Nokia 6086 (T-Mobile)

Pros: Seamless WiFi -GSM integration, Good WiFi and Cell Reception

Cons: The look is somewhat Retro

Summary: I purchased this phone a few weeks ago as I live in an area with poor cell coverage. On occasion I would have to walk out of the house to find the network! So when I was told about this new service and phone from T Mobile to make and receive calls via my high speed internet connection, I did not wait a minute to sign up for the service.

The amazing capability of this phone & service combination is the fact that you can walk out of WiFi range and be transferred to the cell network (and from cell back to WiFi) without losing the call. All I have noticed (and only when it is quiet around me) is a small blip. Having spend many years in telecommunications technology business, I know how difficult the programming must have been to reach this level of unobtrusiveness moving a call in process between networks as diverse as the public internet and the proprietary cell network.

This technology is the wave of the future and it is quite interesting to see that T Mobile has given little publicity to this. This may have to do with capacity issues, as I have on occasion noticed that calling another party on the WiFi network on the other coast yields an "all circuits busy" message. Also I have seen occasions where an incoming call does not ring, but the "Missed Call" notification appears.

But the biggest thrill of all is the use of this technology internationally. It so happens that I spend a considerable amount of time overseas. I speculated that the WiFi capability should allow me to make and receive calls while in WiFi mode in my offices and apartments in Asia. And sure enough, it works flawlessly, independent of the make or type of WiFi router. The voice quality has been superb so far. And as T Mobile gives you unlimited calling to any phone in the US from any WiFi connection under their $10 a month HotSpot@home subscription, I can now make and receive unlimited calls to and from the US at no (additional) charge from any of my locations overseas, including many airports that have open WiFi networks. A sweet deal, especially as the parties that call me from the US on the regular phone network only pay for a local or domestic call.

In short, I am a happy camper.