoilsports by having to use GSM850.

There are a bunch more networks using 850 nowadays. Lots of US rural carriers do and several latin american carriers too. It has been forecast that more than half of all of latin america will be 850 in a few years.

It was a postcard I received at my office from Sprint. Take it to a PCS store and get 20% off select Sprint PCS devices(including the 650) until April 9th. Plus, a $150 credit on a 2-year agreement. $599-20%=479-150=329.

There are no offer codes or coupon codes on it, so I'd just try going into a store and saying that one of your co-workers got the postcard. I'm actually going to take the postcard with me to a Cingular store and see if they will match the deal on a GSM 650.

Thanks- I received a postcard from sprint recently, but it was offering $50 off a phone and some kind of airline companion ticket.

Thanks for the info. I had a feeling that Verizon was a problem because of CDMA. Lets rule out Japan, China & HK which she might visit once a year, and focus on Europe where in addition to business we also like to spend our vacations.

As the Treo 650 is offered (or soon to be offered) by several of our GSM providers, which company is the best for domestic US coverage (especially NYC) and also for when she will be in Europe? Also are any of the calling plans out there really superior to the others?

I can't speak to coverage in the US, though a couple years ago T-Mobile was vastly better in NY it seemed to me.

China, HK, and Europe are all going to be essentially the same in terms of network interoperability, so no need to leave anyone out. :) In Europe, you'll likely be surprised by the extent of coverage. At least in these parts I have never dropped a call in nearly two years. Most networks are 900, some are 1800, and some are both (same with Asia). You won't have to mess with it though, the phone will find the right one automatically.

If your wife wants to roam internationally (using her US number), it would pay to look carefully at Cingular and T-Mobile's pricing. Per-minute prices are all over the map, and always expensive.

Yes. But Cingular called their 850/1800/900 "triband", which technically they were, but they were not "worldphones" in the widest sense since they left 900 out.

Conversely, someone buying a triband phone in Europe will most likely buy a 900/1800/1900 which will not work in some parts of the US.

So a quadband has you covered.

Cingular now has the 650 listed on their website. My choice for a carrier for my wife is now narrowed down to Sprint, AT&T/Cingular and in the very near future T Mobile. Does anyone have a preference for any of these carriers when they are making calls in Europe back to the USA?

My wife is currently a Sprint customer and asked me whether there are any special deals available from them to upgrade to a 650? I didn't have a clue.

Also is it possible to purchase an unlocked phone from one of these three carriers and then buy a sim card while abroad, or do they force you to buy a locked phone?

In terms of functionality, AT&T/Cingular and T-Mobile will be the same from Europe. The only difference will be price (which you can find out their web site). Sprint, of course, is unable to roam in Europe so there really isn't an answer there.

No carrier will sell you an unlocked phone, though I know T-Mobile will give you an unlock code after a couple of months of service with them on world phones. I would imagine Cingular will do the same. You can get the Treo unlocked directly from PalmOne, though, and use it on any US carrier as well as any other.

Edited to add: Oh, gee, look what just popped up in my inbox. This is another device to consider. http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000410031095/