I wrote early last year about problems with Palm in China, and with my own Palm Treo 650, and their subsequent lack of support. I inadvertently had to use one again for many more months, but as of yesterday I have fled Palm, for good.

China Mobile gives away phones with certain plans, so I am now using a Nokia e62. It is far from the newest phone available, and it lacks wifi, but it uses Symbian OS, has a QWERTY keyboard, synchs all my Outlook calendar/contacts, and is not heavy to carry. Most importantly, it's a Nokia, which I used until around 2002 when I started to use the early Treo. Treos always had problems with call quality, but the first thing my colleague said yesterday when I called him, and before he knew I had a new phone, was that my call quality was crisp and clear. I guess since Nokia is a phone company, rather than a company that makes a condensed computer placed on breakable plastic, they know how to craft good goods.

I am on the deal where I need to pay a RMB500 monthly minimum phone bill and then at the store I bought the phone for only RMB40. I should have paid RMB690, but I exchanged 13000 of my Gotone points for a RMB650 discount.

I was seriously thinking about getting a Blackberry in China, but CONTRARY to many recent media reports, they are NOT easy to come by in China and are only sold to enterprises. I don't want my entire company to use them–only me. Plus, again, the Nokia is basically free.

Let's see how long I can use this phone without complaining. I hope it never happens.