Anyone take the plunge yet on this phone? Att just came out with it a couple of days ago and it is bluetooth enabled...I am thinking about getting it...here is a link

http://www.attwireless.com/personal/...&titleNumber=2

 

although I do not have the 04 TL...yet....I just got this phone....the fedex man dropped it off at my house this morning...I cant wait to get home from work and check it out! Ive been waiting for this phone for months! Ill let you know about the phone once I start using it, sorry I cant ell you the HFL quality per the lack of 04 TL.

 

I've played with that phone in particular about a month and a half ago along with the v525 which is the same model but without the camcorder feature. The V600 is indeed a very solid phone but for people used to Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung handsets, the V600 is a bit harder to master. The overall quality is very impressive. Motorola is getting better at this phone making business. I would vote for Sony Ericsson though.

 

I got my v600 yesterday. Seems to be a really nice phone. Paired it to Handsfreelink last night. The signal meter works, but no battery level shown. I haven't roamed yet, but from what I was told the roam indicator works. Just make sure after you turn on the Bluetooth on the v600, that you also turn off the power saver mode in the set-up menu or the Bluetooth turns off after a while and you'll again have to go back into the Bluetooth menu and turn Bluetooth ON.

 

I just got it this morning and have been playing around with it all day.

The phone is very nice. The build quality is solid but a bit heavy -but that's to be expected given all its features. The camera was nothing special. I believe the V710 for Verizon will have 1.2 MP resolution.

As fas as the bluetooth goes, it works flawlessly with the TL. No the battery meter does not show but that's no big deal. Sound quality was difficult to evaluate given the AT&T's subpar network in NYC. The conversation was clear but I did get a lot of static and many times the call did not go thru. I had the same experience using the phone without the HFL and must attribute it to AT&T's network. However, there was no crackling like in the T616.

I've been with Verizon for years and was thinking about switching to AT&T for the HFL in the TL but now that I've tried the phone on AT&T's network I rather wait until summer for Verizon's bluetooth camera phone. Hell, I'll wait a year rather than switch.

If you have Verizon in NYC don't even think about switching. It's like going back in time. The call quality on my old V60 verizon phone is as good as my home phone. Don't know how AT&T is outside the NYC metro area but from what I've heard, it doesn't come even close to Verizon service.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Does anyone know if AT&T is including the bluetooth headset with the phone? I know Cingular will include it with the phone when they start selling it. We won't need the headset for the car but it would be nice to have one for when you're not in the car.

 

I keep hearing conflicting reports on Verizon getting a bluetooth phone. I'd really like to stay w/ their service. Does anyone know the real story? What mfr/model bluetooth phone will be released?

Thanks!

 

Verizon will definitely be releasing the V710 by the Summer. This phone will be Motorola's flagship phone in the U.S and will feature a 1.2 MegaPixel Resolution with flash, video recording, an MP3 player, and 128MB T-flash removable media. With all these goodies expect it to sell for $299 with a contract. Go check it out on Motorola's website. Verizon will also be releasing the v810 within the next month but that phone will not have Bluetooth.
I would suggest that you wait. GSM service in the U.S. does not compare to Verizon's CDMA.

 

I got the v600 on 3/30 and honestly I am not very impressed. Looks nice, love the clamshell style, screen is fantastic but the menus and terribly slow, the battery lasts a day at best, RF reception seems to be similar to my t616, menus are not on par with the SE offerings. I will be sending mine back unless someone wants to buy it from me for what I paid. The bluetooth does seem somewhat better then the t616 but certainily not worth shelling out the cash for the phone when compared to the t616. I will be waiting for the Sharp-GX30/32 or the SE S700 for now. The v600 is disappointing for a phone that was hyped as much as it was and for the cost and delays it should be spot on. Oh well thank god for return policies.

 

unlock it, throw it on eBay. You'll get about $5-600 for it.

 

chadr,

What service are you using? I was actually considering not waiting for VZW to come out with a new moto model because of the usual initial problems they have with a new model. I've heard mixed feedback on the v600, and I'm not sure how close the 710 is to the v600. Based on the research I've done, especially on this forum, it seems like the T616 would be the way to go w/ Cingular service. Could you give me more comparative information between the 616 and the V600? I know the general measurements, but how would you compare the sizes?

Thanks for the help!

JB

 

I got my V600 Thursday as a replacement for a Nokia 3650. The connection to the TL was easy, and unlike the Nokia, I now at least get signal strength and caller id to show up in the car. (still no battery life).

I have to say, the software on the Nokia was a lot better. The Moto phonebook is kinda clumsy, and the controls on the side of the phone are really confusing. The camera quality seems the same as the Nokia. All in all, I like the clamshell design and the size of the phone, but I'll miss the way the Nokia worked. Oh well - that's the price of always wanting the newest gadget.

 

If any of you text message with a motorola, my heart goes out to you guys and gals....you gotta be hardcore with that cause to me, it ranks almost as high as brain surgery.

 

I just ordered mine today. I wanted flip type phone that had both BT and Internationa capability. I could care less about the camera feature. I hope it lives up to the hype.

 

Sure, I am using them both with AT&T.

Size -
T616 is actually smaller in nearly every dimension. With the antenna the v600 is maybe 4 or 5 mm longer. The width is nearly the same between the two but the v600 is much deeper, I would say 50% deeper then the t616. The v600 feels nice to me because I really like the clamshell format and it is not so large as to feel bulky like some phones do.

Software - The t616 implementation is worlds better except for the softkeys. The phonebook is far better, the bluetooth transfers are better, the theme creation on the SE rocks and you cannot do anything like that on the Moto. You are limited to the stock colors and only can change the wallpaper. The MP3 ringtones are cool but sound quality is kinda sketchy when converting your own and they include no software to do any of this.

Appearance - The moto is a far better looking phone. Screen is at least 4x better then the t616 (although I hear only slightly better then the k700 which will be out soon). The situational lights on the moto are a great idea but cannot be truly customized which makes them somewhat less useful.

Battery life - moto sucks. Lasts like 24 - 36 hours at best with only about 15 to 20 mins of usage. The t616 lasts 5 days or so in similar situations.

My thoughts.

 

That's great info, Thanks!

 

If you have Verizon in NYC don't even think about switching. It's like going back in time. The call quality on my old V60 verizon phone is as good as my home phone. Don't know how AT&T is outside the NYC metro area but from what I've heard, it doesn't come even close to Verizon service.

Just my 2 cents.[/QUOTE]

I know this is really off subject but, ya, AT&T does suck, down here in Dallas too. I cant' wait untill my contract is up.

 

I am considering the Nokia 3650. Would you recommend it?

Thanks.

 

Which one sucks least: the Nokia 3650, the Ericsson T610, or the Motorola V66?

Thanks.

 

I am using the 3650. Bluetooth works great. It's big and has alot of features I don't use. I'd rather have a smaller phone without all the features but that works just as well. This is why I'm interested in the V600.

Aperantly, the reason Cingular doesn't sell the V600 yet was because the RF tested lower than the V400. Hopefully this will all be worked out by the time they start selling it.

 

Does caller ID show up on the TL?

 

Only phone#, no name, no other info, no phone book info out of your HFL cell.

 

Do all of those things show up with the T610?

 

There is no question that Verizon's service is superior. However they have no plans for International enabled phones anytime soon.

 

Depends what you mean byt verizon's service being superior.... They are #2 in most coverage area in the U.S. behind Cingular's TDMA service. Customer service on the other hand, they are decent. I started using GSM 4 years ago before Voicestream, now T-Mobile launched and used a Nokia 7190 in Dallas/LA and Hawaii. It was an awesome phone but big. In any case, I prefer GSM cause where I travel, I get coverage. I took a road trip last Spring from Dallas to Denver and there was a 5 miles stretch of road not covered between kansas and colorado. (we took the scenic route). I like GSM, that's my choice for mobile types.

 

The US is behind the times in the cell market....GSM is the furture, as it is already firlmy established around the world. TDMA/CDMA is old technology and will be surpassed in the near furute by GSM. I am in the LA area and the V600 being Quad band has totally made me confident staying with AT&T. Its only going to get better too.

 

Too bad the V600 and other 850/1900mhz phones will only utilize those two bands. We're catching up to Europe's 10+ year old GSM technology. With CDMA, it is much more expandable network wise. It is an easier network to manipulate the settings for bandwidth. To show how far we are behind, A lot of Asia already have either true 3G technology or CDMA that supports T1 speeds. i.e. Japan. The need for newer technology in the U.S. is not necessary because it is not as accepted because the general public does not see the need for it.

 

Rets,
Is that with the Nokia 3650? I have been using the Nokia 3650 with the HFL since Nov and all I see the Antenna on the MID during the call. Nothing else. Is there something I am missing here?

 

CDMA is not old technology. GSM is based on TDMA. GSM is not the future, if anything, its the past/present. 3G GSM is based on CDMA technology. To the US it seems like its the future because we're so behind in terms of mobile technology. I've had a gsm phone since around 1996 when Omnipoint was around in NYC (which then turned into Voicestream, which is now Tmobile).

I know Verizon has good coverage, but because they dont run on a GSM network, i avoid them. I've tried CDMA providers, their phone selection sucks. With GSM you can roam overseas or the just buy a prepaid sim card.

 

In the U.S., CDMA is the newer technology even though they did the GSM build up in the early 90's. GSM is only based on TDMA because they share similiar ISO standards. That's why it is easy to retrofit TDMA towers with GSM without much trouble. 2 new technologies that will dominate the U.S. in the upcoming years are 3G of course and WCDMA (Wideband CDMA). GSM is the future of the U.S. mobile industry. We still don't have the coverage that Europe does nor can we roam all 3 GSM providers. There are smaller GSM providers out there like Westlink that allow you to roam on their networks but here in Dallas (having T-Mobile service), I cannot roam on at&t or cingular. *sigh* I'm sure it'll get better. Just takes time and a lot of kissing up to the FCC.

 

what constitutes a true 3G network? AT&T often refers to their GSM as 3G...whats the difference?

 

No caller I.D., no battery life or reception. :banghead:

But it seems to get better reception. I've not dropped a single call in the car.

 

The reason we cant roam on the other GSM networks is not because we're behind in technology. The simple reason is that these companies have not signed roaming agreements. T-Mobile and Cingular have some roaming agreements. But T-mobile wont let you roam on the At&T network (in most , if not all cases). At&T lets you roam on the cingular network, etc.

At&t has been calling their network 3G since they rolled out GSM. It's just marketing to confuse the public. At&t just rolled out EDGE , so if anything they are 2.5G, not 3G.

All GSM networks in the US should be 2.5G by 2005 and 3G by mid 2006.

Oh, also to prove that CDMA has more of a future than GSM, check this out.
3G CDMA is referred to as CDMA2000. 3G GSM is reffered to as WCDMA. That alone should explain what kind of technology gsm is going to move to in the future. This is why GSM is having a hard time moving to 3G, because they are changing their technology to cdma based, and have to do it in several steps (gsm ->gprs-> edge-> wcdma).

Here's some more information:
http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/Sept2003/5843.htm

 

From a user's point of view, the most important difference is the data rate.
In a 3G network, you should be able to stream live video, download software, voip, transfer large files,etc.

The 3G data rates are:
*High Mobility - 144kbps for rural outdoor use. user is traveling more than 120 kilometers per hour in outdoor environments.
*Full Mobility - 384 kbps for pedestrian users traveling less than 120 kilometers per hour in urban outdoor environments.
*Limited Mobility - At least 2 Mbps with low mobility (less than 10 kilometers per hour) in stationary indoor and short range outdoor environments


Also , i forgot WCDMA (3GSM) is also referred to as UMTS.

 

And the thing that makes it so confusing is that all the WCDMA handsets they are testing in Dallas, Chicago and Seattle is the fact that they also use sim cards. :banghead: I'm sure when people read enough specs and see WCDMA instead of GSM, they will be able disinguish which phone is for what network.

 

You're right. WCDMA/UMTS builds on GSM and uses Wideband-CDMA as their radio technology. They will still use sim cards.

Actually I hear that in Asia there are regular 2G CDMA handsets that can use sim cards. I wonder why the US CDMA companies never introduced this option.

I wish the US would all move to GSM and WCDMA/UMTS, so when we change providers, we can take our phone with us and plug in a different sim card (of course assuming the phone is unlocked).

On another note, I've used a T68i, a T616, and a T630 to the TL without problems. I get caller Id and everything. I've heard the V600 is not fully compatible and has some bugs with bluetooth. I hear the caller Id wont even show up. I am going to trade my V300 for a V600 and try it out myself.

 

 

Has anyone been successful at getting data to appear on the MID with the Nokia 3650? If so, what was the trick?

Craig

 

There is no trick. This is how Nokia wanted have their bluetooth setup. You cannot enable anything to make the other things appear on the MID.