[Jezsik]

I just heard that Dell has pulled the plug on their Axim handhelds. I've owned and loved two of them, so I'm sad to see them go. My understanding is that they're switching to smart phones. Is this the end of the stand alone pocket PC? I'd rather have a PCC that communicates than a phone that computers, but I guess I'm in the minority.

On a related note, I need to buy a cell phone. I'm annoyed that US cell phone distribution seems to be run by the network providers. It's almost impossible to buy a good phone without getting tied in to some sort of contract. I've been looking into buying a smart phone with Windows (to replace my PPC), but the ones that look most promising are not available in the US or hamstrung by a cell provider. <sigh>

[stans]

I've aquired a HITECH 8525 and I'm very satisfied with it's performance so far. FYI

[Raymond T]

As to the death of the PPC, I can not comment, but to to the purchase of a Smart Phone I can.

I have owned, and still own three HTC phones since 2001, purchased them all on eBay with no service contracts, and used info from xda.developers, http://wiki.xda-developers.com to unlock my phones to use on any network.

I would still be using the first phone I purchased except for wanting newer features.

Ray

[Catharine Richardson - WebGenii]

Jezsik, on 2007-04-25 13:51, said:

It's almost impossible to buy a good phone without getting tied in to some sort of contract. I've been looking into buying a smart phone with Windows (to replace my PPC), but the ones that look most promising are not available in the US or hamstrung by a cell provider. <sigh>

Not to mention that TELUS (and I doubt they are unique in this) has you sign a minimum contract when you buy a smartphone. That is a contract - not just for phone time, but also for data transfer, and the last time i checked the minimum was 1 yr. So, for a year you are required to pay for data transfer.