Re: [SAGE] ATT Phones

[Brad Knowles <brad.knowles@skynet.be>]

At 12:56 PM +0000 2004/01/07, Phil Pennock wrote:

>  I was at LISA 2002 in Philadelphia.  With one of the aforementioned
>  phones (Nokia 6310i).  Triband GSM.  Coverage was just fine.

	I was at the same conference.  I couldn't get anything.  Signal 
strength showed up as very strong, but I guess I couldn't get 
authenticated to the network.  Only one carrier was available.  Maybe 
my carrier didn't have a roaming agreement with that carrier?

>  It's somewhat disappointing to learn that the features of GSM _designed_
>  to allow free-market competition without undue restraints are not
>  readily available in the USA unless you have a foreign phone and are
>  roaming.

	That's the Coke/Pepsi co-marketing model.  Make sure to lock the 
market up so that they are the only two possible players, and then 
fight it out between them.

>            :^(  No wonder I couldn't find pre-pay SIMs.  Pre-pay
>  contracts don't cut it -- I don't want to start signing contracts in
>  foreign jurisdictions whilst on vacation or at a conference.  I doubt
>  that I'm alone here.

	If I could have signed the contracts, I would have.  I wasn't 
able to, because they won't accept contracts from people who live 
overseas, nor will they accept credit cards from overseas.

>  Indispensable call-duty feature if you might need to go onsite for
>  hands-on work: Bluetooth headset.

	I haven't seen a good one yet.

>                       I find that wire-based headsets have a tendency for
>  the wire to dislodge from the phone.

	The wired headsets that I've found for my Nokia 6310i have not 
had a problem with regards to pulling out of the phone.  My primary 
problem has been finding one that is comfortable (not an earbud, 
which I find very painful).  Ideally, I'd have a good Plantronics 
headset with boom microphone, and at least one external over-the-ear 
open-air speaker with soft foam ear cushion.

	I've found Plantronics headsets, but not quite like what I'm 
looking for, and not for connection to a Nokia 6310i without some 
sort of adapter that really screws up the sound, the microphone, 
etc....

-- 
Brad Knowles, <brad.knowles@skynet.be>

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
     -Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania.

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