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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > Possibly the first Bluletooth cellphone for sprint

Possibly the first Bluletooth cellphone for sprint
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forcelite
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Cali
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Nov 8, 2003, 08:31 PM
 
I just got this cell phone, Treo 600Treo 600

Although it does not have bluetooh in it currently, it does accept a SD card.

I do love this phone, however one thing I tough was interesting was that the board on this phone had a special place to but a bluetooth chip on it, but the sprint version doesnt have it.

I talked to a sprint guy about this and he said that sprint doesnt want to put bluetooth on any phones for awhile, cause of possible bandwidth issues.

What yall think?
Force
     
beijinger
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Beijing China
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Nov 8, 2003, 08:39 PM
 
To have what you have-15 inch ALPB and not have a bluetooth phone is really kind of sad. Panther and bluetooth phones do wonders, in synching, in SMS, file transfers.........

Crazy for them to say there are bandwidth issues, just ask Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Siemens and Motorola how its done!

Personally, I have a SE P800 and a new P900 on order. Will tell you about it when it comes next week.
     
nate_02
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Location: Milwaukee
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Nov 8, 2003, 11:29 PM
 
I hear that Sprint will have a bluetooth phone in January 2004. I think it will be made by Samsung.
-nate
     
ngrundy
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Location: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
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Nov 8, 2003, 11:53 PM
 
Can't you guys just buy a GSM handset of choise and stick your providers SIM in it?
1Ghz Powerbook
40gb/1x512mb/combo/T68i
FireRAID 1 Host Independant Hotswap RAID 1 (80gb)
     
Casper Crane
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Location: "Internet Capital of the World"
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Nov 9, 2003, 01:10 AM
 
Originally posted by ngrundy:
Can't you guys just buy a GSM handset of choise and stick your providers SIM in it?
Sprint isn't GSM. It's CDMA. No exchangeable SIM cards.

I have a Treo 600 and a P900 (well, my company does) and it's tough to pick one. I haven't tried the Bluetooth SDIO card yet, my retractable USB cable is a simple way to connect to my Vision service on the road. Bluetooth is cool, but it's not necessary, and can be tempermental. Plus, the USB cable also charges my phone, so it's reducing the number of cables by the same number as Bluetooth!

The P900 is sweet. The two devices are about the same size, thought the P900 is a little lighter and has no antenna. I am a Palm user of several years, so I have software that I run on the Treo. But the P900 already plays MP3, has a better camera (the Treo cam is sh*t), and has a higher resolution screen.

Oh, look, I only meant to write the comment about the SIM cards, and look where I ended up.

     
solitere
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Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Finland
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Nov 9, 2003, 06:19 AM
 
Originally posted by ngrundy:
Can't you guys just buy a GSM handset of choise and stick your providers SIM in it?
Americans are truly behind in 2 things in our modern world 1. Politics 2. GSM coverage (Ok one more thing: they still dont use the metric system).

     
Casper Crane
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Nov 9, 2003, 11:19 AM
 
Originally posted by solitere:
Americans are truly behind in 2 things in our modern world 1. Politics 2. GSM coverage (Ok one more thing: they still dont use the metric system).

Um, you are right about politics, but we have GSM. We have at least 3 GSM carriers (AT&T, Cingular, and T-Mobile).

I was just saying that Sprint is not GSM. You can now order the Treo 600 GSM here from Cingular.

Does anyone have a GSM Treo? Can you exchange the SIM card?
     
macrophyllum
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Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Vermont, USA
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Nov 9, 2003, 12:26 PM
 
Originally posted by forcelite:
I just got this cell phone, Treo 600Treo 600

Although it does not have bluetooh in it currently, it does accept a SD card.

I do love this phone, however one thing I tough was interesting was that the board on this phone had a special place to but a bluetooth chip on it, but the sprint version doesnt have it.

I talked to a sprint guy about this and he said that sprint doesnt want to put bluetooth on any phones for awhile, cause of possible bandwidth issues.

What yall think?
Can you post some pictures of it next to other phones or in your hand so that I can see how big it is?

Thanks!
     
rambo47
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Location: Denville, NJ.
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Nov 9, 2003, 12:33 PM
 
I'm in the NYC area (what we folks in New Jersey always say) and I just switched from Verizon (decent service) to T-Mobile (excellent service plus better phones) and got the tri-band Sony-Ericsson T-610 with Bluetooth. Syncing contacts, calendar, and phone book is so easy it ought to be illegal. What an awesome feature. I previously thought it was a feature that I wouldn't care about, but one try and I'm hooked. Another killer aspect of Bluetooth is the wireless headphone. Keep your phone in a belt clip or even in your briefcase and the headset controls the phone! One touch answer and disconnect, voice dialing, oh yeah!
     
MaxPower2k3
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Location: NYC
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Nov 9, 2003, 12:40 PM
 
Originally posted by rambo47:
I'm in the NYC area (what we folks in New Jersey always say) and I just switched from Verizon (decent service) to T-Mobile (excellent service plus better phones) and got the tri-band Sony-Ericsson T-610 with Bluetooth. ...
are you around the essex county area? I've been looking at T-Mobile, but i've heard mixed reports on coverage in this area (on top of the mixed reports of signal strength on the T610) and it'd be good to hear a first-hand report in the area and with the phone i'm looking at.

Thanks

"I start fires!"
     
Dalhectar
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Dec 8, 2003, 11:26 PM
 
With sprint and bluetooth, the bandwidth issues comes from sprint Vision's unmetered access. No one else sells unlimited access for $15 on the first phone and $5 for every additional line.

I see that t-Mobile offers unmetered access, but does anyone else other than Sprint and T-Mobile offer unmetered modem access?
     
madmacgames
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Dec 9, 2003, 03:11 AM
 
Originally posted by solitere:
(Ok one more thing: they still dont use the metric system)
Ha, we attempted to switch to the metric system but quickly grew tired of it. A system based on 10 was too boring for us
     
HasanDaddy
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Dec 9, 2003, 08:17 AM
 
We're behind in Politics and GSM Coverage??

Two things ---

1. CDMA is better than GSM, as it can handle more data, at a quicker rate. So what's the point of building GSM lines, when we are already building a great infrastructure of CDMA, based completely upon privatized money, that is no expense to the taxpayer --- once again, the rest of the world is being left behind by AMERICA!

2. Our politics are behind? I don't know where you're from, but I wouldn't call the following things modern -

a. Communism --- it gives too much power to the government and hurts the people. Was last seen in Cuba, and makes appearances in China, where its not doing to well.

b. Socialsim --- supposedly its thriving in France, a country whose government is suffering from HUGE debts, and is starting to seriously consider an abandonement of its socialist practices

c. Parliamentary systems --- these systems don't represent the true will of the people --- it allows ONE political party to have a majority for an amount of time determined by that party

d. Feudalism --- this is still existant in many Third World countries, but its hardly modern

The only political system out there, that represents the true will of the people, is the American one ---- a system that is composed of a House of Representatives (making sure that people have decent access to one major Represenatative), a Senate (which balances the powers of each state) and the Presidency (who represents the majority view)

However, this great system still is under a small-government structure of Capitalism, that allows small business, privatized business, entrepenuers, and the individual drive to FLOURISH

The rest of the world should really adopt this type of system

and the Metric System? why use Kilometers when MILES are better?
"Government is not the solution, its the problem" --- Ronald Reagan
     
RayX
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Status: Offline
Dec 9, 2003, 08:19 PM
 
Originally posted by HasanDaddy:
We're behind in Politics and GSM Coverage??

Two things ---

1. CDMA is better than GSM, as it can handle more data, at a quicker rate. So what's the point of building GSM lines, when we are already building a great infrastructure of CDMA, based completely upon privatized money, that is no expense to the taxpayer --- once again, the rest of the world is being left behind by AMERICA!
From an article I just read:

"As you'd expect from a standard around ten years younger, CDMA has some technological advantages over GSM. You can cram more calls into the same chunk of spectrum, it's more resistant to noise and it handles congestion better. If there were no mobile phones on the planet and there was a competition on purely technical merit, CDMA would most likely win. But there are, there isn't, and it won't."

Remember VHS vs Beta? Just because something is technically superior does not make it the best choice.

GSM is a better choice. So you can 1) use whatever damn phone and SIM you like 2) have compatibility with the rest of the world, try roaming with your CDMA phone...

Basically it removes all the carrier lock-in bullshit that is happening in America with companies like Sprint.
Why should I be limited to a handful of phones when there are hundreds to choose from? Changing carrier? No problem, put your new SIM in your phone. That is how it should be.

Regarding the metric system, 95% of the world uses the Metric system. Get with the times.
     
Scooterboy
Senior User
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Minneapolis for now
Status: Offline
Dec 10, 2003, 11:24 AM
 
Originally posted by HasanDaddy:
We're behind in Politics and GSM Coverage??

Two things ---

1. CDMA is better than GSM, as it can handle more data, at a quicker rate. So what's the point of building GSM lines, when we are already building a great infrastructure of CDMA, based completely upon privatized money, that is no expense to the taxpayer --- once again, the rest of the world is being left behind by AMERICA!
I use GSM and find it far better than Sprint.

Our American Capitalist system gives us a government in league with and working for big corporate business and an ever widening gap between the super rich and the rest of us. And Capitalism is older than Communism or Socialism.
Denmark is Socialist, yet their economy is strong, their currency is strong, and their people enjoy a better quality of life than most Americans.

You mentioned Cuba, which has suffered under the US imposed trade embargo yet still manages to hang on. Despite being poor and Communist, Cuba has the only train system and the best roads in the Carribean and a population with longer longevity rates than us advanced Americans. They get full medical coverage while an ever increasing number of Americans have none. Anyone from a free country can take a holiday there, except us Americans, whose government has made it a crime. Come to think of it, we're less free to travel than most of my European and Asian friends.

As for our supposed American advancement, I've travelled to Japan and western Europe and I can tell you that when I returned home to America I often felt I was stepping back in time. About the only areas where the US is ahead is in weapons, space travel, and computers, where the metric system is used almost exclusively. Mobile err, I mean cell phone systems in the US are only beginning to catch up.
I use T-Mobile on a tri band GSM phone, so I can roam almost anywhere in the world, thanks to Deutsche Telecom.
( Last edited by Scooterboy; Dec 10, 2003 at 11:30 AM. )
Scooters are more fun than computers and only slightly more frustrating
     
wy4tt
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Status: Offline
Dec 10, 2003, 12:03 PM
 
can't we all just love our powerbooks?
     
slffl
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Location: Salt Lake City, UT
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Dec 10, 2003, 12:48 PM
 
I think it's funny that whenever bluetooth is mentioned, everyone automatcially assumes it's going to be used to connect it to a laptop.

I can connect phones to a laptop right now! I don't think that getting rid of a cable is all of a sudden going to cause people to go crazy connecting their phones to laptops.

There are other applications for bluetooh, including PC syncing, wireless headsets, and cars with bluetooth systems.
     
slffl
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
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Dec 10, 2003, 12:51 PM
 
Originally posted by RayX:

GSM is a better choice. So you can 1) use whatever damn phone and SIM you like 2) have compatibility with the rest of the world, try roaming with your CDMA phone...
Yeah, this would be great if I could get a signal inside of a building with GSM! I've had AT&T, T-mobile, and Sprint. So far Sprint has easily had the best and strongest coverage.
     
iDORK
Forum Regular
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: OC/California
Status: Offline
Dec 10, 2003, 01:26 PM
 
Well said on politics!

Originally posted by HasanDaddy:
We're behind in Politics and GSM Coverage??

Two things ---

1. CDMA is better than GSM, as it can handle more data, at a quicker rate. So what's the point of building GSM lines, when we are already building a great infrastructure of CDMA, based completely upon privatized money, that is no expense to the taxpayer --- once again, the rest of the world is being left behind by AMERICA!

2. Our politics are behind? I don't know where you're from, but I wouldn't call the following things modern -

a. Communism --- it gives too much power to the government and hurts the people. Was last seen in Cuba, and makes appearances in China, where its not doing to well.

b. Socialsim --- supposedly its thriving in France, a country whose government is suffering from HUGE debts, and is starting to seriously consider an abandonement of its socialist practices

c. Parliamentary systems --- these systems don't represent the true will of the people --- it allows ONE political party to have a majority for an amount of time determined by that party

d. Feudalism --- this is still existant in many Third World countries, but its hardly modern

The only political system out there, that represents the true will of the people, is the American one ---- a system that is composed of a House of Representatives (making sure that people have decent access to one major Represenatative), a Senate (which balances the powers of each state) and the Presidency (who represents the majority view)

However, this great system still is under a small-government structure of Capitalism, that allows small business, privatized business, entrepenuers, and the individual drive to FLOURISH

The rest of the world should really adopt this type of system

and the Metric System? why use Kilometers when MILES are better?
     
T.Rex
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Omaha
Status: Offline
Dec 11, 2003, 08:13 PM
 
I could care less about mobile phones, mobile phone features, PDA functions, video games or a stupid low rez little camera. One land line in my house is one too many phones IMO. Can't stand the damn things.

But I love the internet and my trusty TiBook. Who has the best service for fast, reliable, Mac friendly internet access wirelessly? This seems like a simple question, but when it gets rolled in with with blue tooth, super snazzy phones, GSM and CDMA and all the providers murky "plans", it's not nearly so simple.

Anybody have any suggestions?

BTW, regarding politics. I think Capitalism without regulation is proving itself to be disasterous. Greed is like a disease that has to be controlled. It refuses to control itself.
     
amazing
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Dec 11, 2003, 08:42 PM
 
Originally posted by slffl:
Yeah, this would be great if I could get a signal inside of a building with GSM! I've had AT&T, T-mobile, and Sprint. So far Sprint has easily had the best and strongest coverage.
Coverage varies all over the nation. You won't want a 3G phone if you drive all over the countryside, because most likely there won't be any coverage in rural areas. If you look at T-Mobile coverage map, you may be ok in major metro areas, but if you're driving from Colorado to SF or Phoenix, tough luck.
     
Person Man
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Dec 11, 2003, 11:28 PM
 
Originally posted by HasanDaddy:
The only political system out there, that represents the true will of the people, is the American one
According to the 2000 election, the "true will of the people" was Gore, not Bush. Gore won the popular vote.

...and I'm American.
     
Person Man
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Dec 11, 2003, 11:29 PM
 
.
     
smitty825
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Dec 12, 2003, 05:59 PM
 
Originally posted by RayX:
From an article I just read:
GSM is a better choice. So you can 1) use whatever damn phone and SIM you like 2) have compatibility with the rest of the world, try roaming with your CDMA phone...
While complaints are often given to Americans about being too American Centric, Europeans often are guilty of this themselves. Here are the answers to your questions:

1. SIM cards aren't related to phone technology. SIM cards (well, RUIM cards...same size, & compatible interface) exist for CDMA phones in China. Currently the *US* CDMA providers have not chosen to use SIM cards, but they *do* exist for CDMA phones, and are used in other countries.

2. With a CDMA phone, I can't roam in Europe, and parts of Africa. With a GSM phone, I can't roam in Japan, South Korea (and much of Asia), and much South America.

Regardless of your opinion, CDMA isn't going away. In fact, in a few years (or already depending on where you live) you will be seeing WCDMA services advertised. WCDMA uses the same high level concepts as CDMA.

I feel that the competition between CDMA and GSM has helped the US market (T-Mobile's $19/mo unlimited GPRS vs Verizon's 2.4MBps "broadband wireless" 1xEV-DO.) I work in the wireless industry, and I've worked on TDMA, GSM & CDMA stuff (someday WCDMA?), so I think I know what I'm talking about
     
austeros
Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: dark side of the moon
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Dec 12, 2003, 10:15 PM
 
Originally posted by Person Man:
According to the 2000 election, the "true will of the people" was Gore, not Bush. Gore won the popular vote.

...and I'm American.
its lucky for bush we're a republic and not a democracy.

funny how the word democracy isnt mentioned once in the US constitution, you know why? cause the founders were a hell of a lot smarter then any one of us. they feared it, with good reason.

as for gore, he lost the election himself. but thats in the past. common though amung the leading political scientists in the US is that the electoral college still represents the best option for this country. Its cause it was made for a system of checks and balences, and thats us.

i just wish more people cared enough to know how the system works (or atleast how it was supposed to). the popular vote has never meant anything in presidental elections.

no system is perfect, but im still glad to live under the american one.


totally agree with you guys on the cell phone bit though, but then we are a tad bit bigger then any given european country, and much of our country hasnt been developed. pity

There's someone in my head but its not me...
     
tooki
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Dec 12, 2003, 11:33 PM
 
this thread = lounge fodder

tooki

P.S. Anyone who thinks the U.S. government is a democracy and the "will of the people" needs to seriously brush up on their government studies.
     
   
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