Hi, I am a newbee and trying to find out if I can upgrade the way I would like to. I an on Cinti Bell's system that uses AT&T's system outside of our locality. Currently I have a Blackberry Curve and for obvious reasons would like to upgrade to a DROID because of the applications that are available. I have located a Motorola Droid (Unlocked) that shows this cellular band: CDMA 1900, CDMA 800. I think/feel that this is the right choice in phones but I cannot seem to confirm this. Talking to Cinti Bell doesn't seem to help. All they want to do is sell me their new Motorola phone at a full retail price. Now if I can get some guidance on this I would appreciate it. I do not need/want to be leading edge so if I don't get the latest and best I am fine. TTP
Not possible. The Droid is a CDMA phone, and AT&T uses GSM technology, which are incompatible with each other. The Droid will not work with AT&T, T-Mobile, or Cincy Bell.
HOWEVER, there is a GSM version of the Motorola Droid called the Motorola Milestone, I believe. Motorola MILESTONE - Full phone specifications
Thanks again! I don't need leading edge but I do want some decent apps and a bigger keyboard. Apps like Google Star Map, price check, etc. Also want a decent camera with a flash and also one that allows 'gps golf programs'! I'll take a look at the milestone. TTP
Allow me to throw another piece of complication into this. The GSM Droid or Motorola Milestone, comes in two different versions of 3G frequency, if you choose to go with this, make sure you get the US/NA version which will support the 850/1900 at&t 3G frequency. PS: Welcome to WA
More research and much more reading which aat times is above my head. But: It appears that these are my best three choices: Motorola Cliq GSM Android. Motorola Milestone (Very expensive indeed). Blackberry 9000 Bold. And as always Cincinnati Bell is worthless unless your buying from them. Any thoughts. TTP
As with all of those, make sure it is the North American version. The Cliq isn't the best phone out there, the milestone is much better (yet still outdated). And the 9000 is, well, a blackberry.
ttp, how important is email and other messaging to you? The BB 9000 probably has one of the best hardware keyboards available today, it is has been around for almost two years and thus proven. If you are interested in taking the BB route, I would recommend the 9700 as well. You may want to read up on the advantages and disadvantages of the BB OS before deciding. I agree with Yankees, the Cliq isn't that great. Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 1.6; en-us; SonyEricssonX10a Build/R2CA016) AppleWebKit/528.5+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.2 Mobile Safari/525.20.1
Now I am more confused. The application I really want is Google Sky which requires the Android 1.6 OS or higher. My research so far on the Motorola Clique-X is a bit confusing. It seems some have that OS and some don't. How can I tell?? TTP
The Motorola Clique-XT is only running Android 1.5, according to motorola. I assume they have upgraded it to 1.6, but it hasn't even been updated to 2.1, none the less 2.2 yet.
The Cliq - x is a T-Mobile device I believe, which means even if you get an unlocked one it will not be able to utilize at&t 3G , I believe Google Sky is an Android only device, so scrtach out the BlackBerrys. Here is a list of all the Android 1.6 and up on at&t at this time. I would caution you against the Captivate, it did not have a working GPS and an upgrade was pushed out with mixed results and only the Backflip has a hard keyboard.
Charlyee The Cliq - x is a T-Mobile device I believe, which means even if you get an unlocked one it will not be able to utilize AT&T 3G , I am not sure quite what that means. Does that mean even if I get an unlocked one I will not be able to use it on Cincinnati Bell and AT&T? Also does that apply to the an unlocked Milestone?? Learning as I go. TTP In reference to a previous response email is nice and only important when I am out of town. However text messaging, internet access, price check apps, gps golf apps, camera plus phone use is most important. I have a BB Curve and it's OK at it's best. Lot's of things I don't like, plus it will not handle Google sky.:loony:
T-Mobile 3G uses the 1700 mhz frequency, whereas AT&T uses 850 and 1900mhz. If you did get a Cliq XT, it will NOT be able to access the AT&T 3G network.
T-Mobile uses 1700/2100Mhz as their 3G frequency whereas at&t uses 850/1900. If you get an unlocked TM device you can use it on at&t but will not be able to avail of 3G which is faster data speeds and a few associated advantages. With the Milestone, iirc it comes in two version the Eurasian version and the American version, if you get the unlocked American version I believe it has 850/1900 3G and you will be okay. Hope that clarifies.
The data I am seeing shows the Clique with this: Cellular Band: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (Quadband) Since you say AT&T uses the 850/1900 mhz then I should be OK? Each answer begets another question! Sorry. TTP
You need to look at the specs for WCDMA, that needs to include 850/1900, that is for 3G. No problem, we like to answer questions, fire away.
From phonescoop: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 WCDMA 900 / 1700 / 2100 some versions support WCDMA 850/1900 and not 1700 However, I have not heard of this mythical WCDMA 850/1900 version.
Costs being what they are I am starting to look at the Samsung Behold II 3G. Has the right OS and the right version level (1.6). Still a bit confused on 'locked' versus 'unlocked'. If it's unlocked and not under contract then if it's A&T or T-Mobile shouldn't make a difference. Right? I see a lot on e-bay that say 'unlocked' but can only be used on T-Mobile! Any thoughts on the Samsung Behold II 3G Thanks in advance!!! TTP
The behold, I don't think will ever be upgraded passed 1.6. IIRC, this is the phone that Samsung said would be upgraded to 2.1, but then screwed the users and took it back. If it says its unlocked, that should mean its good for use on any carrier.
Without making things very clear, what the seller is probably trying to communicate is that the device is subsidy unlocked - and so it can be used on at&t or T-Mo's GSM/GPRS service; but it only has the 3G frequencies for T-Mo (1700/2100 mhz) and cannot be used with at&t's 3G service (850/1900 mhz). As Charlyee has pointed out, the primary impact of having the ability for 3G is related to data service - but it sounds like data (and therefore speed) is going to be of importance to you (assuming you are in a location with 3G network coverage).
Still learning and researching. The 3G network thing has me confused I spotted on a site for the droid this comment: The 3G network only works in Europe and Asia, not in US. If this is true then do I care about it for the immediate future? Then the clique becomes a choice again. TTP
I think you misread it. It isn't that the 3g network doesn't work in US but whatever phone that website was talking about, can only utilize 3g in Europe and Asia. More than likely it has WCDMA 900/1700/2100 or some combination of it. Are you asking if there is 3g in the US? If so the answer is yes, although not everywherethere are some gaps that are being filled. If you are going to use data, then you want a phone capable of att 3g, which is 850/1900 or you are going to be stuck with painfully slow 2g or Edge speeds. Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 1.6; en-us; SonyEricssonX10a Build/R2CA016) AppleWebKit/528.5+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.2 Mobile Safari/525.20.1
Whoever you buy the phone from, just ask them clearly, 1- Is it SIM unlocked? 2- Can it be used with AT&T's 3G network (or does it have 850/1900 UMTS). If yes on both, then you're good to go.
Oh, what an education I am getting!!!!! Found this on another forum about locked phones. From reading it it appears that almost any phone can be unlocked by the user or owner. Then all you have to worry about is 3G. See this link: Samsung - Cell Phone Forums TTP
Generally speaking that is true - at least concerning GSM based devices. The phones can either be purchased on an "unlocked" (non-subsidized) basis directly from the manufacturer or other third party providers. Or the carrier can provide the subsidy unlock code (based on the customer meeting the carrier's requirements for obtaining it). And some make/models can be unlocked by third party services for a fee, if you can't obtain the code from the carrier. I'd suggest that once you decide which make/model you are going to use on at&t, look at all options. I don't know if this is still an issue with T-Mo models or not (maybe someone here will have more up to date information) - but it used to be that their firmware "hard locked" the settings for data services so that they could not easily be updated to those used by at&t, even after the T-Mo branded device was subsidy unlocked for the purposes of using another carrier's SIM in the phone. So in addition to the fact that T-Mo and at&t do not use the same frequencies for their 3G service, even GPRS based data use could be an issue on a phone with T-Mo branded firmware. My personal advocation is just to purchase a non-subsidized device that is compatible with at&t's service. lol. You will pay more, but you won't have all these other potential headaches to deal with - and additionally you won't have the carrier's bloated software and restrictions that may reduce your enjoyment of the phone.
