S60 Open to new features

I will be moving within the next couple of months. Among the many things I have to concern myself with is what kind of connectivity I will have at my new place. While wired connectivity is also an issue, on this blog post I will focus on mobile connectivity.

This is not an S60-specific issue. Every mobile phone is expected to be connected to a mobile phone network of some sort in order to be useful. It is, however, worth pointing out that all of our S60 3rd Edition devices can be used without a connection to the mobile phone network. Many of the WiFi-enabled S60 devices can also be used to make phone calls using VoIP--no mobile phone provider needed!

The move away from conventional landlines and towards mobile devices makes moving just a little easier easier. If you have cut the cord (i.e. you don't have a landline), it's one less thing you have to concern yourself with. You move and your phone automatically number moves with you. I know a number of people who have moved out of one area and kept their old number in their new area. Very easy to do with mobile phones. (Note for non-North Americans: most phone numbers here, even mobile numbers, are geographic in nature)

Phone numbers are only one part of the equation. The other is service. For the non-North Americans among you, mobile phone service is far from universally available here. Depending on where you move to, you may not be able to even use your service in the new location. You might have to switch carriers and possibly handsets to get usable mobile phone service.

Fortunately, I am moving a mere 20 minutes away. I was easily able to verify with my own handsets that yes, in fact, my service works in and around the new location. Both T-Mobile and AT&T have good coverage, even inside my new house! On AT&T, even 3G service is available, though I don't have a US 3G handset to personally verify that. If someone wants to send me a Nokia N75, I'd be happy to verify it. ;)

For those who are moving a bit farther away, it may not be feasible to check with your own eyes and equipment. Though it has taken them far too long to make this information available, all of the major carriers in the US now offer street-level maps on their respective web sites. This is helpful, but it doesn't take into account other factors such as the device you are using, which often plays a critical role in how usable the service is. To give an example, T-Mobile shows non-existent coverage for my current house. However, due to the both the conservative nature of T-Mobile's maps and the awesome RF prowess of Nokia devices, I get a bar or two of signal, even inside my house!

Even with the maps and if you're able to do a cursory check of service at your future domicile, you also have to check at the places you will be at most often, e.g. the local shops and other businesses you frequent. Unfortunately, it's hard to know where those places are until you live there and are settled into a normal routine. Even with the street-level coverage maps, it's going to be difficult to know exactly how well service will work in these specific areas.

Have you moved you and your mobile service recently? What are some of the challenges you faced? What tools did you use to assist you in your planning? For those outside of North America, do you even face any of these issues? Please leave your thoughts in the comments.