Let's talk about US cellular phones and services that work with the 770.

Cingular told me via e-mail today that they do not support bluetooth for devices. Others have told me it works. I think they're unsure of their own services, and that scares me.

So what providers have deals? Unlimited data would be nice, no charges for data when roaming would also be nice... Sprint's website is virtually useless, as is Cingular's. T-Mobile isn't much better. Verizon... no GSM?

It's all confusing! So what do people have that actually works?

I understand that Cingular has a special plan that is geared towards pda type devices (rather than laptops). Cingular doesn't like to push this plan. I know as a Sprint customer, you are totally screwed if you use the 770. Sprint offers a data only plan, however, it is geared for very little usage. I feel that as the 770 and others (OQO, etc.) become more main stream, hopefully providers will offer more creative solutions. For now, providers are pushing their faster networks (EV-DO) and their smart phones such as the PPC-6700. The rumors are that OQO is working on a device that has a cell card built in...if this is the case, they are working with a provider or 2 who will offer an unlimited data only plan.(6-9 months out)

I have a Treo 650 on Sprint. The new firmware includeds dial up networking, which works great with my Palm TX. Do you think the 770 would be able to also use this, even though it is geared for GSM? The TX actually makes no mention of CDMA support, only GSM, but does work.

Here's Texas Instruments' summary of what the OMAP 1710 in the 770 is:
The OMAP processor is a single-chip applications processor that supports all cellular standards and complements any modem or chipset and any air interface. It is intended for high-volume wireless handset manufacturers. The 770's OMAP1710 is designed to handle a variety of application tasks in parallel. Users enjoy several features and services concurrently. This unique multi-engine approach ensures an active multimedia application will not be interrupted or degraded when a separate application, such as an operating system control task, is launched or running simultaneously. The processor enables application developers and cell phone designers to reuse and build upon existing software.

I believe that a later model of the 770 will feature the OMAP 2420. The OMAP2420 includes the benefits of the OMAP 2 architecture’s parallel processing, giving users the ability to instantly run applications and operate multiple functions simultaneously without quality of service compromises. The OMAP2420 includes an integrated ARM1136 processor (330 MHz), a TI TMS320C55x™DSP (220 MHz), 2D/3D graphics accelerator, imaging and video accelerator, high-performance system interconnects and industry-standard peripherals.

Nokia is on record that new firmware for the 770, due early in 2006, will enable it for VOIP. I won't be surprised to see GPS. That's the kind of stuff the TI chip in it is designed to do. Still, I care about the apps - remote access to apps, that is. And I care about getting my hands on one of these, ASAP. I'm used to waiting for game consoles for years, though, and the wait for the 770 doesn't dissuade me in the least.

I don't have a 770, but I've been using bluetooth with T-Mobile (GPRS) now for several years (they've got unlimited data for $19.99) on a variety of hardware.

In my area, the only real options I'd consider are Cingular or T-Mobile; and Cingular is supposed to offer higher-speed data (though T-Mobile has something in the works).

The only problem I've had is the speed - it's low-end dialup at best. Though I once did a webcam chat to Switzerland from a dive bar ;-)

I think the 770 will be a great display device for my Motorola v3.

Brad.

After a bit more digging, Sprint's PCS Vision terms say that no networked devices are allowed.

T-Mobile seems to have it (T-Mobile Internet is the feature name apparently), but T-Mobile still doesn't have a great network, and they're the last of the big providers that charges domestic roaming. That's a bad combination in my book.

Cingular tells me that Media Net is the right answer from them for connecting a laptop to the internet. $19.99/month unlimited on top of the voice service. They told me they "don't support bluetooth" but it'll work with a data cable. I see no reason why it wouldn't work with bluetooth also, the configuration is the same once the devices are paired, right?

sprint recently changed their policies about tethering, i.e. using a phone as a modem via a cable or bluetooth. You do have to pay for you use - you can't just get unlimited data while tethering using a low cost vision plan. Instead, you need an actual data plan. Of course, this changes every other week. They are rolling out EVDO just about everywhere, but I think that their only bluetooth evdo devices at present are pda sized, with pda price tags, and I'm not sure if you can tether.

T-mobile is the low price leader [25 or 30 USD/month tethered or untethered]. They are rolling out EDGE/EGPRS, which isn't too bad, but their coverage area is pretty much limited to cities. They have lots of bluetooth capable phones too.

cingular has edge, and is rolling out UMTS/HSPDA in some areas. It is much more expensive than t-mobile with the unlimited data plan costing 79$ a month, but there are some cheaper plans available too. Cingular has several bluetooth phones. The original post in this thread stated that cingular doesn't support bluetooth tethering. This is certainly true of the low cost plans designed to just add data to a phone or pda. You need to talk to the data group which is geared more toward business users, and yes, pay for the "privilege". I set my account up under AT&T, so you may have some trouble convincing them to set up a "laptop connect" data plan onto a voice account, but I have a friend who did it with cingular just a few months ago. It does require that the CSR you deal with have a clue.

Verizon removes most of the data tethering features from all their phones so for a bluetooth modem, verizon is not a good provider, unless you want to hack your phone to put the features back in.

One thing you may want to keep in mind is that the network speed isn't as much of an issue if your phone only supports BT 1.1. I have several BT phones, and all of them except for my UMTS motorola A845 only seem to support 115200bps as max connect speed
when acting as a modem - I think this is a limitation of the BT 1.1 DUN profile. A BT 1.2 phone should work a lot better, should you be able to get one. I higher speed network wont do you much good if your limited to 115200bps for the BT connection.

Depending on where I am, I use either a moto A845 or a nokia 6230 with cingular. Both phones work fine to my palm lifedrive, a BT 1.1. device. I have the unlimited plan, which only makes sense since I need it for business. If you plan to use a lot of cellular data, and money is an issue, edge from t-mobile is probably your best bet. Otherwise, pick the cingular dataplan that best suits you. I plan to upgrade to the nokia N80 once it comes out next year. SInce the N80 has some series 60 PIM functionality, I think it will make a fine complement to the 770. [should I ever get mine]

howardfourms.com and pcsintel.com have tons more info should anyone care to look into this further.

This whole subject makes my head hurt. This is way more complicated than it should be for nov 2005.

But Cingular tells me that if I have a data cable, I can use my laptop unlimited with a Media Net subscription ($19.99/month). I see no reason why bluetooth would work differently.

But the Media Net terms specifically say no tethering, which I asked about in a follow-up e-mail. No response yet.

I don't work for cingular, so I can't say for sure, but I think your reading of the media net terms and conditions are actually correct. You should really check out howardforums - they deal with these kinds of topics in much more depth. If you call customer service and can get through to the data group, they can give you real answers.

I think that it's likely that new consumer friendly data plans will be coming out next year, but that is just speculation on my part.

After a bit of reading over at HowardForums, it seems they're both correct. Media Net works, but it violates the TOS. So far, Cingular isn't billing people for their usage, but they are within their rights to since the terms specifically state that it is not intended for tethering.

Apparently there is a more expensive data plan that is truly intended for tethering, that runs around $80/month. Too rich for my blood.

Hopefully next year the providers will start realizing that they need to simplify things and will roll out some reasonable data plans. T-Mobile already has, let's just hope the others follow.