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First off, there are basically three O/Ses to choose from:

1. Palm: This is the old faithful. Palm has a number of SmartPhones out there to choose from including the Tungsten W (their own model), Kyocera's 6135 (black and white model) and 7135 (color model), Handspring's line of Treos, and Samsung's i300. Palm is a great O/S for SmartPhones because of its low power consumption and easy integration with different form factors. The best of these in my opinion are the Kyocera SmartPhones for their depth of integration and focus on being a phone first and a PDA second. You can find Palm-based phones for both GSM (i.e. AT&T Wireless, Cingular, etc.) systems and CDMA (i.e. Verizon, Sprint, etc.) systems.
2. PocketPC: PocketPC phones are out there and there are a lot of providers to choose from. Aside from the clunky first-generation PocketPC phones like the AudioVox Thera, the newer ones use a version of PocketPC specifically designed for phone use. These models are powerful, fast, and look very cool. They generally only have one form factor - a normal PDA shape with an antenna attached. So don't go looking for a flip-phone model. PocketPC phones have a few downsides, however, as they tend to be battery drainers (don't expect to be away from a plug for days on end) and the O/S can crash (sometimes in the middle of a call). However, if you want PDA-first, phone-second functionality, this is a good choice. At the moment, PocketPC Phones only come in GSM models, the only CDMA model out there is the AudioVox Thera.

   You may also have heard of SmartPhone 2002 which is another effort to bring windows to cell phones. The only model currently out is the Orange SA phone and based on the early reviews, your choice here is simple - STAY AWAY UNTIL REVISION 2!

3. Symbian OS: Symbian O/S is the descendent of the EPOC O/S which ran PDAs in Europe like the Revo and exists today as a powerful PDA operating system specifically made for cellular phone integration. Nokia is the main owner of this O/S and has the most interesting offerings, but Sony Ericsson is where you will find the best phones in the USA. Their P800 will be a great choice when it comes out here and the t68i is already a hit for AT&T Wireless and Apple with its built-in BlueTooth technology. Symbian phones are only available for GSM networks at this time.

For the Northeastern USA, the best choice will probably be the Kyocera 7135 SmartPhone. You are right that it is not selling on the Verizon system yet, but you can buy it from the Kyocera store activated for Alltell and then have your local Verizon store activate it for you. (Yes, they will do that.) You will want to check out SmartPhoneSource for a good community of people who have done this and for directions on doing it.

Hope this is helpful.

First off, there are basically three O/Ses to choose from:

1. Palm: This is the old faithful. Palm has a number of SmartPhones out there to choose from including the Tungsten W (their own model), Kyocera's 6135 (black and white model) and 7135 (color model), Handspring's line of Treos, and Samsung's i300. Palm is a great O/S for SmartPhones because of its low power consumption and easy integration with different form factors. The best of these in my opinion are the Kyocera SmartPhones for their depth of integration and focus on being a phone first and a PDA second. You can find Palm-based phones for both GSM (i.e. AT&T Wireless, Cingular, etc.) systems and CDMA (i.e. Verizon, Sprint, etc.) systems.
2. PocketPC: PocketPC phones are out there and there are a lot of providers to choose from. Aside from the clunky first-generation PocketPC phones like the AudioVox Thera, the newer ones use a version of PocketPC specifically designed for phone use. These models are powerful, fast, and look very cool. They generally only have one form factor - a normal PDA shape with an antenna attached. So don't go looking for a flip-phone model. PocketPC phones have a few downsides, however, as they tend to be battery drainers (don't expect to be away from a plug for days on end) and the O/S can crash (sometimes in the middle of a call). However, if you want PDA-first, phone-second functionality, this is a good choice. At the moment, PocketPC Phones only come in GSM models, the only CDMA model out there is the AudioVox Thera.

   You may also have heard of SmartPhone 2002 which is another effort to bring windows to cell phones. The only model currently out is the Orange SA phone and based on the early reviews, your choice here is simple - STAY AWAY UNTIL REVISION 2!

3. Symbian OS: Symbian O/S is the descendent of the EPOC O/S which ran PDAs in Europe like the Revo and exists today as a powerful PDA operating system specifically made for cellular phone integration. Nokia is the main owner of this O/S and has the most interesting offerings, but Sony Ericsson is where you will find the best phones in the USA. Their P800 will be a great choice when it comes out here and the t68i is already a hit for AT&T Wireless and Apple with its built-in BlueTooth technology. Symbian phones are only available for GSM networks at this time.

For the Northeastern USA, the best choice will probably be the Kyocera 7135 SmartPhone. You are right that it is not selling on the Verizon system yet, but you can buy it from the Kyocera store activated for Alltell and then have your local Verizon store activate it for you. (Yes, they will do that.) You will want to check out SmartPhoneSource for a good community of people who have done this and for directions on doing it.

Hope this is helpful.

First off, there are basically three O/Ses to choose from:

1. Palm: This is the old faithful. Palm has a number of SmartPhones out there to choose from including the Tungsten W (their own model), Kyocera's 6135 (black and white model) and 7135 (color model), Handspring's line of Treos, and Samsung's i300. Palm is a great O/S for SmartPhones because of its low power consumption and easy integration with different form factors. The best of these in my opinion are the Kyocera SmartPhones for their depth of integration and focus on being a phone first and a PDA second. You can find Palm-based phones for both GSM (i.e. AT&T Wireless, Cingular, etc.) systems and CDMA (i.e. Verizon, Sprint, etc.) systems.
2. PocketPC: PocketPC phones are out there and there are a lot of providers to choose from. Aside from the clunky first-generation PocketPC phones like the AudioVox Thera, the newer ones use a version of PocketPC specifically designed for phone use. These models are powerful, fast, and look very cool. They generally only have one form factor - a normal PDA shape with an antenna attached. So don't go looking for a flip-phone model. PocketPC phones have a few downsides, however, as they tend to be battery drainers (don't expect to be away from a plug for days on end) and the O/S can crash (sometimes in the middle of a call). However, if you want PDA-first, phone-second functionality, this is a good choice. At the moment, PocketPC Phones only come in GSM models, the only CDMA model out there is the AudioVox Thera.

   You may also have heard of SmartPhone 2002 which is another effort to bring windows to cell phones. The only model currently out is the Orange SA phone and based on the early reviews, your choice here is simple - STAY AWAY UNTIL REVISION 2!

3. Symbian OS: Symbian O/S is the descendent of the EPOC O/S which ran PDAs in Europe like the Revo and exists today as a powerful PDA operating system specifically made for cellular phone integration. Nokia is the main owner of this O/S and has the most interesting offerings, but Sony Ericsson is where you will find the best phones in the USA. Their P800 will be a great choice when it comes out here and the t68i is already a hit for AT&T Wireless and Apple with its built-in BlueTooth technology. Symbian phones are only available for GSM networks at this time.

For the Northeastern USA, the best choice will probably be the Kyocera 7135 SmartPhone. You are right that it is not selling on the Verizon system yet, but you can buy it from the Kyocera store activated for Alltell and then have your local Verizon store activate it for you. (Yes, they will do that.) You will want to check out SmartPhoneSource for a good community of people who have done this and for directions on doing it.

Hope this is helpful.

If you ask me the Kyocera 7135 is the one with right form factor (though the Samsung i500 is similar). They understand that a SmartPhone needs to be a phone FIRST and a PDA second - without surrendering on the power.

If you ask me the Kyocera 7135 is the one with right form factor (though the Samsung i500 is similar). They understand that a SmartPhone needs to be a phone FIRST and a PDA second - without surrendering on the power.