My company is divesting itself of company phones — basically handing everyone the mobile already supplied to them, giving them a bump in salary to pay for whatever play they choose to go to, and letting individuals worry about it. There are some limitations (if you want to tie into company data, it has to be a phone platform that they can remotely “self-destruct” in case the phone gets stolen), but that’s pretty much it.
I currently have a Blackberry Curve on AT&T. I’m not wowed with AT&T, but not particularly averse to it. My Blackberry is okay, but limited. And if I’m going to be on my own personal phone, I want something fun …
At first I was looking at the iPhone, since that’s what all the Cool Kids have. But I’m less than thrilled with Apple’s “walled garden” on apps and usage, and the iPhone is classically poor with connectivity (through AT&T), at least in New York and San Francisco (when locations are named).
I wanted a Nexus One from Google (and HTC), but that wasn’t initially on the list of approved handsets …
… except that now it is. It only talks with T-Mobile at the moment, but Verizon is supposedly on the, um, horizon. And we already have a Verizon plan for Margie, so we can probably get some synergies/savings there.
Hmmmmmm.
So, here’s my cunning plan:
1. Roll over onto a plan with AT&T on my existing Curve. Minimize the initial hassle.
2. When the Nexus One comes to Verizon, switch to it, tying into a family plan with Margie, and transferring over my phone number for the sake of convenience.
Now all of this assumes:
A. When I roll to an AT&T contract, I’m not going to be locked into something for two years. Since I’m not getting the handset from them, I should be okay, but we’ll need to see.
B. The Nexus One really is all that and a bag of chips. Which I think it is, but I don’t know that I actually have chatted with anyone who has one. There’s an IT guy in my office, though, with whom I can discuss it.
C. By the time the Nexus One comes out on Verizon, it’s not old hat.
So, a bit of research still, but that’s the direction I’m leaning.