G1

With my sidekick giving me issues daily, including problems syncing with the network, I've been tempted to just move to ATT and get an iPhone. I ran some numbers and it didn't seem to make sense to switch until April or May, when I'd lower my cancellation fee and could then make things almost work. However the data plans cost more, so it really behooved me to wait until June or July.

When I saw the possibility of a new iPhone, especially the $99 one this summer, I decided that I'd have to wait until July, which I didn't want to do. I'm not sure the Sidekick will last that long and I'm not sure I want to go back to a non-keyboard phone.

Instead I decided on a Google G1 for TMobile, my current carrier. I was tempted to just buy one, then was tempted to pay the $180 at Wal-Mart and just extend my contract for 2 years, but I don't want to do that. I looked on eBay and saw them around $300, so I really had to think. Actually there are plenty at $350-450 to just buy. I'd made some bonus money from the old company and some tech editing money, so it didn't seem like a crazy purchase. Plus Red Gate has purchased some shirts from me for giveaways, so I had a little cash to spare.

I researched a bit because I am still tempted to switch to ATT later and move to an iPhone, and sure enough the G1 can be unlocked, even unlocked from TMobile after 90 days, and so that sealed it. It's worth going for a G1, getting a case to take care of it, and trying that one. I can always move it to ATT or even sell it later, since it seems to be popular and still a bit of a novelty.

I also saw I can sync my Google calendar with it, and I'm thinking to move everything to Google and sync my laptop and desktop so I have one calendar. Right now I have 3.

I bid on a few, but kept getting outbid at the last minute. I'm glad because I was in the $320-330 range. Finally I found one closing in 6 minutes at $230 and bid $260. eBay goes for the next highest bid and it jumped to $237, and that's where it stayed. I watched it count down and I won!

So in a few days I should have a G1, that hopefully will work well for me. Now it's time to start moving some stuff online and get my machines synced.