Picker / Selector for GSM phones?

So I’m getting ready to make the jump away from Verizon, and it looks like we’re going to be going with a GSM-based provider. I’d like to see a picker / selector for GSM phones that lets me pick phones based on criteria.

Anyone know of such a beast?

My baseline criteria is:

  • Does not run a Microsoft OS
  • Is not an iPhone
  • Is not a PalmOS Treo.
  • Has a full Bluetooth stack – including A2DP, various HID profiles, etc
  • I’d prefer a full keyboard, but I can wiggle on that
  • Music support, with open formats (I can put my own MP3’s on it)
  • Very good Bluetooth ‘modem’ capability. Want to use it as a data gateway for my laptop
  • At least a few games. The only game I really play on my Treo anymore is Sudoku. I think that may be a dead requirement on any replacement device.

My current top contender is the Nokia N95-3 (the North American version). Pricing is down to about $300 (the -3 is a slightly ‘older’ version, but has a removable Micro-SD slot – pretty good for loading music and other stuff on it), but I want to make sure I’m not missing out on something. (Oddly, I can’t find that price on Amazon now. I’ll keep looking).

One possibility is going with a fairly cheap, capable Bluetooth enabled handset now – no music, games, etc, but able to function as a phone and a GSM modem, and look toward an Android based solution in the next 6 months.

Pointers?

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A wandering geek. Toys, shiny things, pursuits and distractions.

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8 thoughts on “Picker / Selector for GSM phones?

  1. What about a Centro? It’s a Palm device but is not a Treo. I don’t know how good its Bluetooth support is, but I think it meets all your other criteria, and the people I know with ’em have been very favorably impressed by them. That’s what I’m actually tempted by when my VZW contract goes up.

  2. I do like the Centro, but it is still a PalmOS device. PalmOS is dying, and unfortunately Palm has done zero to boost to the stability and functionality of the OS in years, particularly in the bluetooth stack area.
    Read any of the forums on folks trying to write decent BT apps for PalmOS and you’ll hear an incredible litany of failures, crashes, reboots, and lockups.
    PalmOS is dead. Long live PalmOS!

  3. I can narrow this down for you pretty easily: AFAIK the only phones in the world that meet all of your criteria are Nokia N9-series devices.
    I strongly advise trying to borrow one before you make the investment. Symbian is… well… there’s a reason that Apple was able to waltz in and capture a third of this market out of nowhere.
    (You know, it’d be really nice if MT’s “remember me” feature was sitewide, rather than per-thread. Or if it had OpenID support.)

  4. @DoctorMemory : re the openid / remember me stuff, we’re on the verge of switching to the newest version of MT… I’ll definately make a point to make sure it works.

  5. I’m considering the new iPhone, but have my doubts. I’m hoping that someone will release a ssh client for it. Other than that, I really want to be able to tether, but I don’t know if that will ever be allowed.
    Otherwise, the Nokia N95 looks like the way to go, it’s just rather expensive.

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