My new phone ????

I'm waiting. And waiting. After much research, I'm pretty settled on getting what was initially called the AT&T 8925. This is the HTC Kaiser or TyTN II. Now it's being called the AT&T Tilt.

While I was leaning towards a Treo 750 running Windows Mobile, that phone is showing its age already, even if it is a huge upgrade from my Treo 650. I want current generation technology, and that includes WM6. It's not clear the Treo 750 has a migration plan to WM6 or not. Plus, there's no GPS and some other missing features (3G, WiFi) compared to the current generation. So the question then is to wait for the Treo 800 or not. But that could be easily next Spring before it appears. Then you're rolling the dice on which carrier gets it first. Maybe Verizon, maybe AT&T, who knows. Verizon is likely because they're stuck at the 700 now. I'm not opposed to switching, but the devil you know....

Anyway, once I kind of decided on the 8925, I've been asking around and watching the internets with mounting frustration. Sure, you can't call its release 'delayed' because they've never acknowledged the product even exists. Until now. Tilt Your World. I'm not sure they meant for this to be an external site or not, but I could see them punishing some poor IT guy getting the rack for this. There's even a calendar of events on the site. I'm getting my hopes up for a 10/5 launch, but it might not be for a couple more weeks either.

I'm a little annoyed with the AT&T guy at the Galleria Mall who claimed to know nothing about a replacement for the 8525 -- but yet knew just about everything else I asked about. I know there's a need to push the current devices off the shelf, but c'mon. There's a point at which you realize you're dealing with an informed consumer and at least come clean that you can't talk about it. You don't call to another store guy and say "have you heard about an 8525 replacement?" to back up your ignorance. So I'll be going to the AT&T shop in the other mall probably. And a note: always work with official factory stores, not licensed resellers. The resellers only get paid if you activate a new line. Upgrades don't buy them anything, so you'll get talked into stuff you don't want or need.