TomTom Handheld:

Pros:

• TomTom works offline, meaning you do not need an internet connection to get results.
• TomTom has voice support, so you are not constantly looking at your handheld.
• TomTom can be faster finding points of interests (POI) than Google maps. It has a very intuitive interface.
• Touchscreen, there are touch options for everything.

Cons:

• TomTom needs updating. These map updates are expensive, upwards of $200.
• TomTom doesn’t have satellite imaging, so you can’t see a picture of what you are trying to find, not that this is always useful but its fun.

Google Maps:

Pros:

• Can you say free?
• With the EVDO network, the map refresh is nice and fast.
• Has satellite images and adding more features every day.
• Constantly updated, you will find the latest listings instantly.

Cons:

• Needs EVDO network to make it useful. Anything slower and it is painful.
• No voice support so you are constantly looking to see what the next direction is.
• Need to use the stylus for most tasks, have to type in what you are looking for.

To make the most use of your handheld I would find a window mount so you are not looking down at the device (bad).
Both of these use a bluetooth GPS which is very easy to install, I picked up a YasumiStore SUP-G07 Bluetooth GPS Receiver from good ol’ Newegg. The sticker fell off the first day in the sun, but otherwise works like a champ..

I asked the rep if it would work anywhere, and he said it should, roaming is enabled. I said OK, give me your pre-paid phone that has tri-band support (tri-band will support most GSM type networks). I ended up with the at&t Nokia 6102i phone which is the only pre-paid that has tri-band. A Quad-band phone would be your best bet, but they don’t offer it. When I got the phone, I unlocked it so when I was traveling I could use a local SIM card since you usually get cheaper rates. I unlocked it at unlock123.com for about $5. For those who don’t know what unlocking is, your phone comes with a software lock that only lets you use certain carriers in the U.S. You can purchase phones that come from the factory unlocked, but you will never get those in a local store. You can unlock just about any phone with a SIM card in it, just do some Google searches.

So I had my phone, SIM, and was ready to travel. Off to Dubai I went, through Amsterdam. I tried the phone in Amsterdam, and what do ya know, it won’t get service since the SIM card is not allowed to roam on their network. I figured that $alesman lied to me. I get to Dubai, and same result, nothing. No roaming for me. So with the help of a trusty friend I procured a SIM card locally (good luck doing this in the states) which worked fine. Added some Durham’s to it, and away I went.

My next issue, is that the Nokia 6102i doesn’t hold a signal for crap. When you start to move in a car, no signal. It drops instantly. When you are stopped, works great. Since most of my trip was traveling between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the phone is useless. I had to borrow a Motorola RAZR for the rest of the trip.

When I got back to the states, I researched SIM cards that would work all over the world. I found a company called World SIM which gives free incoming calls to most of the world. The rates are very reasonable, and you get a U.K. number which for anyone calling you from the states would be an international call. I bought a new RAZR off ebay that was already unlocked, popped in the SIM and it works like a champ. When you make a call, it actually calls you back instead of calling directly. This can get a little annoying since calls are not instant, but it still works fine. I tried the card in Curacao and it worked without issue.

My RAZR stopped charging soon after (not having good luck here) so I got a free Samsung phone from my friend, unlocked it, and that has been working great. SIM cards are nice because you can save all your contacts on the card, put a PIN on it, and everything moves with you from phone to phone.

I really wish the carriers in the U.S. would allow you to just purchase phones and SIM cards separately and be free to pick a network. They are too greedy so I doubt that will ever happen. For now you can pick companies such as MetroPCS that don’t make you sign a contract, but they lack a lot of the new data services.

My overall reaction is a positive one based on 6 weeks of use. I was the lucky first person to get one in the Sprint store.

Image from SprintMogul.net

Pros:

• Battery life is very good on this model, it will easily last two days with moderate use. I constantly check my email during business hours with ActiveSync, and make about 30 minutes to an hour of phone calls each day.
• EVDO support. The new Sprint network is quite fast, and with the mega-plan I had to pick ($30 extra a month), I get unlimited PC data access through a USB cable which is nice.
• At some point in the future, Sprint will have TV and Navigation support built in, see my rant below for more on this.
• The keyboard has a resistant slide-out spring now, so it won’t open in your pocket on accident. This is an upgrade from the 6700.
• Application support is as good as my Palm (although more freeware stuff for Palm OS). Google maps for mobile is very nice. This phone supports a bluetooth GPS, so you can use Googles location features with it. I have also used TomTom Handheld and it works great with this phone.
• It comes with a nice leather belt case. I have been using the case and it works well. It has a magnetic button which closes tight, so the phone hasn’t slipped out yet.
• Upgraded camera, it is now 2 megapixel. The camera is what you would expect from a mobile device, it is crappy. Without bright light, it is always blurry and takes a few seconds to take the picture. It does include a flash which lights up a little, but not more than a few feet away. Overall its a nice addition, but I will still carry a digital camera for real pictures.
• Plenty of internal memory. You will be hard pressed to install enough programs to fill up the 160+MB of memory built in. At that point your system will be so bloated, it’s pretty useless.
• Included 512 MB MicroSD. This was a nice surprise as you can copy music or movies directly onto the device when you get it. When you plug it in to windows for the first time, it will create a new Mobile Device under My Computer where you can access the Storage Device folder directly.
• Voice activation that actually works. There is a voice button on the side that you press for the phone to listen for voice commands. It works very well when recorded properly. It can be setup to makes calls or open applications.

Cons:

• Its windows, and it still has bugs. One bug I keep running into is that the sound just stops working after a certain period of time. I can’t determine a set time, it appears to be random, sometimes a week, sometimes two days. A reboot of windows fixes this (reset button).
• Sprint customer service sucks! I wanted to keep the same plan I have had for over two years, it includes unlimited text messages. The customer service lady at the Sprint store said, yeah thats not a problem. So I get my next bill, and guess what, charges for all of my text messages. Waiting on hold for the minimum of 20 minutes, Sprint explained that they do not offer my old plan anymore with unlimited text. To get the same package it will now be double. I also get to use the Sprint TV and Navigation software, but wait, it isn’t supported yet on my phone? But you will happily charge me for it right? Yup.
• It doesn’t have a nice silicon case like the Treo. This is a design issue though, since there really isn’t a good way to get a silicon case on it, unless it is a split design or something.
• It turns on randomly. The screen will turn on what appears to be randomly, but I now tracked it down to switching between the EVDO network and the standard network. This can get very annoying in low signal areas, and I hope Sprint will figure this out (don’t have my hopes up too high).
• No headphone port. The Mogul comes with a USB adapter that has a 3.5mm headphone port, but that is a pain to carry around.

Other things to note:

• There is now a 2200 milliamp battery available, which should almost double the battery life. The only thing I don’t like is that it’s larger, so a new battery cover is needed. This will make your case unusable.
• I purchased a dock kit from igonemobile.com which works nicely. It also includes another charger and a car adapter which are always handy. The phone uses USB for charging so you can use any USB charger.

Overall this is a great phone, and I hope to use it for a few years. I made sure to purchase the Sprint insurance plan in case it dies, since these are about $500-600 to replace.