Bought Nokia E63 from Dell for $150: Did I make a mistake?

I use T-Mobile prepaid only as my talk time is low

I've always wanted a cell phone that was wifi capable
so I could use it to surf web in hotspots

Dell had sale on Nokia E63 for $150 so I bought one!

Anyone out there have opinions on this model as well as
my planned usage with prepaid? BT the phone is
unlocked of course.

My other option was to keep current cheap unlocked GSM
phone and get an iPod Touch for above use

me@privacy.net wrote:

>Dell had sale on Nokia E63 for $150 so I bought one!

Oh.... would also like some advice on GOOD hermetically
sealed type case for this phone that would still allow
full use of it in case?

Some kind of case that would allow one to take phone to
the beach and not worry abt water or sand

<me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:esie75ldj8qrpkmnue5neg2fqa94974umg@4ax.com...
>I use T-Mobile prepaid only as my talk time is low
>
> I've always wanted a cell phone that was wifi capable
> so I could use it to surf web in hotspots
>
> Dell had sale on Nokia E63 for $150 so I bought one!
>
> Anyone out there have opinions on this model as well as
> my planned usage with prepaid? BT the phone is
> unlocked of course.
>
> My other option was to keep current cheap unlocked GSM
> phone and get an iPod Touch for above use


It's a good plan. I'm a Windows Mobile snob, so I'd have taken the Pharos
Traveler 619 from Dell for $200 instead, or a good used T-Mobile Dash for
about $100 on eBay, but the Nokia will work fine.

<me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:vcje75hl0jc3h5qi7jjjivjtg45m9c5h8r@4ax.com...
> me@privacy.net wrote:
>
>>Dell had sale on Nokia E63 for $150 so I bought one!
>
> Oh.... would also like some advice on GOOD hermetically
> sealed type case for this phone that would still allow
> full use of it in case?
>
> Some kind of case that would allow one to take phone to
> the beach and not worry abt water or sand

I've never found a good reasonably-priced smartphone case I was happy with.
On the other hand, a good ol' TSA-approved quart-sized ziplock bag (the
thicker "freezer" variety) will work in the interim and are available for
about $3 for two dozen! I've managed for years with those, even with
touchscreen-based devices. Using them with wired headphones is a little
dicey since you must leave the bag slightly open, so I wouldn't trust it
while swimming, of course, but for beach-side use it's effective enough.

In article <esie75ldj8qrpkmnue5neg2fqa94974umg@4ax.com>, me@privacy.net wrote:
>I use T-Mobile prepaid only as my talk time is low
>
>I've always wanted a cell phone that was wifi capable
>so I could use it to surf web in hotspots
I will probably sound completely naive here, but:

I'm in the same boat as you - using prepaid as I rarely get/make more than 3
calls per month.

But I thought prepaid and web-accessibility were completely incompatible. If
not, I'd love the 100 words or less recap or being directed to a web site that
talks about it.

Art

art.shapiro@unisys.com (Arthur Shapiro) wrote:

>But I thought prepaid and web-accessibility were completely incompatible. If
>not, I'd love the 100 words or less recap or being directed to a web site that
>talks about it.

Depends on the phone..... some smart phones are NOT
wifi capable as the carriers want you to get all
Internet thru their cell signal.

However, Nokia phones do have wifi radio in them.

Now I was NOT suggesting that I will get wifi thru
T-Mobile..... instead I would only use the wifi such as
in coffee shops where the wifi is free

"Todd Allcock" <elecconnec@AnoOspamL.com> wrote:

>I've never found a good reasonably-priced smartphone case I was happy with.
>On the other hand, a good ol' TSA-approved quart-sized ziplock bag (the
>thicker "freezer" variety) will work in the interim and are available for
>about $3 for two dozen! I

Yeah I know can use ziplock bags.... but was wanting to
find something can leave on permanently.

This is most expensive phone I've ever owned!! hee hee

still wonder if did right thing. might be better to
have two sep devices

however I couldn't fins a cheap and small unlocked
phone that had blue tooth and do MP3 files

You see I like to run and walk....and wanting to listen
to music or books on mp3 thru BT headset while doing
so.... hence the E63

<me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news4qe75p2ccsakteju6uikg7si10mls8ipg@4ax.com...
> "Todd Allcock" <elecconnec@AnoOspamL.com> wrote:
>
>>I've never found a good reasonably-priced smartphone case I was happy
>>with.
>>On the other hand, a good ol' TSA-approved quart-sized ziplock bag (the
>>thicker "freezer" variety) will work in the interim and are available for
>>about $3 for two dozen! I
>
> Yeah I know can use ziplock bags.... but was wanting to
> find something can leave on permanently.

Sorry, above, I should've typed I've never found a good reasonably-priced
WATERPROOF case I was happy with. Unlike waterproof camera cases
specifically cut and molded to each individual model of camera, most
waterproof PDA/phone cases are essentially really thick sealable plastic
bags in a limited number of generic sizes (e.g. "small" "medium" and "large"
rather than specifically shaped for a particular phone) so I haven't seen an
advantage using one over a ziploc (except the real waterproof cases include
waterproof connectors for things like headphones.)

There are plenty of good protective (vs. drops, scraps and scuffs) leather
and pleather cases for various phones out there, but they don't protect
against the elements. Unless your daily activities involve regular exposure
to harsh elements (lifeguard?) I don't think you'd find any waterproof
cases to be suitable for everyday use.


> This is most expensive phone I've ever owned!! hee hee
>
> still wonder if did right thing. might be better to
> have two sep devices

Six of one half dozen of the other- with a convergence device, your PDA, MP3
player, etc. are always with you. On the downside, those times you only
need a phone, you're lugging something larger and heavier. The beauty of
GSM, however, is that you can always eBay some tiny featurless phone and pop
your SIM in for those times you don't want to carry (or risk to the
elements) your regular smartphone. I still have my circa 2001 Voicestream
Nokia 8290- my first GSM phone, and it still works, and the battery still
holds a charge. That phone is worth nothing today, and is an ideal
"disposable" phone for harsh conditions.

> however I couldn't fins a cheap and small unlocked
> phone that had blue tooth and do MP3 files
>
> You see I like to run and walk....and wanting to listen
> to music or books on mp3 thru BT headset while doing
> so.... hence the E63

That should work fine for your purposes.

Arthur Shapiro wrote:

> But I thought prepaid and web-accessibility were completely incompatible. If
> not, I'd love the 100 words or less recap or being directed to a web site that
> talks about it.

On T-Mobile, prepaid and web-accessibility are mutually exclusive (for
now). Many other prepaid providers do offer web accessibility.

Now being able to use a smart phone on prepaid and have web access is
rare, but possible, and should improve on August 6th if the rumored
PagePlus plans are announced as expected.

See "http://prepaiduswireless.com/"

In article <esie75ldj8qrpkmnue5neg2fqa94974umg@4ax.com>,
<me@privacy.net> wrote:
>I use T-Mobile prepaid only as my talk time is low
>
>I've always wanted a cell phone that was wifi capable
>so I could use it to surf web in hotspots
>
>Dell had sale on Nokia E63 for $150 so I bought one!
>
>Anyone out there have opinions on this model as well as
>my planned usage with prepaid? BT the phone is
>unlocked of course.
>
>My other option was to keep current cheap unlocked GSM
>phone and get an iPod Touch for above use

It's a damn decent entry-level smartphone, and yes, the WiFi works
beautifully even using the excellent built-in Nokia Browser.

I'm partial to the Krusell Classic Multiadapt cases - not 100% hermetic
but they do a very good compromise between protection and accessibility of
features.

retsuhcs@xinap.moc (Mike S.) wrote:

>It's a damn decent entry-level smartphone, and yes, the WiFi works
>beautifully even using the excellent built-in Nokia Browser.

Ok great!

>I'm partial to the Krusell Classic Multiadapt cases - not 100% hermetic
>but they do a very good compromise between protection and accessibility of
>features.

Thanks Mike I will check em out!

Arthur Shapiro wrote:
> In article <esie75ldj8qrpkmnue5neg2fqa94974umg@4ax.com>, me@privacy.net wrote:
>> I use T-Mobile prepaid only as my talk time is low
>>
>> I've always wanted a cell phone that was wifi capable
>> so I could use it to surf web in hotspots
> I will probably sound completely naive here, but:
>
> I'm in the same boat as you - using prepaid as I rarely get/make more than 3
> calls per month.
>
> But I thought prepaid and web-accessibility were completely incompatible. If
> not, I'd love the 100 words or less recap or being directed to a web site that
> talks about it.

There are several options for using 3G smart phones, with data service,
on prepaid.

GSM

AT&T offers 3G pay-as-you-go data for $10 per MB though their web site
is very confusing as to the actual rate, and it could be as little as
$2/MB. They also have bundles of $4.99/month for 1 MB (which makes no
sense if the rate is $2/M or $20/month for 100 MB. If you click on
Additional Messaging & Data Charges from the GoPhone page it shows
$2/MB, but an AT&T representative told me that that's a mistake, and
that the $2 rate doesn't apply to GoPhone. In any case, even $2/MB is
very high, and $10/MB is outrageously high.

T-Mobile does not offer data on prepaid.

CDMA

On the CDMA side things are better. PagePlus offers pay-as-you-go data
for $0.0012/KB ($1.20 M but there will reportedly be some
voice/text/data bundles soon (1200 anytime minutes, 1200 text messages,
and 20MB of data for $29.95/month or Unlimited anytime minutes,
unlimited texts, 20MB of data for $39.95/month). You can use any Verizon
compatible smart phone on PagePlus.

Verizon InPulse now offers unlimited mobile web for 99¢ per 24 hour
period of use, which works out to about $30/month just for data if you
use it every day (if you can figure out how to tether, you're even
better off). Verizon used to charge $1.99/MB on prepaid. You can use any
Verizon compatible smart phone. The downside here is that Verizon's
InPulse plans are a terrible deal for voice minutes. The plan with no
daily voice fee charges a whopping 25¢/minute for voice minutes. If you
go this route, consider loading Skype onto your smart phone and buying a
Skype-In phone number. Then use Skype for all incoming and outgoing
calls (the downside is that you'd need your phone's browser runnng Skype
at all times).

Sprint's Virgin Mobile does not offer data on prepaid, though they do
offer 3G data via a USB modem for laptops.

Tracfone's StraightTalk does not have any smart phones available and you
must use their CDMA handsets.

Sprint's Boost Mobile unadvertised CDMA plan ($50/month unlimited
voice/data/web), doesn't offer any smart phones, but there have been
reports of users successfully getting Sprint CSRs to change the ESN of
the phone that they start the service with over to a smart phone ESN.
The big downside of this plan is that you cannot roam onto other CDMA
networks at all, which means that the phone won't work at all in vast
areas of the U.S..

SMS wrote:

> T-Mobile does not offer data on prepaid.

What about Sidekick, t-zones and Picure Messaging? These are available
and wouldn't without "data". When you mean "real internet", you could
be right.

Cheers Dirk

Dirk Bieber wrote:
> SMS wrote:
>
>> T-Mobile does not offer data on prepaid.
>
> What about Sidekick, t-zones and Picure Messaging? These are available
> and wouldn't without "data". When you mean "real internet", you could
> be right.
>
> Cheers Dirk

True, and supposedly there are ways to sign up for Sidekick, then move
the SIM to a smart phone and with some hacking of the smart phone get
full web access on T-Mobile.

In article <4a788e83$0$1611$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
scharf.steven@geemail.com says...

> True, and supposedly there are ways to sign up for Sidekick, then move
> the SIM to a smart phone and with some hacking of the smart phone get
> full web access on T-Mobile.

....But IMHO, until T-Mo 3G is widely available, there's not much reason
to even get a 3G device. At least there isn't for me.

--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA
sjsobol@JustThe.net

Steve Sobol wrote:
> In article <4a788e83$0$1611$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
> scharf.steven@geemail.com says...
>
>> True, and supposedly there are ways to sign up for Sidekick, then move
>> the SIM to a smart phone and with some hacking of the smart phone get
>> full web access on T-Mobile.
>
> ...But IMHO, until T-Mo 3G is widely available, there's not much reason
> to even get a 3G device. At least there isn't for me.

For some, 2G is sufficient, especially if it's cheap enough.

SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

>For some, 2G is sufficient, especially if it's cheap enough.

I'm OK with just having wifi on a smart phone at a
hotspot such as coffee shop or library! hee hee

In article <4a78922a$0$1650$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
scharf.steven@geemail.com says...

> >> True, and supposedly there are ways to sign up for Sidekick, then
move
> >> the SIM to a smart phone and with some hacking of the smart phone get
> >> full web access on T-Mobile.
> >
> > ...But IMHO, until T-Mo 3G is widely available, there's not much reason
> > to even get a 3G device. At least there isn't for me.
>
> For some, 2G is sufficient, especially if it's cheap enough.

My Charter cable connection is up to 20MBpbs down, and up to 2Mbps up,
with real-world speeds of (usually) about 75% of that.

I personally don't want to ever do 14.4 or 56K again.


--
Steve Sobol, Victorville, California, USA
sjsobol@JustThe.net

At 04 Aug 2009 14:58:41 -0700 Steve Sobol wrote:

> > >> True, and supposedly there are ways to sign up for Sidekick, then
> move
> > >> the SIM to a smart phone and with some hacking of the smart phone
get
> > >> full web access on T-Mobile.
> > >
> > > ...But IMHO, until T-Mo 3G is widely available, there's not much
reason
> > > to even get a 3G device. At least there isn't for me.
> >
> > For some, 2G is sufficient, especially if it's cheap enough.
>
> My Charter cable connection is up to 20MBpbs down, and up to 2Mbps up,
> with real-world speeds of (usually) about 75% of that.
>
> I personally don't want to ever do 14.4 or 56K again.


Spoiled brat! My T-Mo EDGE runs about 120k- fast enough to shovel
data onto a device with a 3" screen.

For phone web browsing it's ok if you stick to WAP/mobile pages (or use
Opera Mini which compresses pages server-side and blasts them to the
phone quickly.) Frankly I'd take even slower connection speed in return
for less latency- the 0.6 second or so latency is what makes browsing
painful!

For $6/month, however, I have no complaints!