Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry6230/4.0.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1)

If you all haven't lost patience with me yet.... :)

Is there a cell phone/pda combo (preferably for Cingular) that has a Palm interface, does "push" email (a la Blackberry), has wifi, and is not hideously expensive (nor is its dataplan)?

Any thoughts? A bit tired of carrying three devices, even though I do love my giant, Luddite Nokia 6340

For devices, you really can't go wrong with a Treo 600. The 650 is newer with a better display but the 600 is perfectly functional and now that the 650's been out so long they're CHEAP. They're also quadband and will work great with AT&T/Chachachingular.. Chatter email supposedly works amazingly well for push Email so Treo 600 + chatter = happiness perhaps.

Thank you.

What would you suggest for a source?

eBay unlocked ones seem to be around $125.

Amazon has some from private sellers (I'm a little skeptical of the$50 one!):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...Fencoding=UTF8

I notice that on Palm's website, there is a specific updater file to download for those who are now-Cingular-formerly-ATT customers (which would be me and the two phones on our family plan)

I could get a Treo 650 upgrade to my current plan for $200, but that would mean a) going from an ATT sim to a Cingular one (and, the Cingular people told me, that that would necessitate getting two new phones for our family plan -- which I and family don't want to do), b) committing to a new 2 year contract.

If I got, though, a Treo 600 off of eBay, is it simply a matter of dropping in my current ATT sim, calling Cingular with the IMEI number, downloading and updating the phone via Palm's website.

More thanks for your patience :)

I was under the impression the Treo only did true "push" email if your company installs Goodlink. And I don't believe any Treo has wifi, although the 700 and 650 have bluetooth (the 600 does not have bluetooth, either).

I purchased a 600 last year off of ebay, it now has its 2nd SIM card in it.

All I had to do was put it in, turn it on and it automatically detected the card and registered the phone on the network. That is the beauty of it being unlocked, no dealing with mobile phone companies.

If you are serious that this is the unit you want, I would be willing to sell you mine (I found a new toy I want to spend my $$ on LOL)

The unlocked Treo 600 will work perfectly. The Treos autoconfigure data settings to whatever carriers' SIM is inserted so no worries there. The updaters are specific to their phones so for an unlocked unit you'd want the generic GSM updater. Only use the AT&T or Cingular ones with their specific branded Treos. You wouldn't even need to call Cingular with the IMEI, simply add data service on. That may be a bit expensive but will cost FAR less than BB service.

The one benefit to buying through Amazon is that they're good about refunds and claims and such. Ebay, well, not so much but it's much easier to verify who's a good seller and who isn't as well as get a look at the device. If they don't show you the screen and it's condition (working), don't buy it. Orange splotches are common and indicate screen damage.

In NO CASE would I go for the new Treo from Cingular and extend the contract. Just buy one off Ebay.

Thank you!!

I hope that Cingular doesn't tell me they can't add a dataplan on to an ATT sim; they keep wanting me to "upgrade" to a Cingular contract/plan (for two years, of course and with having to change all the phones on our family plan)

Even for private sellers?

Thanks for the heads up.

Again, thanks. A friend reports that he is not happy with the 650 upgrade from his 600; he says the 650 is significantly flakier.

EDIT -- Question: Will either the unlocked GSM version OR one locked to Cingular work? (I am a former ATT wireless customer and still have an ATT sim for my phone on my now-Cingular account)

If you still have an ex-AT&T sim card it will not work with a phone that's locked to cingular. The unlocked version will work w/ any sim card - that's why it's unlocked.

Thanks for that :)

A possibly interesting (but also possibly coincidental) note: After this thread appeared, the prices on eBay for 600s jumped significantly over what they had been a few days earlier. I saw the same thing for a few days when my thread that ended up being about the old Nokia 6340 was fresh.

Are you comparing prices on auctions in progress or on completed auctions? Because of all the sniping that goes on, the prices on auctions in progress are pretty meaningless.

Good point. Both showed some rise in both cases.

It could be merely coincidence, or my misreading the apparent data, though.

I sell my old textbooks on Amazon marketplace. They have a guarantee (A to Z or something like that). I know sellers kind of hate it. Basically, the customer complains, usually immediately gets their money back, and then SELLER has to prove that customer is lying.

My Treo 600 has Goodlink installed, which is true "push" email/calendar/tasks. It is also live with our Exchange Server.

As to the Treo 600 v 650, our company had all sorts of problems with the earlier 650s, although the later ones are proving stable. My 600 is starting to fray a little after 18 months, and I ***may*** be getting a Nokia E61 (with Goodlink client) to try (as the company's resident "give it to willyroo and see if he can break it"). :)

(Edited to add - the Treo 600 is a very good compromise "all in one")