[swollenostrich]

Well, just went back to my local Sprint store to pickup my replacement of the replacement (which was a replacement of a replacement already), and you'll never guess the outcome... Are you on pins and needles?

It had the same problems with the keyboard! While I was there, they had me try 2 other Moguls they had in the back that were boxed still, but I have no idea if that meant they were new or refurbished. In any case, every single one exhibited the same problem. One of them was really bad.

They offered to place yet another order, but I let them know that this was quickly becoming far from acceptable. I don't get much enjoyment out of spending an hour at their store every time I go there between the waiting list and the time it takes to activate the phone. Moreover, I do not enjoy reloading all my contacts, settings, and programs every time either. They are wasting both their time and mine which is what is really irking me right now.

But, they did finally say the words I was waiting to hear. They offered to upgrade me. However, the options are a bit less than satisfactory. They offered either the HTC Snap or the Palm Pro. I quickly dismissed the Snap as it is non-touchscreen and aside from that, the screen is minuscule in comparison to my Mogul. The Palm Pro, while a touchscreen, is small as well - though it appears that the resolution is actually higher than the Mogul. But, the keyboard feels a bit too small.

I told them that I would call them tomorrow with my decision. I looked up the reviews on Sprint's site and the reviews on both phones are somewhat less than shining. But then I noticed that the HTC Touch and Touch Pro (the phone I assumed would be the natural upgrade) had even worse reviews.

Custom ROMs taken into account (as I am sure I will be running one once I settle on a phone) does the Touch clean up well and take care of the complaints that most people have? The Pro sounds like it has a lot of keyboard problems as well, but honestly, I could live with a touchscreen keyboard if it functions decently. The bigger pain in my arse with the Mogul than the keyboard is the inadequate amount of system memory. I can't run squat before I am tapped for memory on that thing!

What do you guys think? Does the Palm Pro have potential? Is the Snap a better choice? Or, should I do as I think I should do and call either Sprint or Assurion and try to roll some heads and get them to upgrade me to a Touch?

Actually, I am considering the HTC Hero whether I have to actually pay for it or not. I fooled around with it a bit while I was at the shop, and it is pretty damn slick. And I see a lot of future potential in it too. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything I will be missing that only Windows Mobile can do. Perhaps if I play my cards right, I can get them to trade me up to the Hero? I mean, it's only a $30 difference from the Palm Pro, and $50 and $150 cheaper than the Touch and Touch Pro, respectively. Or... maybe they'd give me a Touch Pro 2? Hmmmm... Wishful thinking.

At any rate, the current situation as I see it is unacceptable, and my gut tells me that the trade-up offers are as well.

I'll report back... hopefully soon.