Thursday, June 10, 2004

After searching for tri-band (GSM 1900) mobile phone, MP3 playback, MMS/GPRS capable, infrared/bluetooth connectivity, 64 MB MMC/upgradeable BUT, with NO CAMERA, I ended up with Nokia NGage for my son! Its price dropped since it was first launched but nevertheless, I feel better now that I got something for my son. I preferred NOKIA 6820 because of its QWERTY keyboard but, it has a camera! NOKIA 9500 Communicator is best for my son's need but, it has a camera also and will not be available until the third quarter of this year.

We were told from Smart Communications - Sales Dep't. that text messages wouldn't work with international roaming in Saudi Arabia, as MMS and SMS are barred. Anyway, my son has to buy a prepaid SIM card there which cost about SR 150 (PHP2,100.00), if his SMART SIM card fails. I am a Smart subscriber but might switch to Globe soon. Globe has better browsing options and it's FREE through GPRS and can make clear calls via international roaming (post-paid subscribers). My son wants an open line and didn't want me to get subscription plan so I was having difficulty earlier. Currently, prepaid SIM cards cost locally about PHP 150.00 for Globe and PHP 190.00 for Smart Communications, the two leading cell phone companies here in the Philippines.

The next best thing to do is upgrade the applications in his unit and load it with some of his favorite mp3s and images of Tintin. Hey, Junjun, would you allow your little sister to try its game? :D