I Envy the EnV (Yeah, I just wrote that. *sigh*)

September 12, 2009 6:10 PM

I have T-Mobile. I want an Lg EnV3. Suggestions?

I was messing with one of the Lg EnV3's inside a Verizon store today and I love the keyboard and interface. I cannot switch to Verizon. What is a phone comparable to the EnV3 that is available on T-Mobile's network? Is it possible to get the EnV3 on T-Mobile's network? (Yes, I realize the whole CDMA vs. GSM thing.)

Thanks!

posted by 47triple2 to technology (4 answers total)

No suggestions on alternatives, but a lot of CDMA only carrier exclusive phones will eventually get GSM versions for other carriers and Europe/Asian market. You may just want to wait.
posted by wongcorgi at 9:49 PM on September 12, 2009

What is it that you like about the EnV3?

If you're basically looking for a QWERTY side-opener, you might look at the Nokia 9500. I've seen it going online for around $290, unlocked. Looks like a pretty nice phone.

If that's more phone than you need, the Motorola Sidekicks are easy to get on T-Mobile (you can walk down to any store and get one of them, either unlocked or via reselling your soul for another few years) and they are basic by modern standards. Actually, if all you care about is the QWERTY and basic messaging and email, you could get an older one off of eBay for very little, to use while you're waiting for a GSM EnV3.

The nice thing about T-Mobile is that, since it's GSM, you can use any GSM handset you want—including the very high-end Asian models, if you want to—so the range of phones is truly huge. (You do need to be careful if you care about 3G, since non-US 3G phones won't typically work at 3G speeds here.) If you can figure out exactly what it is that appeals to you about the EnV3, it's almost certain that there are phones out there that will work for you.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:56 PM on September 12, 2009

my carpool partner has an EnV, and I have a G1. Very similar form factor. I like my G1 better :)
posted by jrishel at 7:59 PM on September 13, 2009

Thanks to jrishel's suggestion, I can now answer teh question of what appeals to me (via Kadin2048):

The front allows me to send quick texts/read quick texts without having to open it up and deal with a larger form factor.

The G1 is very internet centered and I don't want to buy mobile internet. I want something that is more SMS/call centered.


After some googling I found the LG KT610 (aka: GSM version of LG EnV2). Does anybody have any experience with this phone?
posted by 47triple2 at 9:57 AM on September 14, 2009