Re: 3G, LA should be turned on on 9/16 and like I said I anticipate to buy a Bold and unlock it for tmo. Price without contract will be steep.
9/16 works since the only concrete info anyone has is that it will be active on or before 10/1, so its possible.
But there is an inherent problem in your plan:
T-mobile's 3G won't be compatible with AT&T's!!
The bands that AT&T bought from the FCC auction were no longer available, so T-Mobile had to pick a new, completely unused band (1700mhz) for their spectrum. That means that T-Mobile's 3G is not compatible with anyone's, and will need phones specifically made for them. Sure, you could buy an AT&T Bold, but you'd lose 3G and revert back the Edge, the last thing t-mo and At&T had standard.
This is a big problem, and is going to prove to be an even bigger problem since average consumers such as yourself are not aware of it...
Re: the Android vs. Bold:
I've never really used Linux before. I personally never liked windows mobile because i seemed to be limited in the messaging department...
Then you clearly have never used Windows Mobile with an Exchange Server. Sure, Windows Mobile by itself is just an open platform PDA with basic imap/pop messaging. WM + Exchange Server, however, rivals the best messaging systems available in features, while still offering the functionality of a computing platform.
In other words, an Exchange Server has essentially all the same standard features as BES, and then some. But you or your company have to set one up and configure it, or pay for a hosted exchange service from any number of services (some, like mail2web are free with certain restrictions).
The only reason Blackberry is better is because they give you a turn-key solution already setup with your service plan, with access to a BB server (which you pay for as part of a BB plan, hence why BB plans often cost more than standard data plans like I wrote about
here). This means that for newbies or folks who aren't IT-friendly enough to manage or run their own Exchange Server, Blackberry is WAY easier and has what you need out of the box.
On the other hand I'd really like to see a device open up and not be limited to the bb functionality so like I said, maybe I'll play around with it to see what its like... If it really is lacking in the messaging dept like you say then it wont last long, at least for me...
Once again, since its an open source solution based on linux, it won't be "lacking" necessarily. It just won't be as simple as blackberry to get started. As of right now, no one has made an exchange connector for Android like there are for other devices (think of it like Blackberry connect, but not limited to BES), although I've heard of them existing for linux so its just a matter of time.
Windows Mobile already has Exchange Server sync built in if you have access to a server to use, so they're technical ahead of android if you want a versatile platform that supports push/OTA sync/etc. In fact, even the hyped up iPhone 3G now has an exchange connector, although its probably the only thing about that phone that works well for business folks (rolling eyes).
If you're looking for something that just has features that work out of the box and don't require any setup or customization, etc, than Android, Symbian, LiMo, and WM are not for you. Stick with Blackberry, Sidekick, and others that give you their own server bundled with the service plan for worry-free setup and support.
btw - as for bgr - i know that not everything they say is 100% accurate but i think most of it is on target and it seems to release the info before anyone else (engadget, etc).
But thats pretty cool that they offered you to be a writer, you must be big into mobile tech...
Yeah. I'm a part time Mobile-Tech consultant and also write articles for small magazines and newletters, as well as guest post tech blogs. I recently was asked to be webmaster at mopocket.com, and while they aren't anywhere near as big as BGR, its nice little operation that I'm comfortable writing for. This is, after all, not my career choice, but something I get paid to do on the side.
