The great thing about unlocked cell phones is that they allow for easily switching between service providers. Numerous makes are available in this manner, and though people often naturally go with the most recent models, it frequently pays to think about yesterday’s offerings in addition. For instance, unlocked cell phones like the Nokia Surge make great second handsets for people who want to have two different contact numbers. It looks like a T-Mobile Sidekick but being unlocked means that you aren’t restricted to just AT&T in the United States. It’s got the same form factor as the best-selling Sidekick, only it slides and doesn’t swivel to expose the keyboard underneath. Packing this smartphone with text messaging and social media capabilities makes it clear that Nokia is focusing on the young with this model.
You can’t do much better when it comes to unlocked cell phones to serve as second or third “lines.” But just what is the Surge? What’s it like? Well, it’s a 3G phone offering 2.4 inches of screen real estate at 320×240 TFT pixels and 16 million colors. The 2 megapixel camera is inferior when compared to the 3 megapixel-plus variant on the related 6760 Slide model available in the rest of the world (which phone, incidentally, isn’t carrier-exclusive), but the Surge did debut earlier, too. Video recording is made at the standard QVGA resolution.
This phone uses the Symbian Series 60 multi-tasking platform, nicely complementing the provided feature-set, marking it a mid-level offering. The Surge works with Bluetooth 2.0, with A2DP support, and offers microUSB connectivity as well. Audio is piped through a standard 2.5mm jack. As is the case with most Nokia products nowadays, there is also a built-in stereo FM radio player. MicroSD cards are supported for close to a maximum of 8GB of additional storage space, in addition to the 2GB card included. This phone is available in black, white, or red color schemes. Talk-time is scored for reasonable five hours, with standby is a wholesome five hundred.
Even better, being unlocked means not having to deal with AT&T and their long two-year contract with mandatory voice and data plans that could possibly result in about a thousand dollars a year for even a rather casual user! And naturally the Surge is obviously meant for those who are constantly texting, chatting, e-mailing, or using the internet. Such folks could quite quickly wind up with over two thousand dollars a year!