Another phone recommendation

[dv8it]

So, it will be time for me to dump my 3650 soon. I've read a lot of the other recommendation threads and still don't have quite a handle on exactly what would be best for me so I would like some help. Notice I said help - I don't want to be mean, but please post helpful comments rather than arguing with each other or posting false or uninformed information.
Here are the criteria, pretty much in order of importance:
1. I am in the US with t-mobile so I need a phone that gets good GSM1900 reception. The US is a 3rd world country as far as mobile coverage goes, some of the foreigners might not even imagine how bad it is here =) I would also like 900 and 1800 bands for travelling.
2. I need bluetooth. I sync my phone with my mac for contacts and while the calendar is not critical, it's nice to sync too.
3. Battery life should be good. I don't want to have to charge my phone more often than every second day. The reception here contributes a lot to that, so phones rated for like 300+ hours standby barely see 3 days. My 3650, as a reference, lasts 2-3 days in normal use.
4. Size is a factor, weight is not as much. I want a phone that can go in my pocket. The 3650 is pretty big, mainly in height and thickness and I would like something smaller (shouldn't be hard!) It's also "too hollow", I wouldn't mind having a smaller phone that weighs the same.
5. A normal damned keypad. I've tried to get used to the 3650 for a year now and it just isn't happening. I am quite good at texting with a normal keypad but I just don't do it on this horror of a phone.

As far as other things go, it's a bit of a wash. Having symbian is nice, but I can live without it if there's a phone that offers benefits like a better price. I don't actually need a camera, but I don't think there are bluetooth phones without a camera.
The 3650 serves my needs in that it gets very good reception and has bluetooth. As I mentioned, it's too big/bulky, and it's also kinda slow (bringing up the contacts list is a notable slow point.) I do enjoy the symbian stuff and the camera, but as I said, it's not necessary.
I'm not biased one way or another towards another company (though it would take some serious convincing to get me on a motorola.) I can wait a couple months, but there's always the next new thing coming out "soon".
I was leaning towards a 7610, but also noticed the 6230 seemed nice. I'd consider a T630 possibly, though I wonder about battery life and reception. The K700 seems to have crap battery life, though it looks great in all other things - that disqualifies it.
All helpful comments are appreciated.

[darkwolf]

Then get a 7610, or smaller, a T630. But if I were you, I would get K700.

[dv8it]

Well aren't you concerned about the K700's battery life? At least mobileburn.com's review says it's really short. I like the phone, but that's a big drawback.

[difenbaker]

umm... I think that you should re-think about gettin a 7610. It fits your criteria nicely - smaller than your 3650, faster, may or may not have symbian, has bluetooth, around 2 to 3 days batt life, and has nice reception. It has a keypad that's sort of normal :D but it's really not that hard to use.

Another choice is a 6600. The 7610 may be good but it does take a hit when it comes to connecting to other devices, those that are older or maybe to other phones or laptops or PDA's (those which has an IR port but no bluetooth), because the 7610 doesn't have an IR.

I'd advice you not to get an SE phone. I dont really hate them - I think they're great phones, but it's just that... well, I've had enough bad experiences with using SE phones there in the US and Canada, to suggest that I wont ever want to use them there again. Their RF performance is just NOT good at all.

Just my 2 cents.


cheers!

[Wyatt]

Yea, get a 6600 if you really want a easy keypad to use, if not then get a 7610 a better cam....

[dv8it]

The 6600 is one I hadn't really considered I guess. My friend has one and it seemed to be that kind of hollow, bulky feel that the 3650 has even though it's a bit smaller. I guess the keypad is good.
The 7610 is my leading candidate though, from what I've read (and see in the photos), the keypad is at least pretty usable, if not completely regular.

I did some searching and the phones that have bluetooth and a reasonable size seem to be:
Samsung D700, Panasonic X70, Motorola V600, SE Z600, SE T630, Panasonic X11, Motorola V525, Nokia 6230, SE S700, SE K700, Motorola E398, Panasonic X700, Sharp GX-32, Nokia 7610, Motorola V80 and the Nokia 6600
Any comments on those are appreciated.

[bart]

not to big, so no P800 :(

but what about the T637? the RF of that phone is very good, also the new SE phones. so no more comment on that :)

K700 is nice, but battery is abit poor. at first its bad, after some charges its poor.

7610 is a waste of money actually. trust me it could go down in price very fast and very imprecive.

[dv8it]

Originally posted by bart
not to big, so no P800 :(

I actually am considering the P910, believe it or not =) It's heavier than the 3650 but it's not actually larger in size and it gives a LOT of advantages for that weight. But it's pretty expensive, I'm not sure if I want to spend that much

but what about the T637? the RF of that phone is very good, also the new SE phones. so no more comment on that :)

That's a possibility. The real plus with that one is the price. I'd get the T630 though, as I'd rather have GSM900 for travelling than the useless GSM850 (T-mobile doesn't do GSM850).

7610 is a waste of money actually. trust me it could go down in price very fast and very imprecive.

Now that sounds like pure bias. Everything I've read says that's a great phone. If it goes down in price, great, it's cheaper for me =) But it's not so big, runs symbian/series 60 apps, has almost every feature you can imagine, takes good photos, has a good screen... what more do you want? I like SE phones too but I'm not crazy, I'll admit the 7610 is nice.

Now I'd like to see you defend the T630/T637 against the 6230... same size, roughly the same features, but the 6230 has a memory card socket. What advantage does the SE offer?

[Sid]

Originally posted by bart
but what about the T637? the RF of that phone is very good, also the new SE phones. so no more comment on that :)

T630's reception isn't great. Pretty much any Nokia phone beats it hands down.

7610 is a waste of money actually. trust me it could go down in price very fast and very imprecive.

Garbage

Originally posted by dv8it
Now I'd like to see you defend the T630/T637 against the 6230... same size, roughly the same features, but the 6230 has a memory card socket. What advantage does the SE offer?

Well, the T630 is a lot cheaper than the 6230 and has a better screen and better polyphonics. Also, the 6230 uses Series 40 which is just about the ugliest UI I've ever used. I'm not saying that the T630/7 is a better phone, but it does have its advantages.

[commedecargons]

Originally posted by dv8it
I actually am considering the P910, believe it or not =) It's heavier than the 3650 but it's not actually larger in size and it gives a LOT of advantages for that weight. But it's pretty expensive, I'm not sure if I want to spend that much



That's a possibility. The real plus with that one is the price. I'd get the T630 though, as I'd rather have GSM900 for travelling than the useless GSM850 (T-mobile doesn't do GSM850).



Now that sounds like pure bias. Everything I've read says that's a great phone. If it goes down in price, great, it's cheaper for me =) But it's not so big, runs symbian/series 60 apps, has almost every feature you can imagine, takes good photos, has a good screen... what more do you want? I like SE phones too but I'm not crazy, I'll admit the 7610 is nice.

Now I'd like to see you defend the T630/T637 against the 6230... same size, roughly the same features, but the 6230 has a memory card socket. What advantage does the SE offer?


so i guess price is not a factor here right? ok, my suggestions are

P910 - Trust me, u won't regret. Battery life is exceptional for a pda phone; real exceptional

T637 - Everything is fine. Battery life exceptional (actually, since the T616, i found SE had exceptional battery life; the current review on K700 is an exemption thou)

K700 - Does everything well (infact very well) Er... better RF can supplement for better battery performance ?!? eheeh :D

N7610 - An extremely nice looking phone, others are (Nokia standards, so the standards are quite high) But 7610 had unnesscesary(i couldn't always spell this word correctly) compromises (Weird, Nokia style compromises) lack of IR, Mono and really, IMO hot swap memory bay and adaptation of RSMMC. other than that - (if u can live with it) it's a worth buying phone (but mostly u'll be paying for the high price for the camera which all the hype is about.

Moto V600 - Moto really had changed i found, really. ok V600 not a multimedia powerhouse or a phone with big brains but hey; nice looking, 5MB (u said u don't need a camera so i guess it's justifiable for me to assume u put few pics in it right?) Bluetooth, nice screen. And Moto's never worry RF performance and good build quality. (IMO only SE and Moto had good build qualities for phones; oopps ignore Vertu first)

Or try to find a T68i or T39 (Which is still an Ericsson) Both had BT, but i guess the RF on the T39 is better and with the exclusion of a color screen, i guess battery skcus (opposite of sucks ?~?)

Best choice, you can always get a P900 when P910 comes out, ha! (huge drop in price !)

Oh ya, if 7610 is good, similiar size u can get a S710 later on (If, like what u said u can live without the symbian thingy)

ok, thats the end of the most non biased suggestions. haha:D i guess. oh ya; b4 i go - Forget Samsung (Samsung is for those who doesn't knew how to do a Bluetooth pairing or those that doesn't even know what's BT. (You know what i mean dont ya?!)
ok i admit, the last part is albeit a bit biased -- in a fair way! he:p

[dv8it]

Originally posted by commedecargons
so i guess price is not a factor here right? ok, my suggestions are

P910 - Trust me, u won't regret. Battery life is exceptional for a pda phone; real exceptional

Price/performance is a factor I guess =) That's what keeps the P9x0 on the list.

N7610 - An extremely nice looking phone, others are (Nokia standards, so the standards are quite high) But 7610 had unnesscesary(i couldn't always spell this word correctly) compromises (Weird, Nokia style compromises) lack of IR, Mono and really, IMO hot swap memory bay and adaptation of RSMMC. other than that - (if u can live with it) it's a worth buying phone (but mostly u'll be paying for the high price for the camera which all the hype is about.

Well the price comes to about US$520 here, which is expensive but not horrible compared to many other unlocked/import phones. It's 35% less than a P900, for example. IR... who cares when you have bluetooth? Maybe you do I guess, but I don't have anything supporting IR. I think the price is for a good sized (19mm thick!) symbian/series 60 phone with a nice camera. I said I don't need a camera, but hey, if there is one, it should be useful =)

Or try to find a T68i or T39 (Which is still an Ericsson) Both had BT, but i guess the RF on the T39 is better and with the exclusion of a color screen, i guess battery skcus (opposite of sucks ?~?)

Wow, see this is the part people in other countries don't realize... the earlier SE phones were HORRIBLE on GSM1900 reception. Absolutely useless in many cases, partially because the networks are so bad and partially because they didn't tune the phones well I guess. Battery life also suffered on these phones - I took my T68i to Finland and had 100% reception almost the whole time and the battery lasted over a week on a charge. Here it would be lucky to get 50% reception and lasted manybe 3-4 days max (which is still quite good). The US is a 3rd world country for cell phones =)

Originally posted by Sid
Well, the T630 is a lot cheaper than the 6230 and has a better screen and better polyphonics. Also, the 6230 uses Series 40 which is just about the ugliest UI I've ever used. I'm not saying that the T630/7 is a better phone, but it does have its advantages.

Excellent points. I agree about series 40... well ok not quite - I think it's great for non-savvy users, very simple and straightforward. I would settle for it if it gave me a phone I wanted in a good form factor, but it is a drawback of the 6230. Then again, the reception on the T63x is a major drawback here.

I've been realizing recently that I actually use data services (browsing, possibly ssh if I had it), so that might change the equation. I wonder if that motorola A630 will be very interesting... that would do the trick nicely if it had applications for it... This new realization also tilts the field slightly in favor of stuff like the P9x0 and possibly the 7610.

[commedecargons]

Originally posted by dv8it
It's 35% less than a P900, for example. IR... who cares when you have bluetooth? Maybe you do I guess, but I don't have anything supporting IR.

35% ?? get the P900. IR ? BT? it's different; sending anything smaller than 300-400 kb is faster on infrared (if u include the pairing time,seacrhing bla bla bla)both should be included into any phone. common just 35% with such close price 7610 is non comparable to P900 if it is within the constraints of ur criteria.

[Wyatt]

Originally posted by dv8it

I said I don't need a camera, but hey, if there is one, it should be useful =)


As you know now almost all the new phones comes with a intergrated camera, i hardly seen one without now.

[zalameh1]

Originally posted by Wyatt
As you know now almost all the new phones comes with a intergrated camera, i hardly seen one without now.

tru... i really hate it when i go to cellphone shops and hear other people's stupid comments about phones.. like when people say "oh no, i dont want a camera on my phone!".. its not like its gonna hurt if u had one.. u never know, u might need to use it for something one day...


anyway, bak to the topic..

i have to say, the p900 is a pretty tough phone, i know this person who owns one and its got dents everywhere.. apart from the screen offcourse...

the 7610 wouldnt be as tough since it uses Xpress-on covers..

[commedecargons]

Originally posted by zalameh1
tru... i really hate it when i go to cellphone shops and hear other people's stupid comments about phones.. like when people say "oh no, i dont want a camera on my phone!".. its not like its gonna hurt if u had one.. u never know, u might need to use it for something one day...


anyway, bak to the topic..

i have to say, the p900 is a pretty tough phone, i know this person who owns one and its got dents everywhere.. apart from the screen offcourse...

the 7610 wouldnt be as tough since it uses Xpress-on covers..


yupe! i threw it once with full force to the cupboards of my shop and it bounce back and drop onto the floor (non carpeted) and i took up again and slammed it the second time when a customer made me furious. When i finally got back and picked it up, i felt so lucky, coz not only the LCD screen didn't break, there were no scratches as well.

[difenbaker]

Originally posted by zalameh1
... the 7610 wouldnt be as tough since it uses Xpress-on covers.

mmm.... this could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

Like if you accidentally drop it, or it got swiped by something sharp in your bag, or when you unintentionally put in something heavy over it - and the phone is still okay, then it's a good thing.

but when all those things does happen and the phone got scratched (deeply) or when it got dented, or when it got discolored (oxidation), or had gotten warped (like if left inside the car in the hot summer sun).... would you then like to be reminded of your mistake everywhere you go?

if a phone has Xpress-On covers, you can just replace it, and make it look brand new. No ugly reminders, no scratches to cover up, and no irritating dents or discolorations ever again. So if that's the case - then it's a bad thing.

:)

cheers!

[Wyatt]

Originally posted by commedecargons
yupe! i threw it once with full force to the cupboards of my shop and it bounce back and drop onto the floor (non carpeted) and i took up again and slammed it the second time when a customer made me furious. When i finally got back and picked it up, i felt so lucky, coz not only the LCD screen didn't break, there were no scratches as well. Was curious what phone did you use to throw?

[commedecargons]

Originally posted by Wyatt
Was curious what phone did you use to throw?

P900, which i sold it off later on at a hiher price in which i bought it. pheew~~~

[voicunebunu]

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[dv8it]

Thanks for all of your input guys. It looks like for real use I'd be best off waiting a bit and seeing what kind of prices the P910 will have, then deciding between that and maybe the 7610. I know they're not quite the same focus but they both do what I want, though the P910 offers some extras that might be worth the price.
I might pick up a Z600 before then because it looks fun to play with =)