[BTM] Best Bluetooth Phone FOLLOW-UP

[Stephen Jonke]

As far as I can tell, all cell phones stink from a design and UI 
standpoint, it's just a matter of how much. ;) I like my T68i in spite 
of its shortcomings. One of the most significant plusses to me is how 
tiny and thin it is. I can just drop it in my jeans pocket. Other 
pluses include the very good voice dialing/commanding and that its 
bluetooth works well, and other stuff. None-the-less, it still sucks, 
just like whatever phone you end up buying. ;)

Steve



On Thursday, March 13, 2003, at 05:33  PM, mindspring wrote:

> Thanks KOZAK for the thorough summary; seems like the T68x is not 
> nearly as
> beloved as I'd suspected when I first posted my question.
>
> Follow-up: Which is likely to happen first:
> a. The superior Nokia/Siemens phones support Mac and iCal
> b. Sony/Ericsson intros models that are equal in quality AND support
> Mac/iCal (as it seems, there new phones don't do iCal).
> c. another scenario
>
> ???
>
>> From: KOZAK Imre Oliver <ki023 at hszk.bme.hu>
>> Reply-To: "Bluetooth-Mac" <bluetooth-mac at lists.themacintoshguy.com>
>> Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 22:59:48 +0100
>> To: "Bluetooth-Mac" <bluetooth-mac at lists.themacintoshguy.com>
>> Subject: Re: [BTM] Best Bluetooth Phone
>>
>> You have to decide for what do you want to use your future phone.
>>
>> You can use it for three things:
>> 1) Address book pop-up message for incoming calls
>> 2) Address book/calendar synchronization
>> 3) Internet access
>>
>> For 1) and 3) all bluetooth phones are OK. My sister uses a Nokia
>> 6310i. It has an extremly fast menu, instantenous, really. It has T9
>> for many languages, not just English, and you can use different T9 and
>> menu languages. It has a huge memory for addresses (and can store
>> addresses, e-mails, phone numbers, etc.), has a very good calendar,
>> java capabilities (can download software, huge amount of games, etc.).
>> It also has a huge battery life, between 1-2 weeks, depending how much
>> you use bluetooth and how much you talk. Really excellent phone.
>>
>> Siemens phones are quite popular here, in fact the most popular. A
>> great addition beginning from the S45 is the possibility to access the
>> memory as a file structure. You can archive to the phone memory
>> hundreds of sms, pictures, etc, and on the PC, you can upload any txt
>> files (like trains schedules, bank office open times, etc.) for
>> reference. Or you can enter it as SMS, and save, so you have a
>> virtually unlimited message pad. Siemens has a bit wired menu
>> structure, but one you get onto it, no problem. And there is an
>> excellent feature: you can map any function to the number keys, not
>> only phone numbers. Like that, you can have direct access to bluetooth
>> switch on/off, calendar, notepad, etc. Siemens really likes to put all
>> functionalty in, at a lower price.
>>
>> If you want address book/calendar synchronization, there are two
>> options. First, you can use iSync with the Ericsson R520, T39 and T68,
>> T68m, T68i, and only via bluetooth. If you want to sync with 
>> Entourage,
>> there is mobilesync, it can sync via cable, bluetooth, infrared, and
>> supports, Ericsson R520, T39, T68, T68m, T68i, and T65. The R520 and
>> T39 has a slow menu structure compared to Siemens and Nokia phones. 
>> The
>> T68 is also quite slow, but it can be upgraded for free by any 
>> Ericsson
>> Service point to the T68i software, which is way faster, and allows
>> access to a larger amount of memory (physically the T68, T68m and T68i
>> have the same electronics inside).
>>
>> The fact that you can synchronize or not depends on the 
>> synchronization
>> protocol your phone uses. iSync and MobileSync uses the IrMC language
>> to sync, and currently only these few Ericsson phones use this
>> protocol. Nokia uses a proprietary protocol, the SonyEricsson P800 
>> uses
>> SyncML, so they are not supported.
>>
>> I myself bought a T68m two weeks ago, and had the software upgraded to
>> the T68i software a week ago. The speed change is dramatic. Compared 
>> to
>> the Nokia and Siemens phones I had, it is slow and not intuitive at
>> all. The joy on the T68 is not very good, you can get used to it, but 
>> I
>> don't like it. Overall the phone feels like a toy. Battery life is
>> good, if you don't talk or use bluetooth and never connect via gprs. I
>> talk, have bluetooth switched on all day long, set up the automatic
>> e-mail access for 2 hours on the phone, and browse the net for 1 hour
>> each day (bluetooth+gprs), and have to recharge each two days. There 
>> is
>> no desk stand (that could both charge the phone and a second battery).
>> The address book can store only phone numbers and e-mail, it cannot
>> store mail addresses. I would say the 6310i rules over the T68 for me
>> in every aspect, but it cannot sync with my mac, so I had to go for 
>> the
>> T68. The worst in all Ericsson phones is the fact that the Yes/No and
>> Pick up/Hang up is on the same keys. If you are in the middle writing
>> an SMS, or brwosing your calendar, no luck... while on the Nokia, you
>> can pick up/hang up independently. There is no T9 in Hungarian for the
>> T68, what is very basic today, I think.
>> The colour screen is also ambivalent... it is easier to read black 
>> text
>> on white compared to dark grey on light gray, but in strong sunlight 
>> it
>> is hard to read. No unreadable, but hard to read. The backlight of the
>> T68 is also very strong for the eye, Nokia and Siemens has a more 
>> ample
>> setting.
>> So, the T68 is not a bad phone, not a good phone, it is a rather
>> average phone by my standards.
>>
>> So, if you don't need address book sync, you can choose any bluetooth
>> phone you like. The Best bluetooth phone is the Ericsson P800 I think,
>> then the Nokia 7650 is very close. If you need sync, you have to
>> content with one of the R520 - T39 - T68.
>>
>> If you have any question, I am happy to reply.
>> Imre
>>
>>
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