Cell Phone Geekery

My latest way of avoiding thesis writing: planning my cell phone purchase when I return to the states, so I can ditch my @#^% bell.ca plan and international roaming.


I am planning on buying a BlackBerry Pearl--not due to any careful study of the hardware, but because Chief Grad Student and my advisor both have BlackBerry 7130s and love them. In addition, I have a feeling of loyalty to the home town boyz: for those of you who don't know, RIM is headquartered in Waterloo and was founded by UW grads; their offices are just across a parking lot from our research hut. Receiving email instantly, and Google Maps on your hip are pretty friggin useful. And god knows, Mike Lazaridis needs more money. [grin]

Note that I am well aware of the horrible social effects of BlackBerry use, after experiencing them among my colleagues. For instance, only reading the first two lines of an email message, and sending a reply asking for clarification when the answer can be found if you scroll one goddamn screen down, you fuck. Or that checking your email under the table at a restaurant is really fucking subtle, and fools everyone. Yeah.

Anyway, it looks like I'm limited to T-Mobile in MA if I want the Pearl (other providers have the 7130); their plans look pretty reasonable. I found a New York Times article ("Basics; A Cellphone And a Plan For Just About Any Situation") that compares a few providers. However, it is from December 2005, which is dated enough that it might be as useful as ratings on cuneiform techniques ("Stylus review: Which kind of reed do you want for the softer clay tablets we're using today??"):

Consumer Reports magazine found that Cingular was 'one of the lower ones' for customer service, according to Mark Kotkin, who directed the project. Cingular also rated low for reception quality. In general, Verizon was highest in customer satisfaction, followed closely by T-Mobile.

Then again, it might show general patterns of competence and/or "how much are we willing to spend on customer service?" T-Mobile's coverage map looks decent--good signal both in Arlington and my company's office in Somerville.

So does anybody have an opinion either on T-Mobile, or on the Pearl? I don't know anyone who has used one yet, but David Pogue's review was very positive. Sweet... it has GSM too... not that I've taken the opportunity to travel overseas recently. P--your Sidekick runs on T-Mobile, right? How has coverage for you been while travelling?

I'm planning on doing this whole transaction the new economy way: over the web, without ever talking to another human being, and having it show up at JMD's house while I'm still in Canada, so that I can just start using it when I hit the ground in Boston. I'll put up my number (encoded somehow) when I get it.