Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

Not a bad GSM phone, but not worth the $400 prerelease tag. The
problem is that it really is a new external design for the T610. The
camera also is horrible, but that is not why I got the phone. Battery
life is wonderful! I charge once a week and use the phone about 2
hours a week. Bluetooth never fails, unlike the symbian bluetooth of
NOKIA, and email is a snap.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

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In <a457305.0410051812.7cec78ec@posting.google.com> on 5 Oct 2004 19:12:41
-0700, nabusa@gmail.com (Nabil) wrote:

>Not a bad GSM phone,

Pretty darn good, IMHO.

>but not worth the $400 prerelease tag.

I paid $180 for mine (used, but in like new condition).

>The
>problem is that it really is a new external design for the T610.

More like the T630.

>The
>camera also is horrible, but that is not why I got the phone.

Likewise, although I'd call it decent for a cell phone.

>Battery
>life is wonderful! I charge once a week and use the phone about 2
>hours a week. Bluetooth never fails, unlike the symbian bluetooth of
>NOKIA, and email is a snap.

Agreed, although the email client has some issues. Also, GPRS is fast and
stable, and Java enables some worthwhile apps (e.g., WebViewer).

Only two real disappointments for me:

1. No EDGE (EGPRS).

2. No support for wave audio (only MIDI).

Plus the menus are a bit less intuitive then my old T39m.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

>I paid $180 for mine (used, but in like new condition).
>

Generally speaking you can also get much lower pricing on these phones when you
renew a service contract or sign a new contract completely. I got my T616 from
AT&T last April and saved quite a bit over the normal asking price. I know that
they're now offering the phone for $49 if you sign a contract or are already a
GSM customer. They're also offering the T637 at the discounted price of $79.99
to new customers or current GSM clients who want a new phone. But it looks like
the T637 is vastly identicle to the T616, except for "new clothes" and the
addition of Yahoo, AOL and ICQ IM software.

>Likewise, although I'd call it decent for a cell phone.

I don't think anyone buys these phones expecting multi-megapixel performance
from the built in camera. Frankly, I never use mine and probably would've taken
a less expensive model without the camera if I'd had the option. I wanted the
T616 because I liked it's looks and user interface and the fact that it had
built in Bluetooth so I could use wireless headsets and beam info. back and
forth with a PC wirelessly (assuming I bought a Bluetooth card).
Steve Grauman

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

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In <20041005230035.29600.00001835@mb-m29.aol.com> on 06 Oct 2004 03:00:35 GMT,
oneactor1@aol.com (Steve Grauman) wrote:

>>I paid $180 for mine (used, but in like new condition).
>
>Generally speaking you can also get much lower pricing on these phones when you
>renew a service contract or sign a new contract completely.

Mine is unlocked and has no service contract issue.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

>Mine is unlocked and has no service contract issue.
>

But you still have a sevice provider. And despite warnings that the phones are
locked, I found that my T616 worked on Cingular's newtwork even before AT&T (my
provider) merged with Cingular earlier this year. I'm told that the phone,
which I purchased from AT&T, will also work on T-Mobile. It's just a matter of
switching the SIM chip that locks in behind the battery. And I can get a better
deal on most NEW phones from AT&T then I can going to the used market, so I'm
not real concerned with trying to find complete used phones in decent shape or
having to make sure they're "unlocked".
Steve Grauman

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

> Not a bad GSM phone, but not worth the $400 prerelease tag. The
> problem is that it really is a new external design for the T610. The
> camera also is horrible, but that is not why I got the phone. Battery
> life is wonderful! I charge once a week and use the phone about 2
> hours a week. Bluetooth never fails, unlike the symbian bluetooth of
> NOKIA, and email is a snap.

Have had it for about 6mnths. It's too thick for a phone (should have been
..5 cm thinner!), camera is useless. Every now and then it becomes so
sluggish (especially after using Java apps) that it has to be reset. About a
month ago it started to switch itself off every now and then, had to take it
to service center where they downgraded (!) the firmware, works fine for
now.

I get 2-3 days out of it with BT & GPRS constantly on. Also, had problems
using non-SE BT headset with it.

Peter

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 19:12:41 -0700, Nabil wrote:

> Not a bad GSM phone, but not worth the $400 prerelease tag. The
> problem is that it really is a new external design for the T610.

z600 has a TFT screen, t610 has a STN screen.

Apart from the clamshell design, it's more or less the same as the t630.

<snipped>

--
Michael Turner
Email (ROT13)
zvxr.gheare1963@grfpb.arg

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In <20041006010743.17556.00000340@mb-m01.aol.com> on 06 Oct 2004 05:07:43 GMT,
oneactor1@aol.com (Steve Grauman) wrote:

>>Mine is unlocked and has no service contract issue.
>
>But you still have a sevice provider.

A phone without a service provider is useless unless 911 is the only number
you ever want to call. ;-)

>And despite warnings that the phones are
>locked, I found that my T616 worked on Cingular's newtwork even before AT&T (my
>provider) merged with Cingular earlier this year. I'm told that the phone,
>which I purchased from AT&T, will also work on T-Mobile.

You were lucky. ATTWS routinely locks subsidy phones, and won't unlock them.

>It's just a matter of
>switching the SIM chip that locks in behind the battery. And I can get a better
>deal on most NEW phones from AT&T then I can going to the used market, so I'm
>not real concerned with trying to find complete used phones in decent shape or
>having to make sure they're "unlocked".

I wouldn't count on that, but ATTWS will probably be gone soon in any event,
so it won't matter.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

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In <2shlsqF1kr8f1U1@uni-berlin.de> on Wed, 6 Oct 2004 10:41:14 +0300, "Peter"
<peter@greatnowhere.com> wrote:

>> Not a bad GSM phone, but not worth the $400 prerelease tag. The
>> problem is that it really is a new external design for the T610. The
>> camera also is horrible, but that is not why I got the phone. Battery
>> life is wonderful! I charge once a week and use the phone about 2
>> hours a week. Bluetooth never fails, unlike the symbian bluetooth of
>> NOKIA, and email is a snap.
>
>Have had it for about 6mnths. It's too thick for a phone (should have been
>.5 cm thinner!), camera is useless.

Useless? Although image quality could be better, I've found the camera handy
on several occasions when I had neglected to bring a real digital camera.

>Every now and then it becomes so
>sluggish (especially after using Java apps) that it has to be reset.

I've never had that problem. In fact I'm very impressed with the way it
handles simultaneous tasks; e.g., incoming text messages while I'm playing a
game.

>About a
>month ago it started to switch itself off every now and then, had to take it
>to service center where they downgraded (!) the firmware, works fine for
>now.

That makes no sense -- sounds like you have some sort of hardware problem.

>I get 2-3 days out of it with BT & GPRS constantly on.

I get 4-5 myself with BT & GPRS on. (BT draws some power in idle, but GPRS
doesn't.) Perhaps you're in a weak signal area, which can significantly
shorten battery life. Or perhaps your battery has degraded.

>Also, had problems
>using non-SE BT headset with it.

Can't comment on that -- I only use SE BT headsets, which work well.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

>I wouldn't count on that, but ATTWS will probably be gone soon in any event,
>so it won't matter.

I get discounted pricing on new phones from AT&T becuase I'm a GSM customer.
I've found that I can get most of the new phones from them at a negligible
markup over what people want for them used on EBay. And by going through AT&T,
I never have to worry about wether or not the phone will actually work with
AT&T or if the phone is in decent shape and complete with all accesories. AT&T
is being rolled into Cingular but I don't see much changing. If Cingular dumps
to much of the former ATTW then they risk losing a lot of unhappy customers.
Steve Grauman

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

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In <20041007174143.01883.00001522@mb-m14.aol.com> on 07 Oct 2004 21:41:43 GMT,
oneactor1@aol.com (Steve Grauman) wrote:

>>I wouldn't count on that, but ATTWS will probably be gone soon in any event,
>>so it won't matter.
>
>I get discounted pricing on new phones from AT&T becuase I'm a GSM customer.
>I've found that I can get most of the new phones from them at a negligible
>markup over what people want for them used on EBay.

I personally find that I can significantly beat non-subsidy ATTWS prices on
eBay.

>And by going through AT&T,
>I never have to worry about wether or not the phone will actually work with
>AT&T

I don't either -- any unlocked or ATTWS-locked GSM phone with the necessary
bands will work.

>or if the phone is in decent shape

Haven't had a problem there.

>and complete with all accesories.

Not important to me.

OTOH, I *don't* get locked in

>AT&T
>is being rolled into Cingular but I don't see much changing. If Cingular dumps
>to much of the former ATTW then they risk losing a lot of unhappy customers.

That hasn't seemed to concern Cingular in the past, so I personally wouldn't
count on it.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

>I personally find that I can significantly beat non-subsidy ATTWS prices on
>eBay.

Well I can get a Samsung X426, a refurbished Nokia 3595 or a refurbished
Sony-Ericsson T226 for FREE from AT&T right now. Or I could replace my T616
with the newer T637. MSRP is 269.99, I get a brand new one from AT&T for
$79.99. There's a LOCKED AT&T specific T637 on EBay right now, currently bid up
to $102.00. And There's an unlocked one going for $199.00. Doesn't seem like a
significant savings to me.

>Not important to me

It is to me. I don't find find the savings of a used phone to be worthwhile if
I need to spend money buying missing wall chargers, headsets, batteries, etc...

>OTOH, I *don't* get locked in

Yes you do. You have to sign a service contract for a period of at least 1
year. Either that or your using pre-paid service which would cost me a
significant amount more per month than my AT&T plan is.
Steve Grauman

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

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In <20041007194004.28718.00000423@mb-m05.aol.com> on 07 Oct 2004 23:40:04 GMT,
oneactor1@aol.com (Steve Grauman) wrote:

>>I personally find that I can significantly beat non-subsidy ATTWS prices on
>>eBay.
>
>Well I can get a Samsung X426, a refurbished Nokia 3595 or a refurbished
>Sony-Ericsson T226 for FREE from AT&T right now. Or I could replace my T616
>with the newer T637. MSRP is 269.99, I get a brand new one from AT&T for
>$79.99. There's a LOCKED AT&T specific T637 on EBay right now, currently bid up
>to $102.00. And There's an unlocked one going for $199.00. Doesn't seem like a
>significant savings to me.

It's not really "free" -- you get locked into a contract. I was talking about
"non-subsidy" prices.

>>Not important to me
>
>It is to me. I don't find find the savings of a used phone to be worthwhile if
>I need to spend money buying missing wall chargers, headsets, batteries, etc...

Never had that problem.

>>OTOH, I *don't* get locked in
>
>Yes you do. ...

Nope.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

>It's not really "free" -- you get locked into a contract. I was talking
>about
>"non-subsidy" prices.
>

We all get locked into a contract. If I'm going to have to sign a contract then
I may as well take a brand new phone at the subsidy price as opposed to paying
more for a used item. As I pointed out, it IS less expensive then going via
EBay. And I don't mind being in a plan for 2 years, I choose plans that work
for me and I don't generally turn out unhappy.

>Nope.
>

The only way you can avoid being locked into a provider for at least 1 year at
a time is to go pre-paid. And like I said, my $39.99 a month plan actually ends
up costing me less than pre-paid would. If you aren't getting locked in, you're
probably stealing service somehow.
Steve Grauman

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

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In <20041007224127.29613.00000313@mb-m05.aol.com> on 08 Oct 2004 02:41:27 GMT,
oneactor1@aol.com (Steve Grauman) wrote:

>>It's not really "free" -- you get locked into a contract. I was talking
>>about
>>"non-subsidy" prices.
>
>We all get locked into a contract. If I'm going to have to sign a contract then
>I may as well take a brand new phone at the subsidy price as opposed to paying
>more for a used item. As I pointed out, it IS less expensive then going via
>EBay.

As I pointed out, I disagree.

>And I don't mind being in a plan for 2 years,

Good for you. I do.

>I choose plans that work
>for me and I don't generally turn out unhappy.

Lots of things can change in 2 years.

>The only way you can avoid being locked into a provider for at least 1 year at
>a time is to go pre-paid.

Or don't re-up. Or haggle a better deal.

>And like I said, my $39.99 a month plan actually ends
>up costing me less than pre-paid would. If you aren't getting locked in, you're
>probably stealing service somehow.

I'm not locked in, and I'm not stealing service.

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.gsm (More info?)

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In <MZI8d.16411$54.261128@typhoon.sonic.net> on Wed, 06 Oct 2004 02:43:56 GMT,
John Navas <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote:

>[POSTED TO alt.cellular.gsm - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]
>
>In <a457305.0410051812.7cec78ec@posting.google.com> on 5 Oct 2004 19:12:41
>-0700, nabusa@gmail.com (Nabil) wrote:
>
>>Not a bad GSM phone,
>
>Pretty darn good, IMHO.
>
>>but not worth the $400 prerelease tag.
>
>I paid $180 for mine (used, but in like new condition).
>
>>The
>>problem is that it really is a new external design for the T610.
>
>More like the T630.
>
>>The
>>camera also is horrible, but that is not why I got the phone.
>
>Likewise, although I'd call it decent for a cell phone.
>
>>Battery
>>life is wonderful! I charge once a week and use the phone about 2
>>hours a week. Bluetooth never fails, unlike the symbian bluetooth of
>>NOKIA, and email is a snap.
>
>Agreed, although the email client has some issues. Also, GPRS is fast and
>stable, and Java enables some worthwhile apps (e.g., WebViewer).
>
>Only two real disappointments for me:
>
>1. No EDGE (EGPRS).
>
>2. No support for wave audio (only MIDI).
>
>Plus the menus are a bit less intuitive then my old T39m.

3. Lacks GSM 850 (a significant issue for Cingular and ATTWS in the USA)

--
Best regards, HELP FOR CINGULAR GSM & SONY ERICSSON PHONES:
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>