This page is to acquaint you with the services provided by UW Technology in support of "smart phones".
For a brief primer on wireless services within the campus environment, please see the UW Technology pages on Wireless Computing.
A useful smart phone has two components: the device itself, and the service. The device is small and looks like either a phone, or a PDA (personal digital assistant). It offers both telephone service, and data services such as email, calendaring, web browsing, and storing contacts. Most phones have a microprocessor, some memory, a screen, a keyboard of some sort, and a wireless modem. The service is through a service provider, which sells a set of services for a monthly fee. These services will specify the number of minutes, whether you can send/receive data (such as email or pictures), the speed of the connection, etc.
The capabilities of your smart phone will be determined by the model and service level you choose. For example, if you want walkie-talkie capability, you are limited to certain models of Blackberry devices using Nextel services. This is why it's important to know what capabilities you need in a smart phone, before you look at specific models or service providers.
Answers to these questions will help us determine which phone and service plan will be right for you:
There are several choices of "smart phones" with different operating systems. Choose the device you are interested in from the list below.
Prices for smartphone devices range from $200-600, and monthly service plans that include both voice and data (i.e., email, web access) range from $65-100. We can assist with device acquisition. You can get current pricing information from the vendor links on the Cellular Phone Rates page.
For more information about smartphones, please send an email to smartphone@u.washington.edu or call (206) 221-5000.
