my smt5600 is getting tired (so much dust in the screen, gprs is so slow!) and i need to upgrade. i have tmobile (1500 min + free nites weekends for 50 bucks? who ELSE would i have) and i need to decide what to do. should i:

- get an imate sp5 (or sp5m) now for 500 bucks from mad monkey boy?

OR

- wait for the sda version to be released? when do you all think that is? how much will it cost? i know someone has the info

thanks guys

option C

get the Cingular 2125 it has EDGE no(WiFi)

not really an option- im sure its at least 400 w/o a contract, and after paying somebody (florin?) to unlock it, id just as soon pay a few extra bucks to have wi fi (and no hump)

I would just get the i-mate. No waiting (a huge plus in my book) and there really isn't much difference between the two. Just branding, and you can fix that with abatis' cab files. At least I think you can. Anyone used them on WM5 yet?

Not really much of a recommendation, but I was in a similar situation couple of weeks ago and decided to switch to Cingular for the 2125. It's 200 bucks with the 2 year contract and you can unlock it for free. (see Omega2008's blog at here) It arrived after about 3 days.

I don't use that many minutes so with the rollover on Cingular, it's good enough for now. EDGE is pretty fast and having a quad unlocked 2125 is good for travel too. (I travel overseas couple of times a month and always use a local sim) The downside is the 2 year contract but if something nice comes out and I have to switch again, I'd be willing to pay for the termination fee then.

HTH.
Steve

i didnt realize there was a free unlock for the 2125...thanks, that changes things a bit.

does anyone know how much to get a 2125 w/ no contract? do you need to be a cingular customer to do that?

The unlock works for all varrients of the Tornado and Faraday classes.

It's in short supply for even Cingular, so they won't sell it without a contract. (at least not to me) Ebay price is probably 400-500 which is not cheap. I was lucky that I've been out of contract for a while and didn't mind switching to Cingular since I still have a second line with Tmobile.
HTH
Steve

I'm in the same boat! I've been using an SMT5600 on T-Mobile as well, but mine fell victim to an unfortunate accident over the holidays.

2125s are only available through Cingular, so for us T-Mobile customers to get one we'd have to fork over as much as an SP5 costs - not to mention it's in such backorder and short supply right now, it's impossible to track down. Like Stark said as well, I'd rather pay the same price to get the SP5 with wifi and no hump. I'm not about to switch carriers, even though I'm no longer in a contract - 50 bucks for 1500 + n&w and $20 for unlimited EDGE/GPRS/HotSpot is unbeatable.

We're just in a tough, "in-between" stage for MS Smartphone releases. They say "Q2 2006" for the SDA and MDA, but given T-Mobile's track record I'd expect it to be more like fall 2006.

So....I'd just get the SP5, but I've become dependent on GoodLink on my SMT5600. GoodLink says it's not yet compatible with the SP5, and people who have tested it confirm that it's not. Well...then I thought maybe I'd just get the SMT5600 again. But after getting it 10 months ago for the going rate of $210 (unlocked), now it seems to be in short supply! People are asking $250 for USED ones.

Tough going right now to find an unlocked HTC smartphone!!