Phone Shopping Friday - Unlocked GSM Phones
Two weeks ago we received a deluge of comments complaining about our treatment of Cingular as a carrier with limited phone selection when you could use any unlocked GSM phone on their network. We still maintain that in the case of Cingular (or AT&T for that matter), subscribers are better off buying a phone from their carrier to be sure that you get an 850/1900 mHz model, since it is difficult to find other 850-friendly phones. However if you are feeling brave, or if you subscribe to T-Mobile, we've picked out a few world phones you can buy unlocked that will make you the envy of every who sees you with one.
Warning: before you even think about buying one of these phones you should know the following:
If you are brave enough to buy a phone on eBay, be sure that the handset is unlocked. We'd prefer you buy from a reputable reseller like Expansys or GSM Source. If you get screwed with a locked phone don't fret, there are unlocking service in many major US cities.
Since you will be buying a phone from a third party, you will need to configure all your own network settings. In a few cases you can have these settings sent to your phone either from the manufacturer's website or from your carrier, but in many cases, you'll need to enter them yourself. You'll need the carrier forums at Howard Chui's site for instructions and help if you get stuck.
If you are on AT&T or Cingular and still buy one of the phones we recommend here, chances are that even if it works for you, your reception won't be as good as it could be. Even in many areas where Cingular and AT&T have 1900 mHz networks, they've been increasing coverage by adding 850 MHz antennas, and you won't have reception on that band. If your reception blows, don't say we never warned you.
With that out of the way, ready for the phones? We've chose four sexy, small cameraphones just begging for you to slip your SIM inside.
After playing with one for hours at JavaOne, the Sony Ericsson K700 is our new favorite cameraphone. It's tiny, easy to use, and fast as all getout. It has excellent Bluetooth, decent reception, a VGA camera (with video options), and a screen to die for. Plus it's so small and sexy it fits in even the most fashionably tiny pockets and looks right at home in them.
Speaking of screens to die for, the Sharp TM100 has an amazing 240 x 320 screen that dominates the front of this tiny phone, since the sliding keypad is hidden away. The Sharp also has a VGA camera with video capabilities. (We're sorry, we've been informed the TM100 doesn't actually have an LED flash, despite the specs listed on many websites.) About the only thing the TM100 is missing is Bluetooth, but with fast class 10 GPRS, it won't take long to send those VGA pictures to your moblog.
The Nokia 6230 is just a small as the K700 and TM100, but it's not nearly as sexy. However it does kick the other phone's asses when it comes to features. It has Bluetooth and and VGA camera, plus it has a music player and an MMC card slot so you can carry around lots of tunes or store more pictures and video than the other models. You can even sync contacts from your Mac or PC - including street addresses.
Finally there's the apple of our eye, the Nokia 7610. We're not alone in this either, Mobile Burn loves it too. This phone is larger than all the rest, but it's still small considering it's a Series 60 smartphone with a 1 mp camera. Of course it has Bluetooth and can run all the Symbian applications. Plus like Nokias of old, it also has interchangeable covers, so your smartphone can match your man bag or purse or just your mood.
