i'm shopping for a new cellphone/pda. prefer good phone, ok pda vs the
other way around. must be cdma not gsm.  (local reception issues)

like small, battery time not a big deal.

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Request for Question Clarification by snapanswer-ga on 06 Apr 2003 15:01 PDT

What criteria would you like a researcher to use in measuring a good
phone?
Simply call quality or things like shape and weight?
Do you have a preference for PDA OS?  (PocketPC, Palm, Symbian,
Blackberry)
Do you care which service carrier you use?  (Sprint, Verizon, AT&T,
etc.  Some of these phones are "exclusive" to a particular carrier.)

I can give you my pick for the best ones, but, without knowing some of
your criteria, the answer may not be what you are looking for.

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Clarification of Question by holguinero-ga on 06 Apr 2003 16:02 PDT

a. prefer pocketpc then palm. 
b. prefer cingular, att, then sprint.
c. looking for the best at any price

In my opinion, the best PocketPC PDA/Phone for any carrier is the
Hitachi G1000 which is available to Sprint customers (or will be
before the end of June).  It appears that of the carriers you listed,
only Sprint provides CDMA, which is just as well, since they also
provide the best PDA Phone.

One thing that distinguishes the Hitachi from other products is the
integrated "thumb-board" originally found primarily on Blackberry
devices.  If you do not appreciate a "thumb-board" then you may wish
to choose the upcoming Samsung SPH-i700.  Both the Hitachi and Samsung
models mentioned have an integrated camera and run the PocketPC
operating system.

If you do not choose to wait for the Hitachi G1000 or Samsung i700 to
become available, you might consider the Toshiba 2032 (however, it
should be noted that the Toshiba represents Sprint's older product
offering and is expected to be replaced by the newer phones).

By selecting CDMA, you have narrowed the field, since Cingular and
AT&T appear to use GSM/GPRS.  Sprint and Verizon use CDMA.  (Note that
as they build their "3G Networks" GSM/GPRS carriers are expected to
transition to EDGE service, while CDMA carriers are expected to
transition to CDMA2000.)

For the sake of completeness, I will mention the following items,
though they do not meet your requirements.  The Handspring Treo 300 is
another popular PDA Phone featuring a "thumb-board" that Sprint
supports, however, it operates using the Palm OS.  Microsoft also
supports a "Smartphone" design that looks more like a typical phone. 
However, the two Smartphone products currently announced (by Orange
and Compal) are GSM/GPRS, so they would not meet your CDMA
requirement.

CNET:  "Colorful mobiles from Sprint PCS" by Joni Blecher, March 18,
2003
http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-7716980-8-21000152-1.html

infoSync World:  "Sprint readies CDMA Pocket PCs for Q2" by Jørgen
Sundgot, March 17, 2003
http://www.infosync.no/news/2002/n/3255.html

infoSync World:  Large photo of the Hitachi G1000 (same article)
http://www.infosync.no/show.php?id=3255&page=3

infoSync World:  Large photo of the Samsung SPH-i700 (same article)
http://www.infosync.no/show.php?id=3255&page=2

Sprint:  Toshiba 2032
http://www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/PhonesAccessories/PhoneDetails.jsp?selectSkuId=toshiba2032

Sprint:  All PCS Enabled Phones Currently Available
http://www.pcsvision.com/explore.html?128

Microsoft:  Smartphone
http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/smartphone/hardware/default.asp

Technology Business Research:  Mobile Operators Comparison Chart
http://www.tbri.com/News/pgViewPR.asp?Id=46

Search Strategy:  
  Search Microsoft and PDA web sites for latest PDA Phones.
  Search for mobile operator comparison charts.

Search Terms:
Hitachi G1000 review
://www.google.com/search?q=Hitachi+G1000+review

GSM GPRS CDMA Sprint Nextel Verizon Cingular
://www.google.com/search?q=GSM+GPRS+CDMA+Sprint+Nextel+Verizon+Cingular


I hope that you have found this information useful and easy to
understand.  If you have any questions about this information, please
do not hesitate to post a clarification request prior to rating the
answer.