Getting ready to buy - Best *real* price in US

[larryr]

I finally and a chance to spend some time with an X1, and may need to make it my own. There seem to be better prices out there than from Sony Style, but there also seem to be a awful lot of scams. Can anyone recommend a reputable (= accepts returns) source in the USA? What sort of price can I expect?

-lr

[Mweb586]

That depends. Are you looking for an X1i or an X1a?

If you don't mind getting an X1i, you can buy it from clove.co.uk, with the exchange rate in our favor, you'll get good prices from stores in the UK.

If you need an X1a... I don't know what to tell you.

If you need help deciding between the two, let's start with this: Which carrier are you on right now?

[OldDrunkenSailor]

Even more important: where in the US are you?

[larryr]

I'm in a suburb of the Metro NY area; most carriers have good coverage here. I'm on sprint right now but will be putting my new toy on AT&T. What are the key differences between the different 'flavors'?

-lr

[OldDrunkenSailor]

2 differences:
1) camera. x1i shoots vga at 24fps, america version shoots at a slower rate.
2) 3/3.5g band. AT&T uses both 1900 and 850 in most of the big cities in the US. Check wireless advisor for your area code specifically. They are shifting 3g to 850, as it is stronger indoors, but it will always be on 1900 as well.

I get edge in a lot of indoor areas, but get 3.5g (HSUPA) in a lot of indoor areas and almost all outdoor as well. There are times that I wish that I was running an x1a for data purposes, but overall, the x1i is great.

also, isn't the x1a still crazae expensive?

[larryr]

Thanks for the advice. I'm thinking that give the fact that I travel a bit (and that's when I really need the data), I may have to grit my teeth and go for the X1a. But at $800 from Sony Style, its probably a non-starter. My usual choke point is around $500 for a phone, but I could be persuaded to $600+ for the Xperia. But I think 800 is beyond me.

I may spring for a Touch Pro, wait for the X2 to come out, and then pick up an X1 on the cheap. We'll see.

-lr

[OldDrunkenSailor]

My dad has a touch pro and he is extremely jealous of my celly. the touch pro feels very cheap in comparison, and the keyboard is utter crap (IMHO).

I would honestly just grab an x1i. Any city that's really worth visiting uses 1900 (Cingular used 1900 only in a lot of markets, AT&T always did both, so 1900 is always accessible, just sometimes you might drop down to Edge, which isn't so bad).

The Touch Pro will be a fine phone, a decent phone, but not something that you'll LOVE.

get the x1i, it's worth it, you can get one cheap on ebay.

[larryr]

Possibly I'm confused. I'm assuming that if I've got an X1i in an area with only 900 coverage I get nothing (voice or data), since the phone doesn't do 900, only 850. Is that not the case. I do sometimes wind up in those cities that I wouldn't go to voluntarily<g>.

Is there a thread on here somewhere that explores the limitations of an X1i in an X1a world?

[Mweb586]

You won't ever have to deal with a 900 Mhz band in the US. If you travel overseas, then the X1i is probably better.

Also, I recommend if you want the lowest price on an X1i go to Clove.co.uk! With the exchange rate in out favor for the first time in like forever, it's under $600 for the phone and about 20 or so to ship it. Much better deal than the $650 prices on eBay.

[larryr]

Is there a reason that the 'a' version offers 900 if there's noplace in the US that you need it? Or is that a T-mobile thing? Sounds like a PITA for Sony to have done 2 versions.

I agree with ODS's comment. Having kicked the tires on both the experia and touch pro, my take is that the touch pro feels like a really nice phone, but the xperia feels more like a piece of fine jewelery. One surprise for me was that with the unit in hand, the panels, which seemed like such a great idea in the ads, seems more like just some high-tech bling in person.

What do you do in the US for service? Will AT&T sell just a SIM and account, or are you better off buying a phone and dumping it on ebay.

-lr