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One of our members has a global telephone that is separate from his Treo, so he has to carry both. When he travels, it sometimes takes hours, and even an entire day, for the global phone to pick up a signal strong enough to use, and frequently the Treo never finds a signal.
Does anyone have a reliable global telephone plan that supports both U.S. and international calls? I would like the name of the plan provider, what telephone model you’re using, and what countries you frequent.
Lionel Eppes (leppes@financialexecutives.org )
Response:
I travel extensively from Chicago to the U.K. and continental Europe. My phone service is AT&T, and I currently use a Motorola RAZR because the iPhone kept crashing. I have no problems getting a reliable signal in England, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden. However, it costs about $1 per minute for calls while overseas.
I use a Blackberry with Verizon global service for my data needs and have not had an issue. It promptly finds a signal and connects.
Dave Tuttle (Dave.Tuttle@torex.com )
Response:
For the global travel you do, and with a desire for one phone to cover all your needs, I highly recommend that you buy a GSM phone, which has replaceable SIM cards, and steer clear of any CDMA phones. In terms of carriers, choose either AT&T or T-Mobile, as both have the global reach that you need. Finally, you need to decide what kind of smart phone to purchase and with what type of mobile software platform: Microsoft Mobile 6.1, Palm or Blackberry.
Personally, I probably will soon jump ship from being a Treo/Palm die-hard user for more than 15 years to a Microsoft Mobile-based platform, as I want to keep my mobile life simplified and consistent with my laptop applications. I am waiting for the HTC Raphael TYTNIII to come on the market in the early Fall (see specs below). With its global positioning system and map application, you will never again get lost in Tokyo. Unfortunately, it appears that Treo/Palm will become the Motorola of the smart phone industry—a good initial entrant to the market without the ability to sustain itself against global competitors like HTC.
If you want to become a mobile-phone geek, spend some time on Web sites such as www.howardforums.com and you’ll be the life of the cocktail-party circuit.
Jerry Sweas (jerry.sweas@comcast.net )
Raphael Specs:
- Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
- Qualcomm MSM 7201A @ 528MHz
- 256MB ROM / 128MB RAM
- 7.2MB HSDPA / HSUPA (rev A EVDO for Sprint versions)
- 2.8" VGA screen
- WiFi
- Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
- eGPS
- 3.1MP Camera with flash
- Forward facing camera
- 4GB internal flash storage (Diamond only) - Samsung MoviNAND
- TV out (Raphael only)
- Orientation sensor (a-la-iPhone)
- FM Radio
- microSD expansion
- 900mAh battery (!!!)
- - Raphael: 51x99x17mm
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