T630 - well done Michael

[atingle]

Well done Michael!

I have been visiting this site for the past several months and I have enjoyed the 'no BS' aspect of the handset reviews. This is a breath of fresh air missing in other sites and publications.

I just saw the snapshot for the T630. I think it is great that Sony Ericsson has listened to Michael's review of the T610 (and T616), prompting them to correct its shortcomings with the T630. It seems as if the manufacturers (not only SE) forgot the primary function of the handset is to make voice calls. This demonstrates the power of sites like these and the integrity of their founders to honestly inform the consumer.

I travel frequently between London and various cities in America and Europe. Michael's review of the T610 has saved me a costly mistake of upgrading my T68i prematurely. I await the full review of the T630 to see if I should go with the T630 or the Z600.

[Michael]

Well, I don't want to take all the credit for that....I am certain I wasn't the only person to notice. Maybe the most vocal, though. But either way, I am sure the engineers were aware of the problem and decided to fix it on their own accord.

But there is a funny story related to that.

I was talking with SE-USA's Marketing Director the other day about the T630, asking about changes from the T610.

I had asked if the RF had been improved and she responded that she didn't know. I then said:

"Well, that was my biggest complaint with the T610."

She responds: "OOOOOOOH YES, we know...."

She later contacted me, after talking to the R&D guys, and said that yes, it had been tweaked. So hopefully the T630 will be the perfect phone that the T610 should have been.

[kbooms1w]

2 questions Michael,

Is SE on schedule to release the t630 in the US in Q1 2004?

and do you know which carriers will be selling it?

thanx

[Michael]

It has only been 5 days since the announcement, I doubt that the schedule could have slipped all that much since then....

As to who will carry it, I would imagine just T-Mobile, if any. AT&T and Cingular, with their partial 850Mhz networks, would want something that supports their bands. Perhaps a T636 is coming? Who knows.

[kbooms1w]

I thought T-Mobile just leased access to Cingular's network.

If ATT and Cingular are using the 850 frequency, why would they release a phone on the 900 frequency in the US. Oh well, more of a rhetorical question. Why do phone makers do anything.

I wish they would just re-release the t68i with a better antenna. Love that phone.

Great site. I'll keep checking back for news on new phones.

[sean]

Originally posted by kbooms1w
I thought T-Mobile just leased access to Cingular's network.

If ATT and Cingular are using the 850 frequency, why would they release a phone on the 900 frequency in the US. Oh well, more of a rhetorical question. Why do phone makers do anything.

I wish they would just re-release the t68i with a better antenna. Love that phone.

Great site. I'll keep checking back for news on new phones.
I think T-Mobile absorbed voicestream (at least in Nevada and Cali) not sure what is going on in the rest of the country.
"As to who will carry it, I would imagine just T-Mobile, if any. AT&T and Cingular, with their partial 850Mhz networks, would want something that supports their bands. Perhaps a T636 is coming? Who knows." Their phone would likely be a 850 version - a-la T616

[MAC]

AT&T Wireless uses 1900Mhz for GSM, not 850. Their TDMA network varies by market - older ones using 850Mhz. But all of their markets use 1900Mhz for GSM.

[profet]

Originally posted by MAC
AT&T Wireless uses 1900Mhz for GSM, not 850. Their TDMA network varies by market - older ones using 850Mhz. But all of their markets use 1900Mhz for GSM.

Thats just wrong.

AT&T holds licenses for 850Mhz in many major markets (including NY).

They are tearing down their TDMA network as we speak. So they are just going to continue to pay rent for unused spectrum? No way. Their GSM network will use and does use the 850Mhz spectrum in addition to the 1900Mhz spectrum.

[MAC]

Originally posted by profet
Thats just wrong.

AT&T holds licenses for 850Mhz in many major markets (including NY).

They are tearing down their TDMA network as we speak. So they are just going to continue to pay rent for unused spectrum? No way. Their GSM network will use and does use the 850Mhz spectrum in addition to the 1900Mhz spectrum.

If you read my entire post, you would notice that I said that AT&T Wireless has 850 in many of their older markets. What I meant to say in the first sentence was that most of their markets were 1900Mhz- which is true. Only older markets (Dallas, NY, etc.) use 850Mhz.

This is my 5th year working for AT&T Wireless, and I can tell you that you are the one that is 'just wrong'. AW will not start taking down their network for at least another 4 years. A majority of AT&T's customers are still on their TDMA network, so there is no way they are 'tearing down their TDMA network as we speak.' You don't migrate 20 million users from a TDMA network to a GSM network in less than a year.

Don't believe me? Here is a recent description of AT&T:

'AT&T Wireless has significant analog networks, and digital TDMA networks. They also recently rolled out a new nationwide GSM network over their existing TDMA network. The new network features GPRS technology for high-speed data services. The GSM/GPRS network will be upgraded to EDGE in 2003, followed by UMTS, as AT&T's 3G upgrade strategy. The TDMA network will still continue to operate for several years.'