Sony Ericsson T630 Review

[Michael]

Since it was launched early last year, the Sony Ericsson T610/T616 has been a best-seller around the world, although it did have its flaws. The screen was poor in sunlight, and reception was not up to par. Almost 9 months later we have the T630 – a new improved version of the T610 which promises to correct its flaws. Well, you all know it has a TFT screen, but what else has changed? Read on…Sid's review is (finally) up:

T630 Review (http://www.mobileburn.com/review.jsp?Id=572)

[smilewarrior]

This would have been a great phone, if only the keypads didn't have that "plasticky" look to them. The t610 is much better esthetically. The old adage " if it ain't broke, why fix it" applies here.

I'm glad to here this is a much better model feature wise compared to the t610.:D

If only they had kept the metal colored keypad for this model, it would really be a best seller. Even the SEt100 looks better than this phone :(

[Sid]

The keypad actually looks pretty good in real life. It's also pretty easy to use.

[smilewarrior]

I'll take your word for it , sir.

By the way, I happened to see the black version of the t630, it my humble opinion, it looks a lot better.

:)

[simm0]

hey! i really like the SE T630 because of its looks and the improved screen.

i'm currently got a SE T610 and i'm wondering if i could get it modified into a T630. it shouldnt be too hard, right? and if there isn't any place that does this, would i be able to send it back to SE and get it changed there?

Simm0

[Andynz]

Just say no to drugs man.........

Andy

[Michael]

Originally posted by simm0
i'm currently got a SE T610 and i'm wondering if i could get it modified into a T630. it shouldnt be too hard, right? and if there isn't any place that does this, would i be able to send it back to SE and get it changed there? No, not hard.

Impossible.

Just buy a T630. Would cost much less unless you happen to work for SE and have access to their parts bin. And you have that kind of access, you probably would already have a T630....

[simm0]

LOL ohh darn! got me excited there for a sec :mad:

oh weoz. i'll jus hafta stick with my T610 :)

is there anything i can do about the dull screen then? besides fiddling with the contrast . . .

[simm0]

oh btw: thx for quick reply :)

[dmtr]

I've tested T630. Well, my friend has this headset so i had the chance to take a look at it. I think it's hell of a phone. I don't like its design, but that's my personal opinion. If we are talking about its functionality...well, it's better than my S55. And i REALLY like my S55. Unfortunately i haven't tested all of its features but i think that if you need a good headset, and you like T610, then you will fall in love with T630.

[pukapuhio]

does anyone know when the T630 is going to be for sale in the US? the site said coming soon for a while. now i don't see that it says that but don't see the phone in stores either. also, how much is the phone? thanks.

[Alberrisford]

Looks good, I don't think that they should have given such limited choice on the colour though...white !:(

And the black version is only available on t-mobile :(

[jokay22]

a friend said that the screen size of the t610 & t630 is exactly the same. so if we can get the t610 screen remove, then replace it with the t630 screen.. voila!!
of course, u have to find a store which sells t630 -screen only- first.
but, it's just what a friend said to me.. never seen it done for sure..

[MrBean]

I just picked up a T628 in China. They go quite cheaply here--I got mine for US$340.

One thing I did not pick up from review of the T610, Z600, and T630 was the following: while you can have more than one telephone number associated with a name, you can only have one kind of number associated with the name.

i.e., if you have a contact who has three mobile phones, you can only store one number as a designated mobile phone number. The other two will have to be labelled as "home", etc. If, like me, you have contacts with many numbers of the same kind, you are going to have multiple entries in your address book to deal with this problem.

[Michael]

Originally posted by jokay22
a friend said that the screen size of the t610 & t630 is exactly the same. so if we can get the t610 screen remove, then replace it with the t630 screen.. voila!!
of course, u have to find a store which sells t630 -screen only- first.
but, it's just what a friend said to me.. never seen it done for sure.. You are assuming that the support hardware and software for the displays is exactly the same. I wouldn't be so sure of that.

[Amrit]

What a disapppintment the T630 was. I think Sony ericsso had its 15 minutes of fame with the T68i and the T610. And what a phone the T610 was at that time. I have the t610..AND its a remarkable fone even wid the terrible screen, limited memory and slow reponse. No wonder it got the editors choice. But what has the T630 done for us ? It looks sooo boringly bland in comparison to the T610 which has a sleek sex appeal to it. Features are about the same, except fer the screen. The Z600 : now thats one sexy fone..similar features but they actually made it look aesthetically better than the T610..
The t610 made me a die hard fan of SE, but now it has let me down..Lets see what nokia 6230 , samsung P400, and motorola V80 has to offer us..

[Sid]

I fail to see how you can claim it's "boringly bland" when most people I've met think it's pretty good looking. When it comes to looks, opinions don't matter. Either you like it or you don't.

[DaninChina]

Amrit:

The t610 made me a die hard fan of SE, but now it has let me down..

If you are really a "die hard fan of SE", then how could you let one sub-par (in your opinion) phone turn you away from them?

[quikgamer]

It's basically a T610 with an uglier design and a better screen..not good enough to upgrade. The Nokia 6230 is looking very nice.

[smilewarrior]

Hopefully, sony ericsson would realize that they'd be able to sell more units of the t630 if the liquid black version was made available to all regions.

The liquid black version looks really good, similar to if not better than the t610.

Perhaps they could also come up with a gray version.

I guess the white t630 doesn't really look that bad, it's just so stark white. If they'd provide a silver or a darker looking keypad and faceplate with it, the contrast would make it more visually appealing.

Just my 2 cents.

[stringmint]

Thanks for an excellent review Sid.

I'm conisering buying this phone, could anyone shed some light on a possible bug or design ommision.
The cnet site states in its review of the T616 that:

"An annoying quirk of the T616's calendar, however, is that it doesn't support all-day events; if you have any such events in your PIM, they won't show up on the phone."

http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_Ericsson_T616/4505-6454_7-30538750-3.html?tag=review


Since Sid stated the calendar system used on this series was amoung the best on the market, I was starting to think maybe they got it wrong.
Anyone confirm this happens with the T610/630?

Seems like an important ommision... all-day events would be used frequently by most users for b'days, holdays etc..

[3ple4]

I think the T630 looks better than the T610, personally :) I'm a loyal Ericsson user :cool:

[MikeyMike]

I am considering purchasing a SE T630 but I first have a few questions.

1- What is the camera like? I don't want to spend an extraordinary amount on a phone (hopefully around £200) but I do not want to buy a phone which will quickly become/already is outdated. Is the camera the same as in the Z600?

2- Is the 'My Friends' feature supported by T-Mobile in the UK?

3- Is there a good screen protector available to protect the vulnerable screen?

4- What do most people think looks better, black or white?

5- Is the T9 predictive text good? i.e. is it fast and easy to use?

6- Is e-mail easy to use? Does it require a large amount of time, effort and money?

7- Same for the internet, is it easy to use etc?

8- Is it possible to have the network logo removed?

Hope I haven't asked too much but I would greatly appreciate replies to some if not all of these questions. :D

[MikeyMike]

hey, is is possible to set voice recordings as ring tones somehow on the T630? any help would me much appreciated

[mrhoni]

I just got a T637 (AT&T) because I liked most of the T616 and I have many accessories.

I was expecting 2 improvements, screen readability in the sun and bluetooth performance with HBH-35.

In my first try out I still found it hard to read the screen in direct sunlight and even seemed difficult outside in the shade. I was really hoping for better.

Also, bluetooth performance seemed the same. With the T616 (and now T637), just putting the phone into my pocket or fanny pack caused static from just a few feet away. I also thought if I left the phone on the table I could move about the room, staying within 10 feet of the phone.

Did I mistake it's improvements or am I describing just what others are experiencing?

thanks.

[mrhoni]

I used the phone more today and I can say that the bluetooth IS better than the T616. I was able to be at the other side of the room with the headset and the quality was much improved.

However, the screen, while better than the T616, still is quite difficult to see in the sun. Is this the problem with all color screens?

[Raynar]

But how can you put the sounds you have recorded as ringtones?

[He Minwei]

T630 cannot put your recorded sounds as ringtones but what i was thinking is that if whether i can send the recorded sound to my friend's K700i and tell him to change to ringtone and send it back to my T630 but i got one thing to say about the camera,it sucks because the photo i had taken is very blur and quite dark.

[carcomptoy]

I think the T630 looks better than the T610, personally :) I'm a loyal Ericsson user :cool:
HEAR HEAR! I don't understand how you guys can think the T610 looks better than the T630??? The latter has such a classic design with a modern twist...the crystal keypad looks infinitely better than the stupid minuscule silver keys of the T610! I always though that that had such '80s looks with its tacky shiny black with dull silver and pronounced lines/ridges...the T630 brings the phone to the 21st Century and I imagine must do a good job of it. I myself have never actually played with the T630, but I have seen a dummy version of the phone and I love it so much more than the ugly T610. In any case, I just wanted to put my two cents in...either way, I'm never gonna get a Sony Ericsson unless they release a S60 phone, so yeah...

Actually, maybe the W800, but that's beside the point...

[3gpeasy]

this thread started over a year ago and is now completely irreleavant except for nostalgia value. never mind the t630, even my k700 is looking dated now.

NEXT!!!

[commedecargons]

T610 looked BETTER than T630, it's design is timeless..... K700 too~

[carcomptoy]

EW why??? I know it's pointless to argue now, but the T610 was just so UGLY. Just looked so '80s, it's disgusting! But w/e...moving on:D

[nokialcatel]

Now being May 2005 already, Is there newer model of T630 category? I liked T630 and wanted to buy one; but I found that it do not have built-in 'speaker phone'.

I hope SE would have come out with an upgrade of T630. If so, please let me know. Thanks.

[Box215]

Now being May 2005 already, Is there newer model of T630 category? I liked T630 and wanted to buy one; but I found that it do not have built-in 'speaker phone'.

I hope SE would have come out with an upgrade of T630. If so, please let me know. Thanks.

Yes, the K700 came out a while ago, and the K750 is almost here.

[jtntwozz]

u should prolly be looking at the k700i then,, as said above..

[3gpeasy]

hang on for the k750/w800, they're nearly here and they're so much better than the k700

not that the k700's bad, mind, i like mine a lot

[tedwardo]

personally i prefer the t610, it was a really individual design and it stood out a lot to all the other boring one colour phones

[3gpeasy]

personally i prefer the t610, it was a really individual design and it stood out a lot to all the other boring one colour phones

what, to the k700? a phone is not just an ornament, my friend, and some of the elements of that phone were rubbish