Michael S. Aug 21st, 2003 Link
Well but do you like the phone :)
Very complete assesment, I also have yet to see such a good combination of features.
A Week With The SonyEricsson T616
Sections: Uncategorized Aug 21st, 2003
Okay so I probably didn’t need the SonyEricsson T616. I could have probably made my 14 month old T68i last a bit longer and waited until next year. But due to my T68i having such poor signal performance (I swear it was actually getting worse) and the sheer brilliance of the T616 I couldn’t wait any longer.
My T68i simply put was unusable to me for much of the day. Of course it didn’t help that my coworker was easily able to make and receive calls with his Nokia 6200. Who cares if the T68i had superior features if I couldn’t use the phone. It was definitely time for a change.
But I didn’t want to leave the SonyEricsson family due to the fantastic features and great interface of the phones. As someone who used nothing but Nokias prior to my T68i the SonyEricsson interface and integration of Bluetooth was a revelation to me. So while the T68i may have had poor reception it’s features were in another class compared to 95% of what was out there.
So the day I found out that AT&T had the new SonyEricsson T616 (US version of the T610) available for order I jumped at the chance to replace old and untrusty T68i
The first thing that I noticed about the phone as I was unpacking it from the box was how solid it felt. Here was this little gadget that was not only made partially out of aluminum but was as well built as an iPod. This all serves to give you the impression of an extremely well built and solid device. It’s almost like holding a solid chunk of metal in your hand. It’s actually similar to the feeling you get when you pick up a 12″ Apple Powerbook (also made of aluminum ).
The attention to design detail is really amazing. Not only is the side curved inward to give your fingers more grip but it also enhances the rigidity of the phone while working very well with the overall design language. Simply put this is the best overall hardware design I’ve ever seen on a phone. The feeling of cool metal on your fingertips is one of those little tactile attributes that makes you want to pick it up all the time. Designer Erik Ahlgren deserves a good deal of praise for this phone. The design has a certain amount of tension to it yet looks very clean and unadorned. Where the T68i looked stylish in a turn of the century sort of way the T616 appears to almost have a timeless quality to it.
Of course I was also very interested in how the phone would actually work. Would this be another great hardware design let down by poor signal performance? The short answer is no. After having the phone for over a week I can safely say that the T616 is a revelation compared with the T68i. The simple fact that I have yet to drop a call should speak volumes as that was a daily occurrence with my T68i. It’s very comparable to the Nokia 6200 or 3650 in signal performance.
The other major improvement is voice quality. Both coming from the phone and listening over it. The sound quality is just short of a standard landline phone - not something at all that I expected.
In fact the only fault I could find with the phone is a display that’s difficult to read outdoors in direct sunlight. While the 65,000 color screen is a huge improvement over 256 color screen of the T68i’s it isn’t a reflective type like the T68i screen. What that means is it will wash out in bright direct sunlight. This isn’t a major concern since I don’t spend much time outside during the middle of the day but if you do it might be something to note. Otherwise in moderate sunlight or indoor conditions the screen is absolutely amazing.
Of course another selling point to the phone is the discreet built in camera. It’s worth mentioning that while it’s very nice to have camera to capture life’s fleeting moments — those moments will not be captured as effectivly as with a traditional digital camera. In fact the T616’s camera is not quite up to par with even Nokia 3650 or the previous Commicam available on the SE 300 series or the T68i. Personally this doesn’t really matter much to me as I already have digital camera for taking higher quality shots and I expect most people won’t be shooting weddings with a camera-phone anyway.
In all the T616 has been one revelation after another. I can’t believe I even questioned getting this phone as a replacement for my T68i. It not only excels in things a phone should (voice quality and signal performance) but is designed and built incredibly well. I can’t recommend T616 enough.
Written By: Gabe
58 Comments
antsmini Aug 21st, 2003 Link
Gabe, did you change your service as well or just the phone? Cause I have the T68i and get practically no signal as well and am wondering if its the phone or the service… Might have to get this new phone..
antsmini Aug 21st, 2003 Link
Also Gabe, can I just buy the phone and switch my SIM card, or do I need to get the phone reprogrammed?
Gabe Aug 21st, 2003 Link
No - same service with ATT Wireless. And yes - all you have to do is insert your sim card and you're ready to go. In fact if you can also send all your contacts (plus any photos associated with them) via bluetooth to the new phone. I had the entire thing set up within 5 minutes.
antsmini Aug 21st, 2003 Link
Did you have to someone reconfigure all your ip addresses on the phone for your email and web accsess or is that in the SIM?
Gabe Aug 21st, 2003 Link
I did have to reconfigure all my email addresses but that took all of 4-5 minutes.
ANTSMINI Aug 22nd, 2003 Link
I got the phone, it is SICK! I love it! If your a gadget geek like my get this phone. So much better than the T68i.
Gabe Aug 23rd, 2003 Link
Amen to that. Just wait until you see the OSX theme I'm cobling together for it :)
Raul (Spain) Sep 23rd, 2003 Link
Iīve the european version (T610)and itīs amazing!! Beautiful, powerful and easy to work with it!! Great screen with 65.000 colors. The best phone I ever had. Totally recomended!!!
Kai Sep 23rd, 2003 Link
Could you elaborate more on the actual phone functionality: Is the speaker loud and clear? How is the mic? What about battery life? Is the address book easily accessible? Buttons intuitive? Volume easily accessible? etc.
Gabriel Bridger Sep 23rd, 2003 Link
Kai - I didn't take too much time to go into detail about those things since they've been covered elsewhere but here's my take on those issues:
Is the speaker loud and clear?
Yes this is much improved over the T68i and I find it better than even the Nokia 3650
How is the mic?
Again excellent - one of the best I've used.
What about battery life?
Certainly acceptable. It's very similar to the T68i or many other modern 65k color phones.
Is the address book easily accessible?
Yes - calling someone is certainly easier than on a Symbian based phone like the 3650 (hate to pick on that phone but it's the other one in my house).
Buttons intuitive?
Yes I have to give SonyEricsson a lot of credit on this one. The interface both hardware and software is well done.
Volume easily accessible?
It's on the side of the phone so yes.
Kimberly Nguyen Sep 23rd, 2003 Link
Hi. I currently own a T68i, and I have been questioning whether I should trade my T68i for another Sony Ericsson phone (which was the sleek looking T616). I hesitated because of the poor pooor poor performance of my T68i. I used the yahoo search engine to look for more information on the T616 and i read your analysis over the phone and i just want to say Thank you! It helped me a lot and the moment I get the chance…i'm running out to trade my phone.
ben Sep 25th, 2003 Link
hi,
very helpful in deciding to trade up from my t68i.
I have T mobile..so I was wondering how you unlock the phone if you get it through AT T and also..where is the best place to get one.
cheers
Max Sep 28th, 2003 Link
Hey all, had a question. I want to upgrade from my Nokia 3360, and I wanted to know if the T616 is fast processer wise.
Siddo Sep 29th, 2003 Link
yes this phone is the best yet out of all my cingular/AT&T nokia, sony ericson and other phones. this one kicks ass and is simple and reliable
Unbathed Sep 29th, 2003 Link
Does AT&T do anything special for phone upgrades? Is there a waiting period? I got my T68i last January, and the signal weakness is trying my patience.
jennifer ruth ramos Oct 1st, 2003 Link
The T616 is the philippine version of T610. T610 its like a tin can. T310 is nice although it does not have a built-in camera. T610 in the philippines has a low volume in selling. Nokia still number one in the market. I have now the T68i which is nice and upgraded version. T68i is the phone year of 2002. It is already tested.
Phill Oct 4th, 2003 Link
Ya….umm well i have the Motorola T721 and i duno weather to change tot the T616 (SE) or not. Why is this thing sommuch betta? Wut can i do with this that i can't do with the other?
Al Oct 12th, 2003 Link
Check out PhoneAgent:
http://www.macmedia.sk/
It lets you manage the features of your phone from your Mac.
State Oct 12th, 2003 Link
I don't know why people buy these kinds of phones. They lack so many of the features of Nokia 3650 and especially P800. Having gprs and not even having an ordinary webbrowser would be… just frustrating. Well, T610/T616 is cheaper of course, that's true.
Gabe Oct 12th, 2003 Link
both the P800 and the 3650 are way to large for daily use for many of us. The T616 combines all the important features I need a great package.
Rick Gauger Oct 15th, 2003 Link
Gabe, I want to buy a new phone but I'm not sophisticated enough to understand much of the jargon. What I want to know is, does the T616 have a calendar with alarms? Can you record a voice memo on it? Can the voice memos be set to go off as alarms? Does the T616 connect thru IR to a Sony Viao laptop? If it does, can the connection be used to sync the T616 address book & calendar with Outlook or something similar? This is a lot to ask, but HELLLP! Thanks!
Cherie Oct 15th, 2003 Link
You must be a cell phone freak like myself. I LOVED your analysis of the phone. I too have owned Nokia, and my last phone was the Sony/Ericsson T61. In my region, we just got GSM network which opened up the door for truly cool phones. I chose to go with the Nokia 3600. I have only had it for a day, and I don't like it already. The biggest problem is the Nokia does not have a Chat feature for text messaging. Also the battery did not last at all. I barely talked on it. I was told the display light eats the battery. Which I can't seem to turn off during texting. Also the weird way the number pad is set up. I can't seem to get used to that. I saw the T616 in the store and was thinking that might be the one. Does the battery last on that one?
Cherie Oct 15th, 2003 Link
Sorry. Wrong email address. I have Cingular on the mind. By the way, I only have 13 days to make a decision. That is how long they give you to make up your mind.
Gabe Oct 15th, 2003 Link
Rick - yes it does all of these things including sync with Outlook. I use my calendar (w/ alarms) almost daily. It has voice memos but I'm not sure if they can't be set to go off as alarms.
Cherie - From my experience I'd say the battery is about average
Al Oct 17th, 2003 Link
Just got the T610 today. It's not as responsive as I would have liked, but it's definitely feature rich.
One thing worth noting, as a Mac OS X user, you can use the built-in Bluetooth capabilities of both devices to send out SMS text messaging through your phone. You probably already know this, but did you know that this can be done via the Address Book on your computer?
I credit this mac os x hint link for this pleasant discovery: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20020828095138297
Gabe Oct 17th, 2003 Link
Thanks for the tip! Apple's Bluetooth implementation is very impressive. Even more amazing Al is the fact that you can write someone an SMS message from AOL Instant Messenger. Just type in +1 and then the number for the buddy name. The best part is when they hit reply is shows up as a response in the chat.
Al Oct 18th, 2003 Link
One more cool thing. Check out Salling Clicker. http://homepage.mac.com/jonassalling/Shareware/Clicker/
You can turn your phone into a remote control unit and control your Mac's DVD player, iTunes player, Powepoint presentation, whatever!
Gabe Oct 18th, 2003 Link
The Salling Clicker is definitely a nice piece of software. One nice trick it to have the proximity sensor set to play certain music anytime you enter your home or get near your computer. I find the Imperial March from Star Wars a nice way to enter a room.
Tuan Oct 18th, 2003 Link
Please, send to me catalog of SonyEricsson T616.
Thanks.
Al Oct 18th, 2003 Link
Gabe, what a cool little trick. I'll definitely give that a shot sometime.
steve Oct 22nd, 2003 Link
If i purchase this phone here in USA can i be able to use it in East Africa where i'll be headed for a month vacation. East Africa uses sim card on 900mhz band. Will it work? or do i need the European Version?
Gabe Oct 22nd, 2003 Link
You probably will need the T610 and not the T616. The T610 does have the 900 band.
Jerry Oct 28th, 2003 Link
I know that the T616 is the U.S. version of the T610, but it seems the T610 is slightly better. Yet, specs from one site to another are not always consistent. For example, do you know if the T616 has voice dialing? Some sites say only the T610 has it but some say both do. That is an important feature to me.
Gabe Bridger Oct 28th, 2003 Link
they both have voice dialing - I use it on my T616 everyday. The phones are truly identical except for the bands they support. The T616 is better suited for US GSM service
Aaron Oct 29th, 2003 Link
Gabe-
I am a student going to London and Israel for a year. Can I use the phone there by simply buying a new SIM card? Just what is a SIM card? How much does one cost? Thanks.
Gabe Bridger Oct 29th, 2003 Link
I'm not sure about Israel but I know that the T616 will work in London fine. You'll need o first unlock the phone and then buy a regional sim. I'd go to the howardforums and ask the question there to get specifics.
Chet Freeman Oct 30th, 2003 Link
OK, so it looks beautiful, how (well) does it work? What capabilities does it have?
Mike Bullington Nov 1st, 2003 Link
I just bought the t616 and it's very nice for such small phone foot print. The only thing I don't like is that, Sony/Ericsson did not provide a cable or options to down load your pictures to your computer that you take with the camera
Gabe Nov 1st, 2003 Link
I'd highly recommend using Bluetooth to trasnfer images. Bluetooth adapaters for your computer are just a little more than a standard cable and much more slick.
Otherwise you can email the photo or even send it via good old infra-red.
Joe Nov 2nd, 2003 Link
The reason the T616 has MUCH better reception than the T68i is because it's a tri band phone using GSM 850/1600/1800. Compared to the T68i which uses GSM 900/1600/1800.
GSM 850 is a new frequency developed for North American use.
If you get the T610 (which is the asian/european version of the T616) It only uses GSM 900/1600/1800 and gets the same reception as my T68i does. But the T616s which can use the new GSM 850 get VERY clear reception. So techically it gets better recption just because it uses a diffrent GSM frequency.
Although I never seem to have too many reception problems with my T68i, with the newest firmware. However, I will be buying a new phone soon…I'm just waiting for the Panasonic X70 (the North American version with GSM 850)
Gabe Nov 2nd, 2003 Link
My T616 gets much better reception while on the same band (not 850 mind you) as my T68i. So yes the 850 helps it's not the only reason it gets better reception as the T68i.
lazer Nov 24th, 2003 Link
Yo just got one for Christmas…its alrite but i feel the reception could be better.
overall a nice piece of electronics
STeve Nov 30th, 2003 Link
I sounds like the reviewer is using a Mac. SO I'm wondering if this phone will sync my address book pictures and show then in the address book and with Caller ID.
Lame, but I want it!
Tiff Dec 2nd, 2003 Link
Does the Sony Ericsson T610 have “Keypad Lock”?
Steve Dec 8th, 2003 Link
I just got a Cingular T616. Way better than my T62u was… One question: Do I need to upgrade my firmware (currently r1a054), and if so how do I do it? Thanks.
Al Feb 7th, 2004 Link
Been awhile since I visited the comments here last. I wish I did before a trip overseas. Thought I'd be able to use my phone there, only to find my T-Mobile T610 would not let me use another SIM! Grr.. Darn locked phones….
Was lucky enough to have someone lend me their spare phone for my week's stay there, though.
christie Feb 8th, 2004 Link
I was wondering how hard it is to change the sim card if you need a tool for it or just pop it in and if it will work with the AT&T GO PHONE service?? THanks
Ron Walker Feb 14th, 2004 Link
I have used SE phones from the T28 to the present. I like the phones for their Bluetooth capabilities. But the T616 and the T610 cuts my bluetooths headset talktime in half, from 4-5 hours to about 2-2 1/2 hours. I use the HBH-15, HBH-30 and the HBH-35. I was wondering if anyone else had the same problem.
Marshall Norton Feb 19th, 2004 Link
Has anyone had any luck syncing there phone with a Yahoo calendar and contacts? This is important to me but Yahoo does nto seem to want to update their Intellisynch program (it is still several versions behind in even syncing with Outlook).
North Mar 4th, 2004 Link
is there a way to get sound into my G4 laptop running OS 10.3.2 through bluetooth from my t616? I want to answer the phone (easily done with scripting through the address book) and have another program (max/msp) “listen” and “talk”
Does anybody have a good place to look for these answers if this is the wrong place?
Eugene Mar 4th, 2004 Link
Do you know where I can get the documentation to syncronize my T616 with Outlook? I have bluetooth on my PC and seem to have trouble getting my phone contacts to transfer. I am however, able to send over pictures. Thanks..
Gabe Mar 4th, 2004 Link
I'd recommend asking both these last questions at Esato.com or howardchui.com as they have very active forums. This is simply a review of the phone with a place for comments.
Best of luck!
Ricardo Xavier May 8th, 2005 Link
I have a sony ericsson too. a z600, a great phone. the features are the same that t616, but it as has a new screen that has more real colour’s and is more stable at sun light. is a great phone, but the new phones in sony ericsson japanese website are completly amayzing. check it out (just the pictures, the language is a gay one): http://www.sonyericsson.co.jp
Teresa May 11th, 2006 Link
Hi,
I have been using the T616 for about 9 months now.i have had no problems, but i was living in Toronto Canada. I have moved to Copenhagen for the summer and even thougth the phone should work here and my provider is a good one, the phone is having major problems. It randomly says Emergency Calls Only at the top of the screen instead of my providers name and during those times the phone will not operate at all. all of my calls are redirected to the anwsering service.Plus he signal is terrible all the time. I have tried the SIM in another phone at the advice of my provider and it seems to be fine. Do you know anything about this phones use in Europe. Many people have them here. Or maybe its a frequency problem? If you have any suggestions i would love to hear them. thanks alot-Teresa
произв пластиковых окон Jun 14th, 2006 Link
Cool site. Thanks:-)
произв пластиковых окон
