Cool New Phone - Cool New Service

Until recently, the best mobile phones on the US market have lacked two of the most important elements that I've been wanting in a phone - a flip design and built-in Bluetooth. As a PowerBook-wielding gadget junkie, I nearly fell off my Aeron when I saw the Sony Ericsson Z600, a stunning new world class Bluetooth phone with all the cool features of the T610 in a knockout flip-style body.

They say timing is everything, and that was evident with the simultaneous release of the Z600 to the US market and the fruition of years of legislative effort to force our beloved mobile service companies to allow us to keep our existing number when we change carriers. At 38 years of age I'm on my fourth mobile number, but I feel strongly now that I'll take this number to my eternal dirt nap! No more changing business cards and letterhead every other year. Thank you Washington!

While I couldn't actually find a Z600 in my town, everything I read from experienced users was positive and so I decided to take the plunge and just buy the damn thing online. The prospect of finally giving up my Motorola T720 and outdated Verizon Wireless service was just too compelling.

I ordered from the kind folks at GSMphonesource.com, a Las Vegas based retailer that is known for good service and support. Prices were fluctuating a bit over the three day period that I was monitoring their Web site. The first time I checked, the Z600 was priced at US$449. A day later it had dropped to $429, and the following day it bottomed out at $399! Sold! I added FedEx 2-day shipping for a total of US$414.36.

Now I had to get the ball rolling with a new service provider since the Z600 is not compatible with Verizon's extensive but antiquated CDMA network. After exploring the three largest GSM carriers in the US, I finally settled on T-Mobile. They seemed to have the most flexible, least expensive plans, with good international coverage, cheap overseas rates, WiFi hotspots all over America, and the best track record of number porting in the first week that it was available. I ended up cutting my mobile bill from just over $100/month to just under $50 while keeping the same calling plan and actually adding better call quality and faster data speed when connecting to my PowerBook. Verizon's early termination fee of $175 will be a wash when you consider what I'll save over the remaining months of the contract.

I decided to wait a week to let the initial surge of 'switchers' die down, hoping for an easier transition to my new service. I asked the T-Mobile representative how long these number changes were taking in real life. He explained that AT&T and Cingular seemed to be having real problems releasing customers' numbers upon request. Verizon, he said, had been pretty good. Yeah, right. The changeover is supposed to be complete in 24 hours, but he conceded that it could take as long as five days.

When one carrier ports a number from another, they are actually activating a new mobile account in their system, and as such, they need a mobile number to attach to the account. In a perfect world, your current number is released by your exiting service provider through the computer system as the new provider sets up the account. The goal is to achieve a nearly seamless changeover by establishing your new service with your current mobile number. Many early switchers had to be assigned temporary numbers until their original number was released by their exiting provider, slowing the process and causing headaches for everyone.

By the time I was ready to take the plunge, many of the bugs had been worked out of the system, and my number was released immediately by Verizon. I walked out of the T-Mobile store with my Verizon service still active, pending the ultimate manual switch in a few hours or days. I'm thrilled to report that the Z600 was activated on the T-Mobile network in just under a day - 22 hours to be exact!

In the first week of service on T-Mobile, I've been very, very happy with the call quality and coverage in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. After placing dozens of calls constituting more than three and a half hours of talk time, I haven't experienced a single dropped call. Nor have I played the "can you hear me now?" game with anyone. Simply astonishing considering that these problems had become part of my daily life for the past few years.

I've been enjoying the $4.99 unlimited t-zones WAP plan which was a little tricky to set up. It seems the t-zones USA home page doesn't play nice with the Z600. After a couple hours of scouring the message boards at Esato.com and HowardForums.com I was able to get everything up and running. A small price to pay for living on the bleeding edge.

Tips for switching to a new service provider

• Do not cancel your existing service. Doing so will seriously hurt your chances of retaining your phone number.
• Make sure your current mobile account is in good standing. If you owe them money, pay it before attempting to switch.
• Be aware that you may owe a substantial early termination fee if you're still under contract with your current provider.
• Mobile to mobile switches should be completed in 24 hours or less. If you're porting an existing land line number to a new mobile account, the process can take more than a week.