Does the E815 have a Cingular Equivalent?

[Jude]

Hi Everyone:

I have the E815 used with Verizon. I have 3 friends who use Cingular and really want the E815. Does anyone know if they make a GSM version of the E815 for use on the Cingular network?

Thanks so much.

[MOTOhooligan]

Originally Posted by Jude Hi Everyone: I have the E815 used with Verizon. I have 3 friends who use Cingular and really want the E815. Does anyone know if they make a GSM version of the E815 for use on the Cingular network? Thanks so much.

No, the e815 is a CDMA-only handset. Might I suggest the Motorola v600 or v620? They are similar in shape and size to the e815, are made of better materials and have similiar software and features. You can probably find some gently used v600s on eBay for use on the Cingular network for less than $125.

[Critic]

I think the GSM equiv. to the E815, or at least the phone that comes closest in terms of featureset, is the the V635 - but to the best of my knowledge, no US carrier has picked it up.

[budney]

Originally Posted by Critic I think the GSM equiv. to the E815, or at least the phone that comes closest in terms of featureset, is the the V635 - but to the best of my knowledge, no US carrier has picked it up.

Agree 100% You can find them on eBay brand new for $225-$250 unbranded & unlocked. No crappy Cingular firmware to deal with.

[bonoriffic]

There is a new Cingular release coming soon that resembles the E815 very closely. Even the model number will seem very similar.

[budney]

Originally Posted by bonoriffic There is a new Cingular release coming soon that resembles the E815 very closely. Even the model number will seem very similar.

I'm guessing it will have EDGE?

[Jude]

Originally Posted by bonoriffic There is a new Cingular release coming soon that resembles the E815 very closely. Even the model number will seem very similar.

First thanks to everyone. I keep reading the posts each day.

Hey bonoriffic do you know any more details about the "closely resembling" E815 you say is coming out. Where did you hear this etc?

Jude

[Jude]

Originally Posted by MOTOhooligan No, the e815 is a CDMA-only handset. Might I suggest the Motorola v600 or v620? They are similar in shape and size to the e815, are made of better materials and have similiar software and features. You can probably find some gently used v600s on eBay for use on the Cingular network for less than $125.

One other thing folks: and forgive my obtuseness: I went to phonescoop and I don't see any mention of a Motorola V600 or 620. I went to Motorola's website and went to their singular section and don't see this phone either?

I see references to go to "ebay" looking for such a phone. Are you folks telling me that you can go buy any gsm phone that is not listed as being part of Cingular's line up and then ask them to provide you with service?

Also is the 557 the most recent Moto phone? I see such incredibly mixed reviews about it and I'm talking some really bad reviews where people say the earpiece does not work, had to return multiple times, battery won't charge. I'm so surprised that a company like Moto would put out such a diaster..though the recent Razr fiasco with Cingular is not too encouraging too....YET our E815 with verizon is so great.

More feedback please.

[budney]

Originally Posted by Jude One other thing folks: and forgive my obtuseness: I went to phonescoop and I don't see any mention of a Motorola V600 or 620. I went to Motorola's website and went to their singular section and don't see this phone either? I see references to go to "ebay" looking for such a phone. Are you folks telling me that you can go buy any gsm phone that is not listed as being part of Cingular's line up and then ask them to provide you with service? Also is the 557 the most recent Moto phone? I see such incredibly mixed reviews about it and I'm talking some really bad reviews where people say the earpiece does not work, had to return multiple times, battery won't charge. I'm so surprised that a company like Moto would put out such a diaster..though the recent Razr fiasco with Cingular is not too encouraging too....YET our E815 with verizon is so great. More feedback please.

As bonoriffic mentioned the V635 was never picked up/sold by any U.S. carriers. And as far as eBay goes, you can buy any unlocked GSM phone with 850/1900 MHz bands and use it with Cingular. The only down side to this is Cingular will not help you if you have problems with the phone of any kind. You would have to go through Motorola for any help. And you can always come here for help setting up the phone & diagnosing problems.

I never really read into Phonescoop's reviews as a lot of people don't fully understand why they are having problems. Most also don't know some problems can be easly fixed, like the ear piece volume problem (presant on most new Motos). And with the v557 phonescoop lumped it with other simular Moto models, like the v551 which did have some problems. The v557 was a new and improved version that got rid of major bugs that the v551 had. The newer carrier branded Motos are not perfect, but with a little know how you can make them awesome phones with just a few mods or a firmware flash to rid the phone of the hindering carrier firmware.

[MOTOhooligan]

Originally Posted by Jude I went to phonescoop and I don't see any mention of a Motorola V600 or v620. I went to Motorola's website and went to their Cingular section and don't see this phone either?

The Motorola v600 was in use by both Cingular and AT&T (AT&T had it first in late 2003) but it has since been discontinued by all carriers. This means it is not a current phone offered in their lineup, but it used to be, which is why you will find many of them on eBay.

The v620 was an upgrade to the v600 but was never released by any US carrier. You can find unlocked, unbranded v620s & v635s on eBay or other websites. You will have to manually program MMS and WAP settings into the phone in order to use these features on Cingular's network but other than that, you should just be able to pop your SIM card in, turn the phone on and go.

As budney says, the only downside is that Cingular won't help you with an unbranded phone because they're unsupported but Motorola will and we definitly will.

However, you may want to wait and see what comes down the line from Motorola for Cingular in the near future, as bonoriffic suggested.