T-Mobile Forces my Hand

Well, big T, you've had a good run. Sensible pricing, good customer service, the works. But unfortunately for you, two big mistakes are driving me into the arms of another carrier.

First off, your 3G story is abysmal. Why, oh why didn't someone read the fine print when you shelled out all that money for spectrum earlier this year? By the time you're able to roll out 3G across the country, we'll all be using WiMax's successor. Via a brain implant. While piloting our rocket cars.

Secondly, you broke my ability to reliably use my Pearl as a modem. T-Mobile's latest BlackBerry firmware has the wonderful property of requiring me to pull the battery from the phone before each attempt to connect. I realize bluetooth tethering for Mac users isn't exactly priority number one over there at Big Pink T headquarters, but someone needs to at least test these things before they roll out the door. I've even offered! I'll state it publicly here: T-Mobile, I will test your BlackBerry firmware for tether capability for free. Just send me a firmware image.

Thus yesterday found me where I swore I'd never go again: inside a Sprint store. See, the new BlackBerry 8830 has both EV-DO (which, for those who still use their phone primarily to call people, is 3G data - faster than my first cable modem) and a SIM slot for those times I travel overseas. I can even use prepaid SIMs from other countries in the thing. And the tethering? Works like a champ. Currently the speed isn't full 3G, as most of the scripts I've found artificially limit the speed. Needless to say, I'm working on it.

I have a month to decide if I'll actually be leaving the big T, but so far things aren't looking good for them. Yes, it's more money (though it wouldn't be if I could've signed up for one of them fancy SERO plans), but if I can actually do what I need to do, at reasonable speeds, without needing a new battery cover for my phone every month, then it's worth it.