S-E w/good data package = Cingular only?

[EternalNewbie]

Hi, folks. I'd like to get a Sony Ericsson (in the U.S.) because of their nice feature set, data capabilities, and Mac compatibility.

The S700/S710 seems very nice and I think it's small enough for my tastes. It seems that I can either get a Cingular plan and S710a from Amazon for $250 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0006I2J96/), or an unlocked one from Amazon or other places for closer to $500.

I would like good internet capabilities, so am mostly focusing on Cingular and T-Mobile. Am I right that if I want an S700 (or most any Sony Ericsson) with T-Mobile, I have to pay a premium? t-mo doesn't seem to carry S-E's anymore.

I have Sprint now and would love to leave. Does Cingular really have better coverage? They charge so much more for internet, and don't have T-Mobile's very attractive unlimited bucket. They also appear to charge more for two lines (since my wife wants to move with me). Is it worth another $150-250 to go with T-Mobile? Or can someone recommend where to get better prices on t-mo and S-E?

Any advice?

[Box215]

Concerning CIngular having better coverage, it depends on where you live and if you travel a lot. As you mentioned, T-Mobiel is a lot cheaper than Cingular, and you can look for T-Mobile to launch EDGE within the next few months (i believe June is the target). I would definitely say go for T-Mobile if you live in a city and dont travel out to the boondocks very much.

[EternalNewbie]

Heh... well, I actually do go to the boonies from time to time. However, the area I'm most likely to visit (around Shenandoah National Park) seems to be uncovered by either network.

For the most part, the Cingular map (http://www.cingular.com/buy/nation_coveragemap_pop) looks a lot like the T-Mobile map (http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/coveragesitemap.html), but with broader ranges of coverage. Is T-Mo just more conservative in their estimates of what one tower can cover?

I think I would like T-Mobile, but am still having trouble figuring out how to get a S-E phone with them. Isn't there a way to get a signup rebate without the phone, or something?

[EternalNewbie]

For example... the only place I've found where I can get an S700 with a t-mo rebate is from mobilebee.com (http://www.mobilebee.com/PhoneDetailsID395.html), but from their customer reviews (http://www.resellerratings.com/seller9162.html), they look highly untrustworthy....

[Box215]

um, well here in new york there are plenty of places where you can get a non T-Mobile phone, like the S700, with a new contract and a rebate. I dunno about anywhere online though...

[EternalNewbie]

um, well here in new york there are plenty of places where you can get a non T-Mobile phone, like the S700, with a new contract and a rebate. I dunno about anywhere online though...
Could you name a few of those stores? I would think New York is somewhat unique in terms of specialty stores, but... I'm in Washington, DC, so perhaps there is something analogous here (not that I've found it from lookin').

[carcomptoy]

You could try pinpointing certain locations on T-Mobile's Personal Coverage Check...shows coverage on street level so you know where you have service and where you don't. Although I must admit I'm biased, I think you should choose T-Mobile. In my experience, I've had overall good coverage with T-Mobile, except for a little rural place in New Mexico, which is understandable, but I mean, if you're gonna mainly in metropolitan areas, it won't matter much. To be honest, I have some friends on AT&T/Cingular and I've never seen their phones at full bars. I hate the stupid "more bars in more places" commercials cause I've never known that to be true. My friend who's on AT&T/Cingular hates it...

Another online site is no-air-time.com...in my experience they've had the cheapest prices for any phone (of course other than eBay), although they don't offer any rebates with contract. Their eBay store for some reason sells the same phones for $10 cheaper, although I think you have to catch it when they put it up for sale...

[EternalNewbie]

Another online site is no-air-time.com...in my experience they've had the cheapest prices for any phone (of course other than eBay), although they don't offer any rebates with contract.
Ouch! At least for the S-E S710, their price (http://www.no-air-time.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=S710a&Category_Code=SE) is the highest I've seen. And what do they mean by "Cingular Unlocked?" Like it's only unlocked for Cingular? I could get that from Amazon for less than half the price....

I just don't get why this stuff is so complicated and difficult. One would think that manufacturers like S-E would want to make their phones more available. But they seem so darn scarce and hard to find. I have never, ever actually set my eyes on a z600, z800, or z1010.

[carcomptoy]

Well, they're thinking of the demand they'll have for the phones...the Z600(a) is actually being sold through Cingular, but the latter two aren't, especially since the Z1010 won't even work here in the US. BTW, Cingular unlocked means that it was Cingular locked, and then they unlocked it...in essence it is unlocked:D