Staying Connected Abroad

You might think that as the world continues to shrink that staying connected while abroad would be getting easier. Not so. We are currently witnessing a sea change in world-wide wireless: Carriers everywhere are canceling their unlimited data plans. Android handsets are taking over and rightly inspire techno-lust, but the best plans are still for BlackBerrys. Sadly, BlackBerry OS is a terrible development platform--there are tumbleweeds in their app store--and their hardware inspires about as much enthusiasm as plain white toast.

Take, for example, the newly released and much hyped BlackBerry Torch.  Read the specs. Now read the review. Choice quotes:

If you don't already own a BlackBerry, you will not want this phone. And if you do, you still might not want it, even if it may very well be the "best BlackBerry ever."

 ... and ...

BlackBerry isn't good enough anymore if you're comparing it to other smartphones. What does it do better than the rest? That's the fundamental question. And the answer is that for most people, in most situations, compared to Android and iPhone, not a whole lot.

Ouch! I've been using a BlackBerry Bold 9000 for a while now, and while it gets the job done, I can't help noticing that the real party is happening in the Android and iPhone camps. Is it time to switch?

I called up AT&T (my carrier) and got the details of my plan and extras. The kicker is my unlimited international data plan, which is BlackBerry specific--and no longer offered. The rep told me if I ever canceled it, I'd never get it back. Yikes.

So I spent some of yesterday going from provider to provider and seeing if they can offer me something competitive. Here's what I want: an Android GSM phone with an unlimited international data plan. One by one, every provider turned me away: Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile. The closest I came was Sprint, which just canceled its unlimited international data plan about a month ago--and it was only for BlackBerrys. Bah.

Incidentally, AT&T doesn't even have any Android phones yet. When they get them later this year(?) I'd have to give up my magical BlackBerry-specific data plan to get one. No deal.

So BlackBerry, it looks like I'm stuck with you.